Condo owner must absorb water damage cost
Q:
I live in a five-unit condominium building, and my unit is the garden level. A few weeks ago, a leak came into my bedroom.
I am positive the leak came from the unit above me. Their bathroom is right above my bedroom and a little bit to the left.
Shortly before the leak happened, they had told people in the building that their baby had dropped some Legos down the tub drain in the bathroom.
After the leak happened, I called the people above me to find out where the water came from. They lied and told me the water did not come from their unit and that it was not their fault.
When I brought it up to the condo association, they also said it was my responsibility even though the water came from a common area (the wall behind my bedroom).
In the past, our association has always paid for cleaning up any leak that happened in a common area and damaged one of the units. I had a plumber come in to look at the leak, but he could not trace where the water came from.
I am certain it came from the unit above me, but they are a young couple and do not want to spend a dime to clean up the damage.
The condo association also will not clean up the leak because it says since the leak cannot be traced and the damage happened in my unit, so it is my responsibility. My insurance company also will not pay for it either.
The insurance does not cover damage from groundwater, and since no one can prove that the leak did not come from groundwater, the insurance company will not pay even though we had no rain before the leak happened.
Between the wall and the floor and carpet, there is at least $2,000 worth of damage to my bedroom. I don’t think I should have to pay all this cost. Do you have any suggestions?
A:
Without being able to prove the source of the leak, I think you may be stuck.
Normally, the situation you describe is the sort of unforeseen circumstance for which you have insurance.
Even if the source of the leak is the unit above you, any water damage to your unit is normally covered by your own insurance.
So, even if the people above you ’fessed up and said the leak came from their unit, your own insurance would cover the damage to your unit.
But as you pointed out, most homeowner’s insurance does not cover damage from groundwater.
And since your unit is below ground level and the plumber you hired cannot rule out groundwater, your insurance obviously feels it has no obligation to pay for the damage to your unit.
The only recourse I can see is for you to ask the owners above you if they are absolutely certain the leak did not happen in their bathroom.
You might point out that your insurance, not theirs, would cover the damage to your unit.
