Ceiling leak turns into costly legal battle

The Star 28/12/2005

THE three men stood in the kitchen, eyes trained on sheets of newspaper laid out on the floor, counting the drops of water falling incessantly from the ceiling.

The men were building surveyors hired to provide expert evidence to the Strata Titles Board in what proved to be one of the most expensive disputes over leaking ceilings in the tribunal’s history.

The experts found that the leak came from faulty water pipes in the apartment above. That meant that the upstairs owner had to pay for the repairs and also pay damages.

Downstairs, retiree Allen Lim says he ran up S$26,000 (RM58,993) in legal fees.

Upstairs, Lim Chin Hock spent about S$90,000 (RM204,202), but he still insists there was no proof that his pipes caused the leak.

Repairing the leak cost about S$2,700 (RM6,126) and it was done in two days, says Allen Lim, 60.

Allen Lim, who shares his apartment with his wife, son and daughter, says he had to get a lawyer when his neighbour would not fix the problem after it was discovered in 2002.

At one point the leak was so bad, he was collecting three buckets of water a day. He said the family could not cook in their kitchen for more than a year, and the cabinets were damaged as well.

The dispute dragged on for three years before it ended this year.

In high-rise Singapore, leaking ceilings are a fact of life. They can be fixed swiftly, or spark lengthy, costly legal disputes.

Between January and June, there were 10,400 reported cases of leaking ceilings in Housing Board flats. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network