So a plumber has forced access into a flat I own because of a leak downstairs.

So my letting agent just phoned to tell me that the flat below mine had water coming in from somewhere. Because my tenant works away no one was in to speak to, so the plumber for the flats downstairs has forced access to my flat and has proceeded to lift the carpet and floorboards to investigate and found nothing because I’m told the leak is still ongoing.

Floorboards have been put back down but the carpet hasn’t been fixed back and I’ve no idea what condition the door is in. Info is patchy because all the info is 3rd hand to my letting agent. Factors won’t pass on details to my letting agent for contact details of owner downstairs. My letting is primarily is phoning to ask for my authorisation to send they’re own guy out to investigate. The letting agent has told me they are allowed to force access if the water ingress was that bad and police presence is was in attendance but the tenant downstairs has said the police gave permission on the phone but I don’t actually know if they were there.

I’m raging and so is my tenant. Where do I stand in all this? I want to go and see the damage this afternoon while my letting agent send they’re guy round.

Any advice?

Go round and have a look?

I want to but I think I need permission from my tenant if he’s not in surely?

I reckon if he’s working away he’ll want you to check it out. Give him a ring and ask him if it’s ok to go round while he’s not in!!

I assume IANAL you can attend to make sure its secure

Surely the folk who broke in need to leave it secure as well

Just go round and have a look. If the law does not allow it then the law is an arse.

Don’t have any contact with the tenant directly it’s fully managed. I’m just waiting for the guy who looks after the property management getting back from lunch to phone so I can tell him I want to go and look at it. I’m sure the tenant would feel better if he knew I wanted to go and check it out.

I’m obviously going to pay for any damages to get repaired so the tenant isn’t put out but where do I even start with recovering costs, thats even if I have any claim to them. If I find out the police were not in attendance I’m considering phoning the police and reporting it.

Well from the police side of things, there is a power to force entry to prevent damage to property (this exact scenario being the one usually used at police school). Never heard of that power being sub-contracted out by telephone though.

Get full details of the folk working on the flat below and if possible, who entered your flat.. Go round and get pictures etcetera…. Your tenant will thank you for being proactive I think… Plus if its fully managed, the agent should be on it as well IMHO

Plumber should have turned water off at mains outside, to stop water, rung police and asked for a police presence.

No way should a proffesional tradfesman force entry to an occupied flat without police in attendance, something could have been stolen etc,and if police force door then they pay for damage.Unless they have a warrant to search.

Fire brigade also have power to force entry if fire or smoke is seen or other serious risk to life, but if a general risk need police in attendance and give authority.

project +1

As a landlord I think this is a matter between yourself & whoever forced the entry, leak or no leak. It’s your property & someone else has gained access. You need to find out who it was IE his name & who he or she works for (if applicable) I wouldn’t want the same person who forced the entry to be making good the damage that they’ve caused. There’s a conflict of interest there straight away. If you trust your agent get them round & get an estimate for the damage to be rectified properly & to you complete satisfaction.

If water was coming into my flat from above I’d be taking whatever steps were needed to find the origin, and if it seemed probable that it was coming from the empty flat above then sorry, but …

I’m guessing the police will have a record of officers in attendance and notes on what happened when they attended?

pitchforks are out already and we dont even know if the police were there yet. i love this place.

Yes, but what would you do in the situation where the wrong flat was broken in to, as is the case here ?

D

drJ said » If water was coming into my flat from above I’d be taking whatever steps were needed to find the origin, and if it seemed probable that it was coming from the empty flat above then sorry, but

said the defendant when he was found in an un occupied flat, claiming to be looking for a water leak, police officers who arrested him failed to find any such water leak .

Dr J now jailed for burglary

You need to be satisfied the place is secure. You are acting in your tenant’s interest as well as your own. Go see what’s going on.

why not look on here
http://www.property118.com/category/property-forum/

its full of rich landlords yacking on about their worries

isnt this a bike forum,

The plumber is liable for any damage caused entering your property which he has done illegally. I would report it to the police and send him a letter. You should also report the incident to your insurance company.

Whilst it may seem reasonable to try and stop the water flow you can’t just go round breaking into people’s property.

You’re agent should be sorting this for you, at the expense of the flat/resident/agent downstairs. The sorting should also include, photo’s (lots of), inventory, and re-secure by TWO people together, or even police. Your property has been broken into after all. I’d be real pi55ed off. Insurance company needs informing if it’s not secured Asap, plumbers details needed etc. Knowing how forced entry works (to an extent through my job) I’d be shocked if the police authorised this over the phone and didn’t feel the need to be present. You’re tenants now a shiny Breitling and iPad down after all

If the leak turned out to be elsewhere, I’d be a bit peeved if my flat was entered without consent. If not I’d probably be grateful that someone had saved me a big bill for repair to downstairs ceiling.

Maybe my thoughts are coloured a bit by my own experience of having an awkward upstairs neighbour who refused to give a plumber access to change the common drain pipe that leads though his flat and mine, resulting in me having a temporary drain pipe through my bedroom (very nice when the guy on the top floor gets up in the night to take a dump), and then to make matters worse refused to give access to allow his leaking wet room to be fixed by the landlord.

“Tell me who owns the downstairs property so that I can send them a bill or I’ll be reporting a break in, possibly a burglary”

why not look on here
http://www.property118.com/category/property-forum/

its full of rich landlords yacking on about their worries

One of the reasons its getting more and more expensive to rent is some people like to make profit/make money/drive up prices for those less fortunate…..but thats another topic too.

One of the reasons its getting more and more expensive to rent is some people like to make profit/make money/drive up prices for those less fortunate

You mean not all landlords do it for the warm, cuddly feeling they get inside?! Good lord, that’s insane! Next you’ll tell me people want a salary in exchange for going to work!

Comrade njee you need to see the sense of living an agrarian existence.

O.K so here’s where I’m at with further info I’m told not to take it as gospel until letting agent confirms. The plumber called the police for access but the police responded saying they wouldn’t attend unless a plumber and joiner were in attendance. No joiner was in attendance so the plumber gained access.

I’m told the ceiling below has fallen in and this may have been caused by leak from a pipe leading to the boiler but nobody can confirm that or if it was even fixed. The tenant downstairs cannot provide details of plumber just they were called Elite or similar. The letting agent that looks after the flat downstairs cannot be found with the company name the tenant below provided which I struggle to believe. Ross and Liddell won’t help my letting agent as intermediaries as they won’t provide owners details of flat below due to data protection. My letting agent are now hoping the owner from downstairs contact them to gather all information. I don’t understand why they would but the guy who I’ve been dealing with say they often come looking to flat above looking for costs to repair damaged ceiling. I know I’m not liable for that but some people aren’t aware of this.

The door has been secured and closes as well as it has done but the lock a little wobbly. I can meet my tenant at the property tonight after 6pm for a chat. If the owners below have not contacted my letting agents by 4pm I’ve instructed my letting agents to call the police and report it. I’ve instructed my letting agent to fix floorboards and refit carpet and fix wobbly lock but not until I’ve seen it myself.

I’m told the ceiling below has fallen in and this may have been caused by leak from a pipe leading to the boiler but nobody can confirm that or if it was even fixed.

Again from my own experience – when water has come in from above, it was MY ceiling and walls that got destroyed looking for the leak, not the guy upstairs.

What’s all this twaddle about people being “in attendance”? If you wrote simple plain English you’d probably get simple plain advice in reply.

*ducks and runs*

I’m told the ceiling below has fallen in and this may have been caused by leak from a pipe leading to the boiler but nobody can confirm that or if it was even fixed.
Again from my own experience – when water has come in from above, it was MY ceiling and walls that got destroyed looking for the leak, not the guy upstairs.

Previous leak into flat beneath me (major drama!) was investigated by Glasgow City Council environmental health, factors Ross and Liddell and a plumber from tenants below, and it was actually found to be coming from another flat across the landing, kinda diagonally above the flat below.

The plumber called the police for access but the police responded saying they wouldn’t attend unless a plumber and joiner were in attendance. No joiner was in attendance so the plumber gained access.

So the police may know who the plumber was and importantly, the plumber entered your flat without police consent which is in effect, breaking in…

Has your agents agent appeared yet ?

OP if the leak is from your flat you will be liable for the repairs downstairs. However the plumber will be liable for the damage he has caused to your flat. I would be a little suspicious about the “some guy from ELITE but I don’t know who”. The plumber didn’t “gain access” he broke in.

How did they get through the lock I wonder?

Have you seen it for yourself yet?

it was actually found to be coming from another flat across the landing, kinda diagonally above the flat below.

Yeah – water does that 🙁 It ran diagonally above my kitchen ceiling from the place where the leak was (actually overflowing cistern upstairs) to where it found a way in to run down the wall, from corner to corner, necessitating replacing the whole lot.

Has your agents agent appeared yet ?

Spoke with him on the phone, he was the one that gave me the details about the plumber, joiner etc. All that comes from my tenant who has been told this from the tenant below. (Why I’ve been told not to take it as gospel.)

Everything is pretty much on hold until after 4pm to see if the owners downstairs get in touch. My tenant is ok with the door and how secure it is. He just mentioned its a little wobbly.

Have you seen it for yourself yet?

Not yet will go and meet tenant tonight after 6pm when he is in. Unfortunately I don’t live in Glasgow anymore and I need to have the tenant there when I go, which I feel more comfortable with.

Ross and Liddell won’t help my letting agent as intermediaries as they won’t provide owners details of flat below due to data protection.

try the land registry they keep details of most property owners along with mortgage providors,

Good work stepping up and looking after your tennant btw…