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A shareholder left on vacation, and a slow leak from his toilet caused damage to the unit below. Our property manager is saying that the co-op (Lessor) is responsible for the costs to repair to the plaster damage, and that the shareholder (Lessee) is only responsible for the cost of the painting in the apartment his toilet caused damage to.
Since the damage was not caused by a building system, (like a pipe inside the wall) why is the corporation responsible for any of the repair costs? Shouldn't the shareholder make a claim against his homeowners insurance or pay for all the repair costs or pay for it out of pocket if it doesn't meet the deductible?
Any opinions or experience with this?
Thank you
The toilet is not original to the unit, the fixture was installed during a remodel by the current shareholder.
I will need to check with the super to confirm if the leak was coming from the toilet itself or plumbing attached to it.
thank you everyone for your thoughts
You need to check the proprietary lease. Generally, the unit owner is responsible for the fixtures - toilets, sinks, faucets, radiators and valves, bathtubs. So, the repair/replacement of the toilet and damages below would be on the unit owner, not the corporation.
This might depend on the exact source of the leak. Is it the toilet bend? Then that is entirely coop responsibility and they should plaster and prime the damaged area below.
What else could it be? - an eternal pipe that attaches to the toilet? An external leak would probably have been evident and there may be a component of neglect here. If it is an original building component then, again, it is likely the coops's responsibly to plater and prime below area (not the final coats of paint.)
If the owner of the apt with the leaking toilet neglected to repair or request repair - for an obvious leak , this it would be his/her responsibility to remedy damages (including a finish coat of paint.)
Really this all depends on the exact source of leak and the circumstance. In any case, no need to notify insurance as the costs are low in such repairs. Plastering and painting a smallish area does not cost that much and it is not worth putting in a claim.
It is most likely the coop should be obligate to restore the area as suggested above.
Hello,
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Thank you,
Elisa Della Femina
Della Femina, Corbi & Associates
(212) 404-6233
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Is it the buildings toilet or the shareholders toilet and was the leak caused by the toilet or from the buildings plumbing to the unit?
Hi,
We had a situation where a toilet overflowed and damaged the 4th floor through to the basement in 3 apartments (condo units). It cost over $40,000 worth of damage. Our condo insurance paid for all but the deduction (I think it was $5,000) . We were able to get the deduction paid for by the unit owner's insurance whose toilet overflowed. They also were able to repair their unit with their insurance. We had just finished repairing our buildings from Sandy (hurricane) so we were aware of the dangers of mold and insisted on removing wet debris and drying the basement (worst damage) with fans even before the insurance adjuster assessed the damage. We had to engage in quite a bit of "discussion" with the insurer to make sure they covered all these costs as well. Because this all had an essentially happy ending, we now require all unit owners to have condo insurance. We did end up charging the unit owner for a plumber to repair the toilet so this wouldn't happen again (hopefully).
--Janie (Board President)
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Is the toilet that leaked an original fixture that was in place at the time the building became a co-op? Or, did a shareholder replace the original toilet with their own at some point?
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