The leaseholder in this case complained of failures on the part of the managing agent for the block in dealing with and resolving the issue of a water leak at the property.

The leaseholder complained of a lack of communication by the agent and queried whether the agent had promptly submitted an insurance claim for the damage to the property. 

The water leak was caused following a period of very heavy rain when an overflow of water from the balcony of the flat above leaked into the ceiling and down the interior walls of the complainant’s property.

The agent was not available on the day of the leak and took three days to respond to the complainant. They said they were trying to contact the tenants in the above property to resolve the issue and also needed the insurers’ consent to carry out any repairs. They asked the complainant to wait for this before instructing a contractor to repair the damage to the property.

It took six months after the water leak had occurred for the agent to obtain the necessary authority to allow the complainant to arrange for the repairs to be carried out in their flat.

Whilst the agent was not responsible for the leak which was caused by a substantial amount of rain, the Ombudsman considered that there has been a significant lack of communication between them and the complainant regarding the internal repairs to the property.  The repairs had not been carried out, and the claim settled, until more than six months after the event.

The agent, in their correspondence to TPO, accepted that there was a lack of communication.  Whilst they had no control over the speed at which the insurance company acted, they could have been more proactive in following this up, and even where there were no updates, they should have kept the complainant informed rather than having no communication whatsoever.

The Outcome

The Ombudsman supported the complaint.