Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I am an owner in a condo complex i reside in the lower level unit, unit above had a toilet leak and caused damage to my bathroon ceiling. I am not allowed to know the owner of the upper units name, currently renters reside there. He sent his handyman (Jose) to inspect the damage to my ceiling as "THE OWNER" is out of state. This Jose viewed the damage and made several negative comments that left me uneasy, ie: "I am going to have to patch it so it will not look clean and smooth and I don't know if I can match the paint color." I asked Jose if it would be all right to utilize my current handyman of 18 yrs. His response was positive, "just submit an estimate and I will give to "THE OWNER". No contact from the handyman for a few days, I contacted him to ask the status. His response was, "THE OWNER" will not pay anyone else but me to repair, if you have any problems call the office and ask for Gary" So I called the office to ask for Gary and the receptionist identified the company as School Portraits by Kranz, my response to that was, "You are a portraits studio that performs construction work?" the receptionist placed me on hold, came back on line and emphatically stated, "you need to speak to Gary, he will call you when he is able". What recourse to I have??

Asked on 9/27/11, 12:14 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Philip Iadevaia Law Offices of Philip A. Iadevaia

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This is unsettling: you are "not allowed" to know the owner of the upper unit??? As an owner of the condo, you are a member of the association and have the right to know the names of all other members - out of state or not! Further, the damage caused to your ceiling can certainly be repaired and repainted - and it must be to your satisfaction. That handyman sounds lazy and unprofessional. A patch can be done pretty well, especially on a small ceiling like a bathroom. Here's your recourse. Confirm that the plumbing repair is complete so there are no further leaks. Then get two or three estimates to repair the ceiling and submit them to your insurance company and they will go after the upper unit owner for reimbursement. Or, you can repair the damage yourself and submit the invoice to the owner of the upper unit and if he refuses to pay, take him to the small claims court. Good luck.

BTW, you can ask a real estate agent for a "profile" of the upper unit to get the name of the title holder, then send a demand letter to that address.

Answered on 9/27/11, 12:25 pm

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