Water leakage

Our neighbours downstairs are complaining of water seepage from our bathroom to theirs downstairs.


It is apparent that there are condensation patches on the ceiling of one of their bathrooms.


We have had a renovation contractor look into the problem. The contractor has not found any source of leakage from our flat. Our neighbour is going to have their bathroom ceiling opened up at our cost to investigate the source of the leakage. I have a few questions:


1. Should I have my own contractor present when our neighbours do the investigation?


2 If the answer to the above is yes, where and how can we find a qualified plumber or engineer to help us deal with investigation and necessary repair works? Thh contractor we used the day before was just an old man we found doing renovation to one of our neighbour's flats.


It's ugent please. The neighbours are threatening to take out a writ against us if we do not cooperate with them right away. We only returned from a trip four days ago and they wouldn't even wait a little longer for us to sort it out like finding a suitable qualifed person to deal with it.

Hi, I used these guys for my leaking roof top.

E-Mail: charles@nationalharbour.com.hk

Mob: 90851886

Fax: 27547898

Web: www.nationalharbour.hk

Thanks loads. worf. I will give them a call.

Let your neighbors complain all they want. As long as you're doing the best that you can to help (seems to me that you are), they can't touch you. All they're going to get is trouble waiting for government departments to set time for site visit, etc.


Your working with them (good cooperation between the two of you) is the best way out of this kind of situation. If you have good home insurance, they may even cover such damages (if proven you caused it). You can also tell your neighbors you're insured and that you will pay them (the expenses) when you receive payment from your insurance. That will take some time.

Thanks punter. Yes, we have insurance. Thank you for the reminder. I must notify the insurer and at least find out if our liability is covered. As of now, I don't even know if the source of the leakage is from our flat. We don't intend to go to government depts. It takes a long time. I've been told by a lawyer friend that my neighbour needs to prove the source of leakage, not me. I certainly don't want this thing to hang over my head forever.

You should notify your insurance company asap and you should not admit to liability. It is up to your insurance company to instruct you as to what steps you need to take. If you go ahead and agree to works taking place without authorization from your insurance company, your insurance may well be invalid. Your lawyer friend is correct, it is up to your neighbour to prove the source of the leakage. As punter says, it is best that you and your neighbour cooperate together to try to solve the problem as it is no fun for your neighbour having a leak for sure. However, get in contact with your insurance company before you agree to pay for any works.

I've experienced this before and I was the "victim". I was in amicable terms with my neighbour upstairs. Some govt dept needs to be scheduled. Someone might be able to prompt with the correct dept. It was scheduled for us by the management company as a "go between". If you're in an expensive flat (paying expensive management fees), get them involved too in case of legal case later, if you're not the cause of the leak. In the end, I got a surveyor's report which is a great help as they really know what they're talking about. All that got me a hefty refund of rent from the landlord too. Unfortunately I cannot tell you what the landlord ended up doing with the upstairs neighbour as the company moved us to Spore for a couple of years......