Getting Property Management Company To Pay For Damage

[Chris G.]

Hi everyone I have an issue which I'm not sure how to handle. Late December a third story apartment flooded and messed up our unit which is on the first floor. It was late at night so we had to send a vendor out for the emergency charge. The water was so bad they had to drill holes in the ceiling to release the water. They had to use about 10 blower machines over the next few days to dry the unit out. There was a current tenant living there so we had to move him to another unit, which we couldn't rent due to him now staying there. I contacted the property manager who managed the 3rd story apartment that leaked and she basically sent over someone to look at our unit and said only a few things would need to be replaced. Not true the ceiling needed to be patched and painted, carpet replaced due to all the stains and mold, the bathroom vanity replaced from moisture damage and the bill paid for the drying company. The manager never offered to hire anyone so I did it all myself around 1-2 months later in late January-February. Once everything got fixed I tried reaching out to let her know how much it would be and they don't want to deal with it now. The emergency bill and drying alone is around $2800 and if doesn't get paid will have lean on the owners property. $850 for painting and $400 for the carpet. The owner doesn't think she's responsible and I don't either but how can I get them to own up to the damage they did? I couldn't just wait for them to take their time if they ever did because it was 72 days the unit was unable to be rented. 

[Julie Hartman]

Quote from @Chris G.:

@Julie Hartman Yes the leak was caused by one of the showers leaking in their unit. Which caused damage to the 2nd story and ours on the 1st story below. The building does have an HOA although they aren't much help. I filed the report with them and all they said was the 3rd story was responsible. I'm the property manager of this unit so the owner for some reason won't file a claim since she believes her rates will rise.

It sounds like you have followed procedure as best as possible under the circumstances. The property owner either has increased insurance rates (no guarantee of that), OR they are paying for this out of pocket, they get to choose one of those but the do-nothing option is not on the table. I would do exactly what @Nathan Gesnersays. You may also consider reaching out to the owner of the 2nd floor unit about this because they were affected as well. It could bolster your case against the 3rd floor unit. They can't ignore two of you demanding recompense.