Should I be reimbursed for the cost fixing a leak not from my Leasehold flat

[jazzythumper]

I am a leaseholder and I own the ground leasehold of a ground floor flat (with 3 other leasehold flats above). Last night I arrived home to find water cascading down the internal wall of my flat. After much communication with one neighbour we turned off the water individually and found that the leak was coming from the supply to the 3rd floor flat (although turning his water off did not completely stop the leak. We established that from where the water was entering my flat that the leak was coming from the communal stairwell which I do not have access to but under my leasehold agreement pay for the cleaning and maintenance of.

I arranged for a plumber to come out immediately at great cost £240 as this was after midnight on a Sunday night. I needed to stop the leak to avoid further damage to my flat.

I got a copy of the invoice and forwarded it to the Management Company asking them to reimburse me. They are refusing to on the grounds that despite the problem occurring in a communal area, because the leak was found in the supply to the 3rd floor flat that I will have to be reimbursed from the owner of this flat.

Is this correct, or should I be reimbursed the cost of the plumber from the management company (only to be divided in the service charge at a later date I presume)

OR

Should this be covered under the building insurance that the freeholder has?

The 3rd floor flat is currently is managed by an agency and has a tenant in there so I believe getting my money back will not be easy from them if this is the route I have to go down!

I informed the management company that there is another pipe to one of the other flats which needs to be repaired as it has a dodgy connection. They have asked the plumber to look at this tomorrow. I assume that if what they say above is correct that I will not have to pay for this in my service charge?

ANy help would be greatly appreciated.

Jazz

[leaseholdanswers]

If the pipe that was leaking was owned and or the responsibility of flat 3 then the agent is correct in that you are reclaiming the cost from the owner of flat 3.

The cost of any consequential damage to decorations will be covered by most buildings policies, which in turn might also cover trace and access, but unlikely the cost of repair unless it was caused by an insured peril e.g. it burst when hit by a falling tree.

The agent can help with a claim on the insurance and checking the policy

As to the other repair it depends on who is responsible for that pipe.

[jazzythumper]

Thanks Leaseholdanswers,

I guess the only way to understand this is to see the leasehold agreements for the other flats? Does the management company have a duty to provide me with the evidence of what they are saying if I ask for it?

[jazzythumper]

I forgot to mention that I attempted to call the management companies emergency number on Sunday night, but being a mobile number, they switched off the phone and did not respond to calls or text messages.

Is there not a case for the management company not being able to provide a service that would have prevented me from calling out our own plumber?

Surely they should be managing this? Is this not is what I pay my service charge for?

I have also had further confirmation that the further investigation into the plumbing will be carried out at the management companies cost, with them looking to reclaim this back from the relevant flat owner? Why can they not do this with mine?

What would happen if I can't reclaim this money from them that I withheld it from service charge?

Thanks

Nic