What can you do when your neighbours "Pee" on you?

Whenever there is a water leakage or seepage from the level above, it is very irritating due to the damage that water leakage can cause. On top of that, water leakage can cause moldiness in the ceiling which is bad for everyone's health.

Perhaps let's us understand how does water leakage happen? Water always tries to find  to the weakest point in the flooring and make its way through to the neighbour's house below. Usually, the common areas where water leakages occur is either in the toilet or at the balcony through the floor trap.

If you are staying at the lower level will you accept the water that is coming from the upper level. I would think the answer is clearly a NO. Having said that, it is not easy to reach an amicable with the Upper Lever solution

According to the BMSMA - which is a set of rules layed out by the Government and administered by the BCA - Building and Contruction Authority for Condominium, and Executive Condominium (EC).

What is the resource required if the Upper level fails to fix the issue.

The lower level resident can connect up with the neighbour from the upper level and request them to rectify the leak. Things can get complicated if the upper level nighbour ignore the request from the lower level neighbour.  If this occurs in the HDB, please seek either Town Council or HDB assistance to help. For those staying in a condominium, you may approach the Management Office which is usually operated by a Managing Agent (MA).

However, as this is a private affair between two neighbours and it is not part of common property, MA role is purely to facilitate the process of water leakage rectification between the two parties. The Upper level neighbour has an obligation to rectify the leak as it is presume that the leak occurred at the upper level unless the owners can prove otherwise.

If the Lower level neighbour still fail to get the Upper level neighbour to rectify it, they may approach STB - Strata Titles Board to seek their "help" or ruling on this issue. There will be a fee of around $500 to kick-start this process. Do check the with STB on the actucal rates.

Key Takeaways

It is never easy to live harmoniously in a built up area, much more difficult in a densely populated area. A little give and take is what is needed for everyone to live harmoniously.