My Ceiling's All Wet

[dave111223]

The condo above mine it owned by the bank, and currently on the market. The unit it in an unbelievely bad condition. Ceiling fall out everywhere, holes in walls, birds nests behind the rotting curtains; in need of total renovation (you get the picture).

The price of the unit is wayyyy too high, so it has been on the market for quite a few years.

Last week someone came to look at it, and apparently left all the windows and balcony doors open, so that when we had a big storm on Friday the rain poured into their condo, leaking through onto our ceiling in several places.

My wife and I walked upstairs and found the front door was also left unlocked, so went in to find a half inch of water sitting on the floor. We started mopping up the water.

We then called the building tech. who came to our room after a few hours to look at the water pouring through the ceiling. And told him "We've been upstairs and there is half inch of water sitting on the floor". At which point, to my surprise, he starts saying "Why have you been upstairs! It's none of our business going up there etc...".

The part that confuses me is that I guarantee if i had left all the doors and windows open and the rain had poured from our condo to downstairs, i would get a phone call saying "You leaked water on our ceiling, we demand you pay us XXXXXX for Michealangalo to come and fix it and then repaint the Sistine chapel on it".

But yet when someone does this to us, we should simply sit back and take it, and then apologize for going to mop up the water?

Or is it simply that a bank owns the unit, so the chances of them actually apologizing or fixing the ceiling are slim to none? And if it was owned by an individual then it would be a different story?

[quiksilva]

The co-owner of the unit above should be liable in this case, the fact that its a bank is irrelevant so long as you go through the proper channels.

The building manager's reaction is not all that surprising to me. What you did whilst understandable may be interpreted as trespassing.... the building management office, should have been your first call.

At the end of the day the project's regulations typically give the Juristic Manager the legal right to enter a unit in this sort of situation, unfortunately as a co-owner, you do not enjoy such rights.

Half a week has passed since this event, but posted today, did you contact your insurance company yet?

They should be able to help, they will probably ask whether you took any photographs and may want to see the offending unit themselves, expect them to liaise closely with the building manager so keep them on-side.