Who's Responsible For Water Damage To Ceiling

[Florida999]

What is the name of your state? Florida

My brother and I inherited a unit on the 3rd floor of a 17 story condominium building upon the passing of our father 9 months ago.

While preparing the unit for sale in April 2006, we repaired the ceiling in the master bathroom that had been damaged by a water leak from the unit above ours. The leak was previously reported and fixed while my dad was alive but the ceiling was never repair. The cost of repairs was approximately $400.

In January 2007, our real estate agent informed us that it appeared that we had an active leak in the ceiling. We opened up the ceiling, water had pooled there, and there is an active leak. We notified the condo maintenance staff and after 5 phone calls and one certified letter, they confirmed that leak was coming from the unit above ours.

The Condo association has informed us that we are responsible for incurring the costs of repair since we own the unit. Following that logic, it seems that the owner of the unit above ours has no responsibility for the damage and that we could wind up fixing our ceiling this multiple times if they don't adequately fix their leak.

What, if any, remedy do we have?

[moburkes]

...to sue the person that caused the damage. However, the association wasn't the cause of the damage, which is why they told you what they did.

[MyHouse]

Maybe while you have the ceiling open, you could allow the owner of the above unit to have the leak repaired from that area, if it would be easier to access that way. What does the owner of the above unit say? They should repair the leak without you forcing them, if they are decent people.