Thai neighbor blaming me on water leak into their condo...

[banagan]

I'm renovating an old condo. The neighbor below has a leak coming into their condo and is blaming me. I checked, and there is a leak, like a slow tap dripping. The building is old and there's a bunch of leaks in common areas, so feasible its an existing issue. 

 

They want me/my builder to open the ceiling to check the concrete for damage... their words, didn't realize concrete could damaged by water. Anyway, builder says it's probably an existing issue, and easy to tell if its an old leaking pipe. That said, it could be something to do with my renovation, I'm not a plumber so no idea.

 

If it was caused by my builder, they probably won't admit it anyway.

 

Not sure how it works here. Is the burden of proof on them? I'm sure they're expecting me to fix it, or possibly even a shakedown.

 

The condo itself is very old, old peeling wallpaper etc.. so can't even see any damage. I checked a corner of peeling wallpaper that was dry.

 

Anyone here been in a situation like this?

Edited October 11, 2019 by banagan

[OneMoreFarang]

We had problems like this in my building.

It seems the owner of the unit where the water comes from has to pay for any repairs.

But I don't know if that is a law or only the way they handle it here or in my building...

 

[banagan]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

We had problems like this in my building.

It seems the owner of the unit where the water comes from has to pay for any repairs.

But I don't know if that is a law or only the way they handle it here or in my building...

 

Cheers, if it has come from my condo I've no problem paying to repair it. My cynical side is just expecting some sort of attempted shakedown. 

[jackdd]

If you are not living there you could just turn off the water for a few days, then check if there is still water leaking into his condo. If it's still leaking it's not your problem, in case it's dry it's probably your problem.

[johng]

I've had this problem a couple of times now...the water pipes buried in the walls and floor start to leak,also sink,wash basin etc waste pipe buried in the concrete leaking...its quite a big pain in the butt to find and fix..but yes its the person who is leaking responsibility to fix it...good luck.

[sfokevin]

Has your renovation efforts caused a lot of vibration of the structure?... Then you may have caused stress cracks in the concrete around the pipes that caused the leak...

 

If you can communicate with the builder & neighbor I would make them a deal... The builder will open up their ceiling and find the leak... But if their is rust or aged water damage around where the leak is discovered the neighbor will pay instead of you...

[Jingthing]

I had a leak caused by the unit above. Had to open my ceiling and it was easy to see it was coming from their shower drain. They paid everything including fixing my ceiling. But it was definitely stressful.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[banagan]

30 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

Has your renovation efforts caused a lot of vibration of the structure?... Then you may have caused stress cracks in the concrete around the pipes that caused the leak...

 

If you can communicate with the builder & neighbor I would make them a deal... The builder will open up their ceiling and find the leak... But if their is rust or aged water damage around where the leak is discovered the neighbor will pay instead of you...

Yes, my builder did mention this, if it's an old leak it will be obvious. I am going to bring another builder plumber, just so I get the full picture. 

[banagan]

31 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

Has your renovation efforts caused a lot of vibration of the structure?... Then you may have caused stress cracks in the concrete around the pipes that caused the leak...

 

If you can communicate with the builder & neighbor I would make them a deal... The builder will open up their ceiling and find the leak... But if their is rust or aged water damage around where the leak is discovered the neighbor will pay instead of you...

Doubt it. 

I'm going to bring in another plumber to get the full story, and if it was caused by my builder, I'll pay to fix.

[banagan]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I had a leak caused by the unit above. Had to open my ceiling and it was easy to see it was coming from their shower drain. They paid everything including fixing my ceiling. But it was definitely stressful.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

If this is the case, then it would have been caused by my builder... now trying to get him to pay, that's another story. 

[alacrity]

32 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

Has your renovation efforts caused a lot of vibration of the structure?... Then you may have caused stress cracks in the concrete around the pipes that caused the leak...

 

If you can communicate with the builder & neighbor I would make them a deal... The builder will open up their ceiling and find the leak... But if their is rust or aged water damage around where the leak is discovered the neighbor will pay instead of you...

Sensible approach to identify the problem Just ensure all interested parties (with their paparazzi's kit)  are present at the unveiling.

[Samuel Smith]

2 minutes ago, alacrity said:

Sensible approach to identify the problem Just ensure all interested parties (with their paparazzi's kit)  are present at the unveiling.

Maybe livestream it on TV if that's possible ????

[banagan]

2 minutes ago, alacrity said:

Sensible approach to identify the problem Just ensure all interested parties (with their paparazzi's kit)  are present at the unveiling.

Agree, this is the sensible approach. However, the neighbor going on about checking for concrete damage, could be just ignorance or prelude to a shakedown... I mean, concrete damage! Its water, not acid! 

[banagan]

1 minute ago, Samuel Smith said:

Maybe livestream it on TV if that's possible ????

Pay per view! ????

[PatOngo]

Threaten them with defamation!

[sfokevin]

38 minutes ago, banagan said:

If this is the case, then it would have been caused by my builder... now trying to get him to pay, that's another story. 

I wouldn’t blame the builder...

You set him to task renovating an old building... 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, banagan said:

If this is the case, then it would have been caused by my builder... now trying to get him to pay, that's another story. 

Sure you can try but if you hired the builder then from the other condo owner's POV you're the first person that is responsible and then you can try to go after the builder. In my case the condo office offered advice but told me if it was going to be a conflict it would become a legal matter between the two owners that they wouldn't get involved with. 

Edited October 11, 2019 by Jingthing

[banagan]

29 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I wouldn’t blame the builder...

You set him to task renovating an old building... 

Fair point

[RBOP]

In our building you are the owner of your plumbing-drainage below your unit. If your drainage pipes leak into the condo below you are responsible to fix it. I have been after the owner above me to fix a badly leaking bath drain that would leak through my bathroom ceiling. After threatening to sue him and building management (for one year) they finally fixed the leak. The issue was a 20 year old pvc pipe that cracked at a joint due to improper angling which stressed the joint and after 20 years gave out.  They had to chisel out 2 inches of mortar cement to get enough pipe exposed to replace the old damaged piping.

[terminatorchiangmai]

Fix it and get on with it.

Water coming from your location is your responsibility.

Start of on good foot with your neighbours for the max 2000 baht  extra costs.

[RichardColeman]

14 hours ago, banagan said:

The building is old and there's a bunch of leaks in common areas, so feasible its an existing issue.

Ah, so building is 18 months old then

[dotpoom]

I'v had to pay a few times for damage caused to the condo below me...in different projects. Water going down the side of a bath or in the toilet area. On one occasion I was made to pay for a complete carpet because a tiny area had water leak onto it. I initially refused but they had the police around in a matter of minutes (it was a massage shop)....so I was made to pay...Just to be awkward, I demanded they give me the one they were replacing, let  it dry out....and put it down in my own condo. Felt a bit better if nothing else.

[Aussieroaming]

Check with your Juristic and if the condo has a maintenance team then get the condo maintenance team to see whether the leak emanates from a common service line or whether indeed it is from inside your condo. 

 

Check the Juristic Insurance Policy, we all contribute to an insurance policy in our condo development that provides some limited coverage for damage.

[whaleboneman]

37 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

I'v had to pay a few times for damage caused to the condo below me...in different projects. Water going down the side of a bath or in the toilet area. On one occasion I was made to pay for a complete carpet because a tiny area had water leak onto it. I initially refused but they had the police around in a matter of minutes (it was a massage shop)....so I was made to pay...Just to be awkward, I demanded they give me the one they were replacing, let  it dry out....and put it down in my own condo. Felt a bit better if nothing else.

That was a good idea. You knew than that they actually replaced the carpet and didn't just pocket the money. However, I'm not sure i would want any carpet from a massage parlour in my home.

[elgenon]

15 hours ago, jackdd said:

If you are not living there you could just turn off the water for a few days, then check if there is still water leaking into his condo. If it's still leaking it's not your problem, in case it's dry it's probably your problem.

brilliant idea. Will he have to file a TM 30 though? haha

[boonchu]

If it is a leaking pipe in the wall/floor surely it's a owners corporation expense as usually walls and floors are owners corp property.

[kensisaket]

14 hours ago, banagan said:

If this is the case, then it would have been caused by my builder... now trying to get him to pay, that's another story. 

In my experience you have zero chance of getting the builder to pick up the tab.  On the off chance that you do, you can bet he'll recoup that amount somewhere else down the line.  

[Jaxxper]

15 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Has your renovation efforts caused a lot of vibration of the structure?... Then you may have caused stress cracks in the concrete around the pipes that caused the leak...

 

If you can communicate with the builder & neighbor I would make them a deal... The builder will open up their ceiling and find the leak... But if their is rust or aged water damage around where the leak is discovered the neighbor will pay instead of you...

Sounds like a plan but get firm agreement to who pays before the builder opens up the ceiling.

[Jaxxper]

Isn’t damage caused by water an insured event ? Either the Condo maintains insurance or each owner should.

[sfokevin]

15 minutes ago, Jaxxper said:

Isn’t damage caused by water an insured event ? Either the Condo maintains insurance or each owner should.

Insurance...