Preventing Water Damage In Rental Properties

To be honest, doing something is better than doing nothing when it comes to sealing in baths and shower trays. My baths can go for up to 10 years without replacing the seal as its doesn't leak and doesn't go black & mouldy. If you think about it how many times do you really want to replace a seal on a bath ? Its not a great job and for a non DIY person its can look like a dogs breakfast !

Good idea !

The information given to us by lawyers over the years in response to queries on this subject are that the proceeds of an insurance claim are paid to the service charges and the costs of the repairs are a charge resulting in the policy excess being the net cost to the service charges.
If the damage was caused though negligence there might be a case for claiming the excess from the negligent party, assuming that the negligence can be proved. You do not give details of the circumstances in which the flat upstairs paid the excess to you but you do seem to indicate that the excess has increased, presumably because of the number of claims or value thereof
With regard to your other point I am unsure what damage a block managing agent could cause in an individual flat when their remit extends only to the communal areas.

Two little tips I could add. Use silicone sealant around the edges of the vinyl flooring to stop any splashes finding their way to the ceiling below. And if the walls and ceilings are insulated they won't attract as much condensation therefore less black mould as condensation needs a cold surface to form on.

Recently, a tenant experienced some bathroom sink blockage problem, he did not inform me of any problems, so started to tackle the blockage himself using the widely available drain cleaner crystals.
(Usually caustic soda) for a little while it seemed to work and then the situation is back to square one, on top of that there was a slightly dripping tap, or a tap that needed closing hard. So one day, the last person to leave that flat was a sub tenant (room mate) who left the 1st floor flat for his work around 12pm, and by 4pm, the dripping tap which had not been fully closed hard, had caused the bath sink to overflow and the water found its way downstairs, wetting a child's cot, its matteress, and other ceiling damp, the occupier from ground floor realised the rips landing on his baby's cot, knocked on the upstairs door, but there was no answer, so he called the police, who thought the occupants upstairs may have collapsed, so they gained a forcefull entery and broke the main door and two other locked room doors to make sure no one had collapsed, and finally they went to the bathroom to close the dripping tap, the sink was obviously overflowing.
To cut the story short, i am being sued for the damage to flat downstairs, and a cost of a new materess, plus for other damage to the ceiling below, and to replace 3 smashed doors the police kicked in. I held the main tenant with whom I have the tenancy agreement responsible for not informing me of any problems, so I am now in a dispute with him as to how much it will cost to put everything right.

Hi Richard,

Excellent point well made.........

Sometimes "non building trained" Landlords can miss such good tips as this and forget that a good level of insulation is invaluable in keeping the bathroom warm.

Steve.....

Great advice, Steve. These are some great steps to take in order to avoid water and mold damage. It should also be noted that these fixes are much cheaper than having a professional come in and fix some damage that could have been prevented much earlier.

Just seem my post of 10.10.12; I don't think I was totally correct.
Buildings damage is covered by my buildings policy which I pay with service charges though if it is in my flat and not caused by builders or MA then a £500 excess is due from me! or I claim from the flat above if it caused the problem.

Education and preparation are the best forms of prevention. Avoiding water damage may be as simple as letting your tenants know what practices will cause mold and what habits can prevent mold growth. There will always be those who will ignore your requests, but many will comply as living with mold is dangerous to your health.