Leakage from my flat (bathroom) damaging below flats ceiling

sir,
you seem to have done your due deligence with respect to spending for fixing the issue in the past,based on what you had written.. and you have now seem to be a easy target for them to point fingers..if they still pester that the fault is only from yours, have them spend from their pocket to pay for a professional service like plumber to inspect your floor and all the floors above and  confirm that it is indeed from you and tell them you need a official copy of the same to move forward with any fix forward..

Good. But what about the 8 years clause. Does it exist?

not sure what OC mean..but it is usually 1 yr from date of handover as a warranty period for newly constructed flats from builders.

OC is Occupation Certificate... Construction warranty upon purchase is just 1 year? Isn't that weir? You pay lakhs of rupees for a good construction n it warranties only 1 year.... Can some one verify this information as i will have to make an informed decision regarding this .

You have not stated in which State and in which city you are? Also please tell us whether it is a registered Society, what type of Society it is, that is whether it is a Co-operative Society or any other form of Society.

I'm based at Mumbai, Maharashtra. It's a cooperative housing society

Unless it has been specified in a contract relevant , the Consumer Protection Act specifies a limitation period of two years, as far as I can recall presently. That is, if a product / service suffers from a deficiency proceedings in Consumer Forum can be initiated within such period.

 

Builders are covered in the Consumer Protection Act.

 

So, weird as it may sound, that is what the law is. Unless you have a contract to the contrary.

If you have done nothing in your flat that could have resulted in the damage or leakage, the work on all boundaries of your flat are that of the Society. Boundaries are outer walls, common walls between flats, floor and ceiling. You need not have done the work in the kitchen. As for leakage from your floor to the lower floor, it is also the responsibility of the Society. You and the lower floor member or either of you alone can write to the Society to repair it. If they do not take action go to consumer court against the Society. You pray to the consumer court to make the Society pay you compensation for the inconvenience suffered until the Society repairs the leakage. That will bring pressure on the Society to do the work.

I always thought problems such as these were the responsibility of the house from where the leakage etc was occurring due broken pipes etc, not of the Cooperative Soiciety.

 

So actual case / law citations would be appreciated. Thanks.

Please see the attached press-cutting

Thanks Dr. Ramani, can you also help me with a circular or some kind of a reference basis which i can raise this with my society... It will really be helpful.

Dr. Ramani, in the attached news papar article the leakage was from Terrace which becomes a part of the society, hence they were bound to pay for repairs but in my case its my flat and below owners are suffering. Does this imply that cost will be bourne by me.

Secondly, 'Nani trap' is this considered a part of House or outside house repair. Request you to please assist.

I have attached herewith byelaw No.160 of the new Model byelaws. I have underlined the words relevant to your case. But be careful. The Society or their lawyers may point to byelaw No.160(b) which deals with internal leakages within the flat. You do not refer yourself to it. But if they point out your argument should be as follows. 160(b) applies only for leakages which are exclusively within a single flat and not from one flat to another. All flat-boundaries are property of the Society. This applies to horizontal boundaries,floor/ceiling between flats also. During construction the builder should ensure that the horizontal boundaries and embedment in them such as pipes and fittings are laid properly and tested. Initially it will be the responsibility of the builder and when his responsibility expires it is deemed to be taken over by the Society. In due course if leakages or defects develop due to normal wear and tear, then also it will be the responsibility of the Society. However if the upper flat owner carries out some work resulting in leakage into the lower flat, then the upper flat owner should be held responsible. There is also another case of Mithul Enclave Co-operative Housing Society in Mumbai. I am not enclosing that as the case is not similar to yours.