property
Neighbor has a leak on their ceiling
<p>I am having an issue with my downstairs neighbor. The neighbor has a damaged leaking ceiling with brownish color (which might be an issue for a long time) and is saying that the wet ceiling was observed just a few days ago.</p>
<p>We have had heavy rain pouring over the past few days. The neighbor continues insisting that it is my fault even though I do not have a leak on my end. I contacted the property management right away and called a plumber.</p>
<p>He came in and inspected my 2 bathrooms and found NO leak. He suggested it might be an issue with the roof or the ventilation but I still provided my insurance to the neighbor. I communicated this to the association but now he doesn’t believe my plumber’s inspection and he personally is making an accusation that this issue is from my unit. I find this unacceptable because the property manager is not a plumber but he has these demands and tells me that the plumber needs to remove my toilet and take a look.</p>
<p>Why would they come in and mess with my toilet if it turns out it is not actually the toilet but the roof instead? Let me know what you think but I believe they should cut into my neighbor's ceiling and figure out the source of the leak and if it is my toilet okay go ahead and fix it. Especially when I already provided my insurance details.</p>

<p>From the legal perspective, nobody has to do anything until the court orders somebody to do something. The most likely order from a court would be &quot;compensate X for your actions or inactions&quot;. Barring some peculiar circumstance, either you or the HOA would be liable to the downstairs person. You can look at the CCRs to see who is responsible for what, which mainly involves finding boundaries (where is the unit, and where are the common areas?). At some point, someone has to figure out what caused the damage. It is possible that via negligence, you caused damage (maybe the plumber was simply wrong); or maybe this is about rain, the ventilation system, and the common areas where the HOA is responsible. Whatever the case may be, the person below would sue to recover his cost of fixing the problem.</p>
<p>Property owners often have insurance that insures against damage to their property – it sounds like you have such insurance, and the guy below has insurance. It's also possible that the HOA has insurance. Each insurer has a duty to their client, so the company of the guy below has a duty to him (they protect his interest), your insurer protects your interest, etc.</p>
<p>The guy below is not required to figure out what the problem is and who to sue, he just has to notify his insurance company of the problem, and start the process of making a claim. That company naturally wants to limit their losses and collect from whoever is ultimately legally liable. You are under no legal obligation to respond to a neighbor's accusation, until the issue is formally escalated (the threat of a lawsuit, directly filed by him or by his insurance company). You don't have to accept or reject his beliefs.</p>
<p>If there are no insurance companies involved, and if you are certain that this is the responsibility of the HOA, then you would probably not consider taking on unnecessary expenses to diagnose the problem. The guy below would have to shoulder the burden of proving that it is either you or the HOA that is liable.</p>
