[kiki]

How do we deal with this??

A few months ago during a bad rain storm our MBR ceiling began dripping. Unfortunately I did'nt hear or notice anything until the damage was done.

1. I had to cancel my flight for that evening to stay home, scrambled to get maintenance/bldg owner out here, and spent all night dumping out buckets of water.
*Had to pay a flight cancellation fee.*

2. Brand new (and very expensive!) Simmons Mattress now has a large stain due to water dripping on it, which makes the mattress warranty null & void. Any resale value would be much less as well.
Not to mention we bought this in the States & had it shipped over here.

3. Mattress cover (very large...which no reg washer could handle) was also water stained and had to be professionaly cleaned at our cost.

Blg management, and maintenace came out and inspected, took photos etc. and the end result was it was leaks from the flat above us & the repairs to their leak were made. Clogged drains of the owner.

(and btw, no one lives in flat above us..but there is an owner)

In the meantime (over months & months!) we have gotten little to no help resolving who will pay for our damages & costs incurred.

FINALLY a management commitee meeting (made up of a few owners here) was held (which we were'nt allowed to attend) and we've now been told that the owner will not be held responsible & will NOT have to pay for damages.

WTF??!!!

So now I'm stuck with a damaged mattress, flight cancellation fee, and dry cleaning bill...not to mention all the other crap in between I had to handle.

We were even willing to except some minimal amount...we just wanted someone to show some consideration & responsibility.

What the hell is wrong with people here??...I mean really!...you cause to damage to someones property, you should pay. It's thats simple.

We're livid!...to say the least, and not taking this laying down.

Do we have a good case if we take this to an attorney?

[KnowItAll]

According to this section of the building management ordinance

(1) Where a person who owns any part of a building, has the right to the exclusive possession of any part of a building or has the exclusive right to the use, occupation or enjoyment of that part, as the case may be, but the deed of mutual covenant in respect of the building does not impose an obligation on that person to maintain the part in good repair and condition, that person shall maintain that part in good repair and condition. (Amended 69 of 2000 s. 14)

(2) The obligation in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be an obligation owed to all owners of the building under the deed of mutual covenant.

I'm not in a lawerly mode today, but I do think that it is the duty of the buidling / flat owners to ensure that the property they own is in good condition.

Obviously, someone has committed a mistake here and I think, even if no laws have been broken, you should be able to get a judgement against the owner.

I would take this to small claims court if you've exhausted all means of communication.

By the way, dare I ask.. which company handles the building management? I know our building managers are like ninjas .. swooping down at all odd hours if something goes wrong.

[KnowItAll]

Link to the small claims courty faq:

http://www.judiciary.gov.hk/en/crt_s.../html/sc.htm#2

The defendants in this case should be the building owners corporation and the individual owner (I think).

[Paddles]

I've had a similar issue in my apartment. In May water started coming through the wall and it was thought initially that is was rain soaking through and there was nothing they could do while it was still raining. I couldn't use my a/c unit because the water was coming through by the plug socket and it was dangerous. They came in and resealed the walls, only for the water to start coming in again (which initially they told me wasn't and that I was mistaken) they then agreed that it was an old water pipe on the side of the building leaking...
Cutting a long story short, and after water started coming in my bedroom wall too and the plaster was falling off and the damp smell was becoming too much I got someone in my office to shout and scream and we finally got the building management to come in and fix everything - dry clean my curtains where mould was growing and I've asked for a good will gesture off my rent for inconvenience etc and it is still in discussion.

It's taken me nearly 6 months to get this far, and I'm sure it'll take a few more to get to the end, but I think you just have to keep going and maybe persistence pays off.

[vmlinuz]

Hate to say it, particularly since I've not been very good about it myself over here, but isn't that what home and travel insurance are for?

[discobay]

I think you have a case. You could start by ringing Citizen's Easy Link on 1823.

[kiki]

Knowitall, the building management is KnightFrank. KF of course wipes their hands clean of the whole matter & states they are not legally repsonsible..the owner is.

And like you Paddles, it has been 6 mths of dealing with this B.S...I've had enough.

vmlinuz...we are insured (even with travel)...but thats not the issue. It's their fault & they should be held responsible & have their insurance cover our damages.

[vmlinuz]

Originally Posted by kiki

vmlinuz...we are insured (even with travel)...but thats not the issue. It's their fault & they should be held responsible & have their insurance cover our damages.

Oh, I totally agree.

The way I would expect the insurance to work is that the insurance company pay you, then they chase either your management company or their insurance company. The whole point is that if you're insured, you shouldn't be chasing people yourself...

[KnowItAll]

In the mean time, google with all its wisedom is serving up pipe repair adverts.

[kiki]

ha

Not in a lawerly mode eh...cheeky mode maybe?

Thanks for the link, it helps.