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Water leak from upstairs: Condo and above unit owner pointing fingers on each other

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Al999

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I have condo apartment in Miami Beach, Florida and have 3 years ongoing problem with repeated leak from above that damages ceiling of my bathroom.
The situation is kind of ridiculous because the owner of the above unit blames that leak is caused by condo a/c and water comes to his bathroom between walls and then to my ceiling
while condo association management blames it on the owner of the above unit.
What makes the situation difficult is that leak is not that obvious it appears from time to time and when plumber comes to check there is no visible leak only damage from the previous leak can be seen.
So it ended up that plumbers said they can't tell from where it is leaking.
Also the ceiling in my bathroom was repaired 4 times, 1st and 2nd time by the owner of above unit including that he did some repairs to his shower, after the 3rd leak he refuses to repair any more and
I did 3rd and 4th repair of my ceiling, but now the ceiling is damaged again.
Before the 5th leak I have covered plumbing pipes of above units that I can see from my unit with tracing powder which later shows marks of water on them which comes probably in between pipes and concrete,
but still hard to tell the source of it since above shower was resealed many times also the owner of above unit is not cooperative any more and won't allow to do any access hole in his bathroom.
What advise could you give me resolving such situation? What should be my next step?
 


adjusterjack

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

What advise could you give me resolving such situation? What should be my next step?
There is no solution to your problem unless you want to pay a lawyer many thousands of dollars to file a lawsuit for negligence. And even then your chances of winning are iffy and you don't get your lawyer fees back even if you win so it's likely to cost you more than you gain unless you want to try your hand at small claims court. If you use small claims court understand that attorneys are permitted in Florida so you can count on the defendant's insurance company sending their attorney who will run rings around you.

The best advice I can give you is sell the place and avoid condo living in the future.
 

Al999

Junior Member
The best advice I can give you is sell the place and avoid condo living in the future

Can I file complaint with Department of Buildings for such case saying that whatever issue is existing above me creating hazardous environment in my apartment?
 

festival

Member
You need to get your board of directors involved. The management works for the board. The association usually has the authority to enter a condo unit (the upstairs unit) to do maintenance and repairs, which would include cutting access holes to find the problem, and bill the responsible party.

You may have to cut a hole in your ceiling (it needs to be fixed anyway), and then run tests upstairs to find the problem.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
The best advice I can give you is sell the place and avoid condo living in the future

Can I file complaint with Department of Buildings for such case saying that whatever issue is existing above me creating hazardous environment in my apartment?
Sure, you can file a complaint with the Department of Buildings. You can also file a complaint with your auto mechanic and grocer. Won't do you any good either.
 

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