Who pays for damaged wooden floor because of leaking washing machine

sanny82

Hey all,

spend most of my day getting rid of the water in my flat :mad: Realized too late the the washing machine was broken and all the water went in several rooms and I have only wooden floors. All is dry on top now but I know the whole floor has too be removed too dry it underneath I left the agency already a voice mail. Have to wait until Monday.

My question is, who has to pay for all this? The neighbours below got a little wet corner as well but they said it will be fine, hope so the washing machine was already in the flat, belongs to the landlord. I have no insurance and no clue what my rights here. I am afraid this will cost a lot.

Has anyone faced similar issues? Any idea what to do?

I planned to move out of this place in 2 month and I am actually glad as if this will be not dry out completely it will be mouldy soon

What a nightmare!!!

someuser905

owner pays of course

the_syco

If it was caused by the broken washing machine, as opposed to you leaving the door of the washing machine open, the landlords insurance should cover this as it was his machine that caused the leak, but if you don't have insurance none of your stuff will be covered, as his insurance only covers his stuff, and not yours.

sanny82

I really hope so
My stuff wasn't damage its only the wooden floor and maybe the damage from the neighbours below. No idea why this machine was leaking couldn't see, checked the filter, was not blocked. Seems anyway like an old machine, had a few issues before, rinse wasn't working properly. Will see on Monday.
Thanks

Lantus

Your NOT liable. It's the landlords machine and his floor. His old machine has leaked through no fault of you and damaged his floor.

Make sure he doesn't try to trick you into accepting it's your fault through a lack of maintanence or anything silly.

If any of your possessions were damaged then you must foot the bill. You should really have content insurance to cover for things like this even if your renting.

3DataModem

If the washing machine was at fault, then landlord (ie his insurance) is liable for any subsequent damage.

Just make sure you notify him at the earliest opportunity, so he can get an assessor out.

Edit: I see you called the agency. Do they not have an emergency out of hours number? Does the landlord have one on the lease?

athtrasna

On another note, there shouldn't be wooden floors in an apartment above ground floor level. Might be an issue with the insurance.

djimi

athtrasna wrote: »

On another note, there shouldn't be wooden floors in an apartment above ground floor level. Might be an issue with the insurance.

Is that not a clause of the management company (to keep noise levels down) rather than a legal/insurance matter?

Paulw

djimi wrote: »

Is that not a clause of the management company (to keep noise levels down) rather than a legal/insurance matter?

If it's a clause in the Lease Contract then it's a legal matter, and can impact on insurance.

In many cases, block insurance has a high excess, especially for water damage (can be €5,000 or even €10,000).

If the leak started in your unit, then you are liable, unless you can prove it was the fault of the builder, and then you would have to chase them through the civil courts if they didn't pay up.

But, you are liable for the costs.

the_syco

Paulw wrote: »

But, you are liable for the costs.

To clarify for the OP; in this case "you" being the landlord, and not the tenant...?

Paulw

the_syco wrote: »

To clarify for the OP; in this case "you" being the landlord, and not the tenant...?

Yes, "you" would be the landlord, the unit owner.

sanny82

For now they only fixed the washing machine, there was a defect inside so the water level couldnt be controlled and was pumping in non stop......thx god I checked after 1hr this would have going on forever
A week is going by now and nothing done, they seen the damage and want to fix it in the next week....well if this is not too late but I'm moving out soon and sorry for the people who get this flat
So far they havent said anything about the cost but for me its clear its not my fault, its up to him to check his washing machine

n900guy

sanny82 wrote: »

So far they havent said anything about the cost but for me its clear its not my fault, its up to him to check his washing machine

Not really. It's up to you to ensure that any equipment is being used reasonably and in reasonable state of function, as you are using it. If you are using it 24/7 in loads over it's stated capacity (e.g., 6-7kg loads and rated for only 5kg). , etc., etc., . As a tenant you are not a helpless child! You are expected to do what a normal person (?!) would do.

Equipment should be checked at the start of a tenancy and again e.g., every 12 months; in the meantime, you are the tenant and the person using the equipment. Landlord is not your parent.

sanny82

I get your point but I never overloaded the machine or did other stupid things, I know well how to use it.....and there were never problems the last 2,5years, anyways I just doooooooooooont want to pay for the bleeden damage

dissed doc

sanny82 wrote: »

I get your point but I never overloaded the machine or did other stupid things, I know well how to use it.....and there were never problems the last 2,5years, anyways I just doooooooooooont want to pay for the bleeden damage

i think a fault like that is going to be the landlord's responsibility. repair of the floor will be from his insurance. but, you should have your own contents insurance for your own stuff. landlord ia not obliged to covet anything except what was provided as part of the tenancy.

ams

this happened in my apartment. Everything was covered by the landlord's insurance including damage to the below apartments.