We have a couple of fats that are let through an estate agent. One flat is between tenants so the agent had instructed a cleaning company to go in to clean after a bit of decorating had been done. On Tuesday night we get a phone call from the tenant in the flat below to report water coming through the ceiling from the flat above where the cleaning had taken place that day. The agents did not answer the emergency phone number so we had to get a friend to break into the basement to turn off the electricity and water to the whole building as we didn’t want to break into the actual flat as that would have meant breaking two doors down. We tried to contact the cleaner to see if he still had the keys to the flat as he had been working in their that day, no answer as it was 10pm so left a message. When we woke up in the morning the cleaner had responded to the text and been to the flat at 4am on his own apparently to see if he could help. He had let himself into the flat and reported that the rising main was leaking which he magically fixed.

Our suspicion is that he had done something to cause the leak and been back at 4am to cover his tracks. The Agent is now saying it is down to us and our insurance to repair the damage. Surely the agent should cover this expense with their own insurance.

Should we report it to our insurance company is their any legal things that we can quote to the agent or get advice from to put pressure on them to admit responsibility

Any advice gratefully received.

Can`t see why the agent is accountable unless you have proof that they are at fault.If a self employed cleaner did cause the problem it would be down to his liability insurance anyway.I think you need a plumber to inspect the problem and give an opinion

How much damage is there? What does it look like to you?

Damage is carpets and chipboard floor that needs drying or in the case of the floor may need replacing and is under the kitchen where the leak seems to have come from, no where near the rising main. The lights keep tripping in the flat below, might be still wet or might need replacing.

How did the cleaner repair the rising main? Sounds sus.

I’d be looking to get couple of dehumidifiers running tonight in the flat. In the kitchen, remove the kick boards and put a fan or two in there to force the air circulation. Carpet without underlay might dry out OK, with felt or rubber crumb, I’d be looking to lift the carpet straight away, probably removing the underlay, dry the floor but laying the carpet flat again to dry, crossing my fingers that it’s reusable.

Take a bottle of wine and some flowers round to the downstairs neighbours, and offer to drop light fixtures/roses down and supply them with plug in lighting until it dries out(flush spotlights?) and refit in a day or two. Offering to get their system checked again soon by a good sparky would be a nice touch too.

I’d be making sure I had keys too, so no-one needs to go breaking in anywhere, anytime. As for who pays? I’d not be worrying about that yet, but would be looking mostly at getting a new agent if they don’t sort it. How much is your LL insurance excess? Mine is £250, hence my first question about how bad the damage is. Also getting them involved might slow things down if you have a tenant due to move in.