Who pays to fix the drywall?

March 4, 2016 8:59 AM

I live in a townhouse (condo) in VA that sits partially on top of someone else's condo. Our disposal leaked without our knowledge and caused some drywall damage to the downstairs condo. We replaced the disposal as soon as we were made aware of the leak. The condo association says that the two of us owners need to work it out between us. I has assumed I should pay for this, but googling makes it seem like legally I'm only supposed to pay if I was negligent which makes me think that maybe I shouldn't. It's not a very large repair so it's probably not worth getting insurance or lawyers involved, but it's not like I have extra money to be handing out just to be nice. So am I supposed to pay legally? And if not, should I do it anyway? And if I'm not going to do it, what's a good way to word a response to my neighbor?
posted by callmejay to Law & Government (13 answers total)

Best answer: Do you really want to be dragged to court to litigate whether the failure was because of negligence or not? What is your time and frustration worth?

Your neighbor's property was damaged by yours due to no fault of their own - do the right thing and take care of it. How would you feel if the situation were reversed?
posted by Candleman at 9:08 AM on March 4, 2016 [23 favorites]

Legal or not, I would do the right thing and pay for it. You'd want your neighbor to pay if the situation were reversed, right? Just be a good person here.
posted by something something at 9:08 AM on March 4, 2016 [3 favorites]

Do you really want to establish a relationship based on the absolute minimum legal requirement? Just pay for the repair. Your shit wrecked their shit. It's the cool thing to do. Get some numbers and find out if insurance is worth it and then make it right.

If you're not gonna do it then it doesn't really matter how you word a response because the neighbour is basically going to hear nothing other than "fuck you" no matter what you say. I mean seriously, flip this around. Your upstairs neighbour's disposal leaks shitty water all over your living room drywall, then he comes and tells you "yeah it was my disposal but legally I am not on the hook so it's your problem". That's a hard turd to polish.
posted by Sternmeyer at 9:09 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

Unless it was installed and maintained by your CA or the building ownership, it's your disposal, your responsibility. Pay to patch your neighbor's drywall. Don't be that guy.
posted by mkultra at 9:09 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

I agree with everyone else. It's certainly not their fault. Also, the cost that you're talking about here is likely quite minor.
posted by slidell at 9:13 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

To me, the only decision is whether or not to get your insurance involved. It seems clear to me that your neighbor should not be dealing with the cost. If that were the case, you would never live below anyone ever.
posted by AugustWest at 9:24 AM on March 4, 2016 [5 favorites]

Technically, you were negligent. You let your appliance get into disrepair and it caused another occupant damage.

Pay for the repair.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:32 AM on March 4, 2016 [4 favorites]

Absolutely, 100% on you to pay. You can elect to get your insurance involved or not, but if you were my upstairs neighbour and your [whatever] leaked and caused damage and you didn't pay, I'd just make my insurance go after yours and also I'd never help you out in any way ever again.

Do the right thing and also don't put yourself into a miserable living situation.
posted by jeather at 9:41 AM on March 4, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: No, not quite, [bear with me] YOU do pay but the association does the repair or is the overseer of the work. YOU get the proof that the correction is done and everyone wins. If YOU just hire it done then if any after effects that are unwelcome do occur the issue is with the association's choice of repair approach. Seems like the injured party, the other condo owner, and the association would want that to be the way things are resolved as well.

Reason = mold.
posted by Freedomboy at 9:58 AM on March 4, 2016 [8 favorites]

Call your insurance company and get their advice.
posted by erst at 10:24 AM on March 4, 2016

I agree with everyone who says that googling legal bare minimums and not paying for the drywall repair your neighbor needs as a result of your leaking garbage disposal is a poor course of action. You should pay the repair whether or not you choose to use your homeowner's insurance.

But I wish to emphasize what Freedomboy has said. When my neighbor's dishwasher leaked through the wall in my condo, she paid but the association handled the repair. This is how repairs are handled by well-run condo buildings because although the disposal is yours and the drywall is hers, there may be some common elements implicated or general building issues created (the plumbing that runs through walls, for instance, or the possibility of a mold bloom). Also, doing it that way means if your neighbor has issues with the quality of the repair or whatever, she's mad at the board, not at you.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:25 AM on March 4, 2016 [4 favorites]

Sorry, but you pay. Your equipment caused the damage, the repairs are on you, full stop.

I feel your pain though: I'm also in a Virginia condo, and a year or so ago my toilet seal leaked (unknown to me); condo management handled the repairs to my downstairs neighbor's ceiling and sent me the bill, and that was the end of it. Like you, it was a leak I never knew about or saw, but yeah: I was responsible for his ceiling repair.
posted by easily confused at 12:13 PM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: OK, thanks everybody. Looks like my first instinct was right.
posted by callmejay at 2:06 PM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]