My downstairs has reported a problem with damp on his bathroom ceiling. As my bathroom is directly above he is saying I have a leak. I've had a look at the damp and it's a long line of black from one wall to the other. It is on the side where I would have pipes but would a leak cause a long line like that?
A photo would be useful, if you had two sheets of plasterboard butted up, then water could I suppose run along the groove,especially if there is a fall on ceiling & giving you the black line on ceiling below.
It might be condensation causing mould as a result of his own use of his bathroom and nothing to do with you. A bathroom leak tends to result in damage to the ceiling finish and a discharge of fluid. As KIAB says a photo would be a big help.
Thanks all. Afraid the neighbour can be quite aggressive so I'm a bit wary of going back in to take a photo and his house is quite unsavoury too. I was going down the lines of lack of ventilation that was causin it bit seemed strange it was a straight line. Sounds like I'll need to get someone out to check everything my end just to keep him happy.
If it's literally a thin 'line' of black, then fair chance it's from a leak I'm afraid. As said above, the water will find the easiest way through, and this sounds like it's between a join betwixt p'board sheets. Condensation mould will tend to be a dappled black area, usually in the corners where walls meet ceilings as there's less air movement there to clear the condensed damp. You obviously ain't going to start ripping up your floor or anything until he allows you in for a proper look, tho'. If he's being truly belligerent, then record this in case it goes further. Just tell the guy that you'll sort it if it is your leak, but you'll need evidence of this first - hence the photo. If he makes this difficult, tell him there isn't anything you can do about it. Then write down everything that was said by you both, dated and timed.
Had plumber out this morning. All pipes checked with access boards taken up in bathroom, kitchen checked, outside checked and everything is bone dry. Plumber has been great and taken photos (think they would have done this for there own records anyway) but are going to give me a copy of them along with a report saying nothing found which I can give to the neighbour. Thanks everyone for their input
Good position, well done for the actions. I don't suppose for 1 minute you will expect your plumbers bill to be paid by your neighbour. But it might be worth letting him know how much it has cost you to investigate, so he understands you took the situation seriously.
Na there will be no hope in him paying I'm afraid. I was thinking of giving him a copy of the bill as well just to show how much it was and prove it was someone independant. There's a separate issue of potent cooking smells coming from his flat which i believe could be from gis fan duct. He is refusing to address and chose to try and divert me with the damp in the bathroom along with allegations of damaging his property when I wasn't even in the property (still because of me apparently). So I feel there may be more disputes to follow, the joys.
Neighbours eh, especially in flats and shared accommodation. So glad to be out of the flat I was in for 5 years and in a great place of my own. Just have pesky neighbours on my adjoining side but I can live with that. My Dad told me a great retort if a neighbour says they are going to take action against you. "You must do whatever you believe to be right".
Aw he's just a nightmare! From what the others have said he caused issues with the previous owners of my flat as well. She must of really upset him as he was telling folk she sold herself on the Internet. As soon as I heard that I kept him at arms length. Aw glad you got yourself sor Ted, my next place will be detached with a massive wall surrounding it haha. Ooh like that come back, will definately be using that thanks
Good result, Kjam, even tho' you had to fork out for it. What a hellish situation with the smell. That's one of these situations where it's all grey areas, so very hard to deal with. I'm guessing it's 'just' unpleasant, and not outright choking?! If the latter, then your local environmental health will investigate, but it might be tough if it's a case of 'unpleasant while it lasts, but it's only at tea-time...' All I can suggest is - if you haven't already done so - start recording every incident of smell, timed and dated, along with details. If there are any witnesses, record this too. Also record every contact you have with this nut - gist of conversations, as much actual detail of words used, etc. Also check your household insurance to confirm you have Legal Protection included. (If not, add it on renewal...) LP is not the end-all, but it will be useful if something serious happens, or if he tries to intimidate or threaten you with action. (They won't always act, unfortunately - it has to be a pretty clear 'win' case, and also of a reasonable level of seriousness. For instance, an elderly couple my in-laws know live on a neat estate where the deeds have a restrictive covenant on caravans being parked outside the homes. One new neighb has ignored this, and whilst it can be actioned by the courts, this couple's LP would not cover it.)
Thanks. Mm the smell is really bad, I've only a one bedroom flat so it is small. But I keep my doors closed and the smell can be so bad I've been woken up by it because I can taste it, so it's effectively travelling through 3 closed doors. I think I'll put a note with the plumbers report saying he needs to get the fan checked out. Environmental health is on stand by lol. I've spoken to them and they're more than happy to investigate but I decided to wait and try and approach him again. Like you said the big problem is that's it's random, so I really need to get one of the environmental folk to move in for a bit haha. I actually recorded the conversations. I know you need to watch with the legality of this if it was used in court, but because of how he twists things I wanted a record for myself anyway, so could take enter from these if need be. Good idea with the legal protection. I'll definately check this as I think I possibly removed this. Thanks for the input.
Problem with environmental health is that they come out only when they can - so will almost certainly miss the worst. Pure chance. Good luck, and keep us posted on this, please - it could be helpful to others.
Keep a diary, times of when smells are really bad. If you can show at what times it is most likely to occur then you are more likely to get a visit at these times, rather than random times
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