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The water is coming from above. What now?

A leak from another apartment is one of the most frustrating situations in a building: you have the damage, but not the key. Here is what you can do, in the right order.

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We take over contact with the neighboursInvestigation in both apartmentsOne report for all parties

What are you running into?

Tap what applies to you.

Frustrating, but not hopeless. The owners' association often has the right to demand access for investigation of communal parts, and the deed of division usually states that explicitly. Report it to your property manager or board and let them request access from the owner in writing. If nothing happens, court proceedings are possible — but it rarely comes to that.
For a rented or empty apartment, contact runs through the owner rather than the occupant. Your property manager has those details. In an acute leak the board can, as a last resort, have the apartment opened to prevent worse; record that in advance.
That may well be true. Water travels along structures and often surfaces metres away from the source. Acoustic detection and thermal imaging establish that objectively, without anything having to be broken open first.
Do not wait for agreement. Limit the damage first — turn off the mains where you can, move your belongings, take photos — and have the investigation done afterwards. Almost every policy obliges you to limit damage, and doing nothing can be held against you later.
Then it is time for an independent report. As long as both parties tell a different story, no insurer will move. One document with readings and photos ends that.
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How we handle it

  1. You report the damage

    To us, or to your property manager. We take it over from that moment.

  2. We contact the neighbours

    Neutrally, on behalf of the case file. That usually works better than a request from the neighbour themselves.

  3. Investigation in both apartments

    We inspect at your place and at the source, so the picture is complete.

  4. A report for both parties

    The same document, the same facts. That is what settles the discussion.

  5. Repair

    After approval from the insurer concerned we carry out the repair.

What it costs

A leak detection is a separate assignment at a fixed rate, which you hear in advance. Many insurers reimburse tracing costs when the leak itself is covered — send your policy schedule and we will check that before we come.

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Questions we are often asked

May I enter my neighbours' apartment myself?

No. Even with a leak you have no right to enter another apartment. Access runs through the owner, or through the association where communal parts are concerned. Contact your property manager or board.

What if the neighbour keeps refusing?

The board can formally summon them on the basis of the deed of division. If they still refuse, interim proceedings are possible. In practice it rarely comes to that, certainly not once an independent party makes the request rather than the neighbour.

Who pays for the investigation if it turns out not to be the neighbours?

The rate is known in advance and does not change with the outcome. Who pays depends on who gives the instruction and what the insurer reimburses. Send your policy schedule and terms and we will look into it before we come.

Can I have repairs done in the meantime?

Better not. Repairing before the inspection makes the cause untraceable and can harm your claim. Do limit the damage, photograph the situation as it is, and wait with finishing until it has been recorded.

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