leaking celing

[MsJones0]

One week ago my youngest son was taking a bath, after his bath he came down stairs and was pluging in a lamp in our livingroom when he felt drips of watter on his neck there was a water mark about a foot round on the celing next to the wall. I went upstairs to see where the water was coming from. There was a small amount of water on the floor next to the tub but I couldnt see anything wrong. I called my landlord and let them know the issue, he sent a friend to look at the issue. The friend pointed out some cracks in the grout around the tile and the tub, and then left. A week later the landlord came by to see what the issue was, he then told that the water would not have gone through the cracks in the grout but rather the water traveled on the floor from the bathtub across the floor to the cabinet on the other side of the bathroom then under the gap that is in between the cabinet and tile then back towards the tub underneth the tile and then down into the living room. I explained to him that when I went upstairs to see what was going on the only water on the floor was next to the tub. He is wanting me to pay for the repairs. Can he do this? We have only lived there for 1 week when this issue occured. and Even if there was water on the floor shouldn't the floor be sealed to prevent such issues?

 

[mightymoose]

You won't be on the hook for this. The only way you would have responsibility is if you knew about the issue and failed to report it. You reported it right away and haven't lived there long enough for anyone to argue that you were holding back.
This is a problem for your landlord to settle with his insurance company, not with you.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

I must respectfully disagree. While you quickly reported it to the landlord, if the water stain/leak was not there before, your son caused the damage.

The reason that you saw only a small amount of water is likely because he splashed far more than this on the bathroom floor, it leaked through to the ceiling below and by the time you got up to the bathroom, most of it had leaked through already. However, the person who caused the damage in the first place was your son. By the time you contacted the landlord, the damage had already been done

Pay for the damage (it should not be much) and ask the landlord to make certain that the floor is fully sealed. I'm sure that your son did not do this deliberately but checking to see that the floor is fully sealed will prevent further accidents.

Gail