Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
One day several water stains appeared on the ceiling in my condo at the sheetrock seams, no new stains several weeks later, so it seemed like a one-time occurrence likely from spillage in the unit above and trickling down through the cracks in the floor. The owner above refuses to accept responsibility based on lack of hard evidence that he spilled anything and contending that a pipe inside the wall may be to blame.
Short of opening the walls, floors, and ceilings to see where the pipes go and whether anything could have leaked inside the walls, are there standard norms for deciding this kind of a dispute? If opening walls, etc. is required to come up with a proof, who is responsible for putting it all together? Thanks!!
1 Answer from Attorneys
You might make a claim against the HOA's insurance policy as well as the upstairs neighbor. Let them slog it out for the next two years. Also, you might let your carrier know. Perhaps they'll pay for the repair and then go after the others.