Total Disaster!

[Macron]

Distaster has struck!

My poor little home cinema (Macron's First (Modest) Home Cinema) in my nice new flat which I have been working on for months and spent all my money on is flooded!

Turns out theres loads of holes in the roof of the flats.

The worste part is as we have a leasehold agreement then this whole mess is the responsibility of the property company, and they don't give a damn.

They say the best they can do is send someone out sometime next week, and in the meantime we have to sit here and watch all our hard work get ruined.

I've complained to the maintenance company, directors of the property company (a bunch of senile, bitter old gits) the surveyors, estate agent, local council.

Basically nobody wants to know.

The property company have been terrible about it, they reckon the insurance should cover everything but its still heartbreaking to watch all your hard work get destroyed and then have to sit for several days watching it get worse whilst nobody else cares.

Yesterday I basically argued with people from 9am until 9pm, the property company who are supposed to look after these things are happy to sit there and watch it get worse and not do a single thing about it and then wait for the insurance to clean it all up.

Anyone who has any advice in this area it would be very much appreciated right now.

[Skars]

Man that sure sucks

My advice is the press, go to your local rag and tell them the story, nothing gets them going more than a juicy tale where they can have a pop at the local council or businesses. It happened to a friend of mine who lived on a private housing association, he had rats. Tried to get them to sort it for over 4 weeks in the end he gave the local paper a call, they didn't even print the story but they phoned the housing association and told them they was going to. He had an exterminator round that afternoon.

[Anastie]

Just read your thread it looked like a great setup and so sorry to hear your latest news.

The only advice is regarding the insurance, keep pressing them. I had a flood in December and the work was not started until April!!! I soon realised that by making frequent, daily calls I eventually got what I wanted. As far as the people on the other end of the phone were concerned dealing with my claim. I was just another caller

Is it structural damage or did your kit get damaged? I ask as many companies have a limit on claims value.

If the roof is leaking to minimise damage get some builders plastic laid in the loft.

[Skars]

Oh and if you can afford it I would speak with a solicitor and get them to write a strong letter to the housing association/property management company explaining that you will be seeking full compensation for all your kit/time spent/costs and materials from them.

[banners]

Try if you can to channel the water away. It sounds obvious, but in the face of panic and heartache the mind can do strange things.

A chap I used to work with had a similar problem with a flat roof that suddenly sprang leaks, his solution was to drawing pin string to the ceiling and dangle it in to buckets. The builder thought it was hilarious!

I had a leak across a ply-board sheet in the roof @ work. I mounted a hook in the wall drilled a hole in some guttering, mounted that to the hook and secured the other end and again tried some string to guide the water and stop the constant dripping.

Some hassle involved but you can try to help the situation. It should in my mind help with the insurance as you've tried to help prevent damage, although don't qoute me on that!

Good luck

Steve

[jro7563]

Really sorry to hear that, i was following your progress as this was looking to be a good one, have to agree with skars regarding going to the press, it wont undo whats been done, but it will give the property company some bad press which im sure they wont like but sound like they deserve and just might get them to put there arse into gear.

Best of luck.

[Macron]

Cheers guys. I've put som plastic sheeting in the loft which is catching all the water but its still a real mess.

We're just hoping the whole ceiling won't need to be re done but we won't know till someone finally comes to look at it.

Don't suppose (clutching at straws) there's anyone here who's a solicitor who's feeling helpful or even anyone who works for a newspaper?

[MasterYoda]

hope it all works out. Had a flat roof leak last winter and it was a big stress until fixed. Luckily it didn't do any long term damage once it dried out. Nothing a bit of paint didn't fix anyway.

[jro7563]

Had a word with the wife who works in housing (booooo) and she said, the structure/fabric of the property is 100% the responsibility of the landlord/property company/lease holder, its there responsibility to make sure the property (amongst other things) is water tight, her advice is, to seek the help of your local counciler to kick up a stink, she also said that getting in touch with the local paper (a favourite tactic of her tenants as this normaly gets them what they want) normaly helps the property company get there finger out and fullfill there obligation.

[enablerbro1]

I can't imagine that the press would be all that interested to be honest. Why would they? If it was a little old lady or small children with kittens but a young couple on their todd?

Just checked out your thread Macron, that's a serious amount of hard work undone by possible neglect on the part of the people who own the freehold to the property. The matter should now be down to the freeholders building insurers putting things right. I hope all your kit is well out of it and presume the insurers will get people in to dry out the damage and, once dry, put things right. I also hope you hadn't got past the lining stage for papering, I hate papering and if I'd down that lot and had it all ruined I'd be seething. Do you have home insurance because it might be worth passing everything on to them to chase up with those responsible.

[imjay]

Being in the U.S. I can't imagine what options are available under law in U.K.

Have you thought of the Health Department? How old is the structure? Is it possible built with asbestos laced materials?

Water intrusion as described can cause breakdown of materials possibly releasing things not healthy for humans.

Once our son was renting a small bungalow and the room suffered a major leak causing a partial collapse of roofing/construction material in the kitchen area and the owner wasn't moving very fast to do anything about it.

I called in the building authorities and threatened the public health authorities due to possible chemical and asbestos contamination and suddenly the owner thought it best to get that roof repaired very quickly.

Use your imagination to consider all the different regulatory authorities that might have jurisdiction due to the water intrusion - plus where we live our State has a Landlord and Tenant law that clearly defines landlord responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy property for his tenants with serious consequences for owners/managers that fail to keep their properties up to that code and standard.
goodluck

[Shockabuku]

What a nightmare, I feel for you. We lost a load of stuff in the floods last year, and in fact my wife & daughter were even stranded on the top floor, requiring rescuing by firemen in boats, whilst I was stuck in Geneva airport with a cancelled flight . Anyway, it might seem like a long haul, but with luck it will all get put right, just hassle the relevant people constantly, as it seems to be the noisy people who get sorted first in my experience. Best of luck.

[NewMan]

Originally Posted by Macron

...or even anyone who works for a newspaper?

Long shot, but whereabouts are you (PM me if you don't want to say in public). I know the editor of my local rag pretty well as he drinks in my local...

[Macron]

Originally Posted by NewMan

Long shot, but whereabouts are you (PM me if you don't want to say in public). I know the editor of my local rag pretty well as he drinks in my local...

I live in Harrogate.

Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

[NewMan]

Argh, figured it'd be a long-shot.

Sorry mate, 'twas a nice setup. It's small consolation, but at least the kit'll be replaced - at least you had pictures of it all, that should help no end with the insurance claim.

I reckon going to the local rag is still a good idea, check their website, there should be a contact email address.