I always read about upper floor (UF) unit owners and lower floor (LF) unit owners engage in disputes over interfloor water seepage issues.
And it seems that the developers/MCST are AUTOMATICALLY not responsible parties for such cases ( i am referring not non-external. non-common areas ).
Many times, seepages are not due to any hacking of floors. In fact, there may not have been any renovation activities ( eg. in bathrooms ) since both the owners move in.
Regardless, LF and UF owners will need to resolve and end up as the parties paying the bills for repairs.
Questions are:
- Why would this not be something that the developers are held responsible for?
- Is there a warranty period against interfloor seepage and how long does this last upon TOP?
- Why would either UF or LF owners be responsible for the leaks ( assuming there had been no 'additional' renovation whatsover to the bathroom from the time the owners took over the units from the developers ) ? Does this not obviously become an issue about the quality of the construction/materials/workmanship etc?
Can anyone enlighten? Trying to also understand the rationale for this?
Developers warranty their water proofing for up to 10 years. You have to check the contract the developer has with the main contractor. Ask the managing agent.
The main contractor will fix the interfloor leak if it is still within the warranty period. The warranty do not cover leaking pipes. You have to ascertain that the waterproofing failed in order to hold the main contractor liable.
The MCST is not responsible for interfloor leaks, as it is not fair to all the owners to foot the bill, because the maintenance fee they pay is for the common areas and facilities, and not for the individual units.