{
  "title": "Water Leaking From the Upstairs Neighbor's Unit — Who Do I Call?",
  "description": "Water coming through your ceiling from the condo above? The HOA emergency line comes before the plumber, and one clause in your declaration decides whether you or the neighbor eats the bill.",
  "category": "water",
  "vertical": "water-damage",
  "tldr": "Call the HOA or property manager's emergency line first — they can enter the unit above and you can't. Then your own HO-6 or renters carrier the same day, then a mitigation crew for your side. Not a plumber: the source isn't on your property and isn't yours to authorize work on. Before assuming the neighbor pays, check the master policy deductible and whether your documents waive subrogation.",
  "who_to_call": [
    {
      "who": "HOA / property manager emergency line",
      "when": "First, always — they hold the right of entry into the unit above, and only they can shut the source off",
      "not_for": "Never skip it: a repair arranged privately with the neighbor leaves you no paper trail and no claim path"
    },
    {
      "who": "The neighbor, by knocking",
      "when": "While you wait for management — they can often kill the water in 30 seconds by shutting a fixture valve",
      "not_for": "Instead of calling management. No answer at the door is not a reason to stop"
    },
    {
      "who": "Your HO-6 (condo) or renters carrier",
      "when": "The same day — your policy covers your interior and your belongings regardless of whose fault it is",
      "not_for": "Damage clearly below your deductible — run that math before you open a claim file"
    },
    {
      "who": "Water mitigation company",
      "when": "Once the source is off — extraction and drying on your side, ideally within 24–48 hours",
      "not_for": "While water is still coming through; nothing they do holds until the unit above is shut off"
    },
    {
      "who": "Emergency plumber",
      "when": "Only if the source turns out to be inside your own unit after all, or the association asks you to arrange it",
      "not_for": "The water is coming from the unit above — a plumber cannot enter it and cannot bill anyone for work you had no standing to authorize"
    },
    {
      "who": "Your landlord's emergency line",
      "when": "You rent — building water intrusion is their problem, their cost, and their conversation with the HOA",
      "not_for": null
    },
    {
      "who": "911 / electric utility",
      "when": "Water is running into ceiling light fixtures, a fan box, or outlets — that outranks everything above",
      "not_for": null
    }
  ],
  "costs": [
    {
      "item": "Ceiling water damage repair",
      "range": "$325–$1,100",
      "source": "Fixr",
      "source_url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/water-damage-restoration"
    },
    {
      "item": "Water-damaged ceiling repair (broader range)",
      "range": "$200–$1,500",
      "source": "Fixr",
      "source_url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/ceiling-repair"
    },
    {
      "item": "Full water damage restoration project",
      "range": "$1,200–$5,000 (national average $3,000)",
      "source": "Fixr",
      "source_url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/water-damage-restoration"
    },
    {
      "item": "Gray water extraction (toilet overflow, washer, tub)",
      "range": "$4.10–$6.50 per sq ft",
      "source": "Fixr",
      "source_url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/water-damage-restoration"
    },
    {
      "item": "Simple remediation after an overflowing toilet (low end)",
      "range": "from $350",
      "source": "Fixr",
      "source_url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/water-damage-restoration"
    },
    {
      "item": "HOA master policy deductible (what can land on you)",
      "range": "$5,000–$50,000",
      "source": "Policygenius",
      "source_url": "https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/what-is-loss-assessment-coverage/"
    },
    {
      "item": "Loss assessment endorsement (raises the standard $1,000 limit)",
      "range": "$25–$50/year for $10,000–$100,000 of coverage",
      "source": "Policygenius",
      "source_url": "https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/what-is-loss-assessment-coverage/"
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why can't I just send my own plumber up there?",
      "a": "Because the fixture, the pipe, and the floor are not your property. A plumber has no right of entry, and work you authorize inside someone else's unit is work nobody is obligated to pay you for. The association holds the entry right written into the declaration — that is why their emergency line is the first call, not the second."
    },
    {
      "q": "The neighbor's toilet overflowed. Doesn't their insurance pay for my ceiling?",
      "a": "Only if they were negligent, and only if your documents let your insurer pursue it. An overflowing toilet someone walked away from usually is negligence; a supply line that failed on its own usually is not. Then check for a waiver of subrogation in the declaration — where one applies, your carrier is barred from recovering, and your deductible stays yours."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is a waiver of subrogation and why does it matter so much?",
      "a": "It is a clause that stops an insurer recovering its payout from the party at fault. Condominium statutes and declarations commonly require it so owners in the same building aren't suing each other. The practical result: your insurer pays your claim, never recoups from the neighbor's insurer, and the fact that the leak was entirely their fault changes nothing about your out-of-pocket cost."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should I file a claim for minor damage — a stain and some soft drywall?",
      "a": "Often no. A ceiling repair runs $200–$1,500 while a typical condo deductible plus the premium consequences can exceed that. Get one mitigation moisture reading and one repair quote first, then decide. Report it in writing to the HOA either way — notice costs nothing and protects you if the leak turns out to be bigger than it looks."
    },
    {
      "q": "The leak has been going on for months and nobody is fixing it. What changes?",
      "a": "Two things. Your own claim gets harder, because insurers exclude damage that developed gradually rather than suddenly. And the association's failure to act becomes its own problem — a documented, repeated, ignored written notice is the evidence a board, a regulator, or a small claims judge actually responds to."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I do in the first ten minutes, before anyone answers?",
      "a": "Cut the breaker to that area if water is near fixtures or outlets. Put a bucket under any bulge and poke a small hole at its center to drain it in a controlled way. Move furniture and electronics out. Photograph and video everything before you mop anything up."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Fixr: Water damage restoration cost",
      "url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/water-damage-restoration",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Fixr: Ceiling repair cost",
      "url": "https://www.fixr.com/costs/ceiling-repair",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Policygenius: Loss assessment coverage",
      "url": "https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/what-is-loss-assessment-coverage/",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Policygenius: Condo (HO-6) insurance and master policy types",
      "url": "https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/condo-insurance/",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Minnesota Statutes 515B.3-113 (Insurance) — subrogation waiver and deductible assessment",
      "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/515B.3-113",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Florida Statutes 718.111(11) — association insurance and what it must exclude",
      "url": "https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0718/Sections/0718.111.html",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    },
    {
      "label": "Florida Statutes 718.5012 — powers and duties of the Condominium Ombudsman",
      "url": "https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0718/Sections/0718.5012.html",
      "accessed": "2026-08-16"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-08-16",
  "url": "https://whodoicallfor.com/water/upstairs-neighbor-leak/",
  "json_url": "https://whodoicallfor.com/water/upstairs-neighbor-leak.json",
  "recommended_call": null
}