Being On The Upper Floor Of A Flooded Apartment Building

Move valuable items that are at risk of damage from the upstairs flood to a separate area of your apartment.

Being on the upper floor of a flooded apartment building.

Legally a rented property has to be livable and meet all local housing laws concerning a residence. Almost all states give you the legal right to a livable apartment one where the front door locks the roof doesn t leak the utilities work and the floor is solid. With an upstairs flood chances are good that the water is coming into your apartment from a specific part of your ceiling. In the case of an apartment being a total loss after a flood the lease becomes effectively terminated automatically.

Most apartments will have a wood sub floor. Being surrounded by other people s unit above below and on the sides makes leaks inevitable from a neighbor s condo. The landlord is not required to pay for repairs of furniture or personal belongings. After all you re renting the space you don t own it.

The only exception to that rule would be if the landlord were at fault for improper plumbing maintenance or repairs to the unit. If the flooded apartment ends up with too much damage to remain livable you may have the right to terminate your lease without penalty. However the clog causing the drain backup is likely located beneath the affected apartment. If a storm floods your apartment so badly it s unlivable you can usually stop paying the rent and ask for any prepaid rent back.

If you live in an apartment or a condo you might be wondering if the wastewater from upper level units can cause a condo sink backup in a lower level unit. This includes structural repairs carpet cleaning replacement walls doors and so on. When you add in owners who may only live in the unit part time and other units that may be completely unoccupied the risk of a leak only goes up. If your property owner has another equivalent apartment available you could try and negotiate a move into that unit signing a new lease.

Your landlord is responsible for building and apartment repairs that are needed because of flooding. If the flooding was severe enough there could be damage to the flooring walls or other structural parts of the apartment. Assuming you didn t cause the water damage yourself your landlord is lawfully required to fix the damage to the apartment itself at his expense. There are instances where an upstairs neighbor falls asleep and leaves the tub running for example in which water can go through their floor into your apartment.

You should always consult with your landlord prior to making any structural changes. Maybe they ve left a leaky pipe unattended too long and it s leaked into your home rather than theirs. If need be transfer your stuff to a neighbor s apartment to your car or to waterproof storage.