How a water leak became a $150k fight between two condo owners

Owners of unit downstairs claim loss of income after leak drives tenant away

- Tan Ooi Boon

A water seepage between two apartments escalated into a rental drama when the owners of the affected unit demanded over $150,000 in compensation for losing a tenant due to the leak.

The owners of a condo unit accused their neighbours above of failing to fix the problem, which in turn drove their new tenant away as the leak affected the master bedroom's en suite bathroom.

While the upstairs neighbours were willing to rectify the fault, they were prevented from doing so because the owners downstairs denied them entry, saying they would plug the leak from their unit.

So it came as a surprise later when the owners of the downstairs unit pursued their case at the Strata Titles Board, claiming $150,000 in compensation.

This amount was derived mostly from their loss of rental income over five years because the first tenant who terminated the lease due to the leak would have paid more than the later tenant.

The owners even called a contractor who helped them fix the leak as their expert witness at the hearing, to point the finger at the neighbours for not resolving the problem properly.

But they lost their claim for the rent compensation on a legal technicality - they had not paid to stamp the tenancy agreements, which rendered the contracts inadmissible as evidence.

Moreover, they did not call the original tenant to testify that the leakage was the reason he ended his five-year lease.

The Strata Board also found that the upstairs neighbours were not at fault for the rental loss because their workers had not been permitted to enter the unit downstairs to fix the problem.

But since they had agreed to pay for the repairs, the board ruled that they should pay $10,000 as compensation for water damage.

The owners downstairs were unhappy with the ruling and appealed to the High Court, this time armed with a statement from the original tenant as well as the stamped copy of the second tenancy agreement.