Liability for water damage: Who will reimburse your costs?

Questioner

Hello, Last year in July 2016 my new apartment was delivered. It concerns a ground floor apartment. 3 days after delivery a considerable leak due to a broken tap at the upstairs neighbors. Was solved at the time after much and difficult contact with the contractor: at the time he did not want to do much about the repair, because the staff was on construction vacation. A few days later I had another leak in the laundry room. A drain ring was not tightened properly, floor was flooded but quickly resolved. No report was made. Saturday 27 May 2017 I received a message that my neighbours had a leak on the side of my wall/house. I immediately went to look, no damage so far. That same evening and the morning after the plumber visited my neighbours and their upstairs neighbours, as it was suspected that the leak was coming from the upstairs neighbours. The plumber could not find the leak but in consultation with the (diagonally) upstairs neighbour he would have turned off his main tap. Sunday 28 May the leak worsens and the water appears in my house in both the bedroom and bathroom. It seeps through and then flows out of the bathroom light. Result: considerable damage to the bathroom and bedroom ceilings. Laminate flooring also bulged at the transition from bedroom to bathroom. On the Sunday 28 May in question, I had telephone contact with the (diagonally) upstairs neighbour 3 times while the water was 'flowing'. He was not concerned because he said his main tap was closed. As VVE secretary, he saw no need to come to our homes from a birthday party in the neighbourhood. After the arrival of the fire brigade and a lot of insistence, he finally came home. It turned out that his main tap was not closed properly. After turning it off, the water stopped flowing. Cause: a broken S-coupling in his bathroom. I have incurred various costs for this that I would like to be reimbursed. The question is: can I hold someone liable for this? If so, is it the contractor or the upstairs neighbor? I assume that something like this is covered by the contractor's warranty and that it will not break within 1 year. On the other hand: the water would not have ended up with me if the upstairs neighbor had turned off his main tap properly. Costs that I have incurred include: 3 days off (for now). However, there are still repairs to be done for which I will also have to take time off. Telephone costs for calling insurance companies, VVE, contractors, you name it. Just a huge inconvenience. Also: I don't really feel 'safe' in my home anymore when it comes to water/leaks. That is of course the worst now, that will go away later but it has not done any good. What is the best thing for me to do in this situation?

Lawyer

You should hold the upstairs neighbour, whose main tap was not closed properly, liable for the damage that occurred. If you are insured for the damage, report this to your insurer, who will settle the damage mutually with the other insurer. The damage that you actually suffer is eligible for compensation, including the so-called consequential damage. Costs that you have incurred for days off, telephone calls, etc. are - however annoying - usually not reimbursed, but I would include them on the claim form.