A stain appears on the ceiling of the second floor, nobody yet knows if it's coming from a shared pipe or the neighbour's washing machine upstairs, and there are already two different versions of who has to pay at the residents' meeting. I explain the rule that actually decides who's liable, and what each policy covers depending on which side of the line the problem falls on.
Where the residents' association's insurance ends and yours begins
The residents' association's insurance protects the building as a whole: the structure (façade, roof, frame, stairwells, lobby, lift) and the common areas, plus the association's liability cover towards third parties. Your home insurance protects what starts where the shared part ends: the inside of your flat, its contents, and your own liability towards another resident.
In one line: the association is liable for the building and its common areas; you're liable for your flat and whatever happens inside it.
The rule that decides who pays: where the leak starts, not where the damage appears
The most common mistake at a residents' meeting is arguing from where the stain is visible. What actually decides who pays is where the fault starts, not where the damage shows up. If the water comes from a shared installation — a communal downpipe, the riser that runs through the whole building, the roof or a shared tank — the residents' association's insurance responds, including the damage that leak causes inside the flats affected.
If, on the other hand, the water comes from a private installation — the pipework inside a flat, from that flat's stopcock onwards — the owner of that flat is liable, and it's their home insurance, through the liability cover, that compensates the neighbour below.
- ✓Leak in a shared downpipe, riser, roof or tank: the residents' association's insurance responds.
- ✓Leak in a flat's own pipework, past its stopcock: that flat owner's home insurance responds.
- ✓Where the stain shows up decides nothing: only where the leak starts does.
Common areas: what the residents' association's insurance covers
Besides general liability cover, which is compulsory, the residents' association's insurance usually includes water damage cover with leak tracing and repair — the guarantee that pinpoints the exact source of a leak in common areas, not just repairs the visible damp — material damage to the façade, roof and shared elements, and fire. The lobby, lift, stairwell, garage and communal storage rooms fall within the insured building if they're part of the property.
I check with you whether your current policy has the leak-tracing cover properly sized, because that's what makes the difference the day nobody knows where the water is coming from. I cover the rest of the cover on the community buildings insurance page .
Your flat: what your home insurance covers
Your home insurance covers the inside of your flat — from its private installations to your furniture and appliances — and your own liability towards third parties. It's the policy that responds if a leak starts inside your flat and the water reaches the neighbour below, or if something happening in your home causes damage outside it.
If you're not sure what level of liability cover your current policy carries, or whether the sum insured has fallen short, I'll review it with you at no obligation on the home insurance page .
What to do the day a stain appears and nobody knows where it's from
The first thing to do is report it as soon as possible, both to the property manager and to whichever insurer applies if there's already a reasonable idea of the source; the longer it takes, the more the damage spreads and the harder it is to trace where it came from. If it isn't clear whether the fault belongs to the association or to a specific flat, the leak-tracing and repair cover is what settles the doubt before anyone assumes liability either way.
My advice, whether you sit on the board or you're the affected neighbour: don't assume who's liable until a technician has confirmed the source, and keep photos and the date of your first report from day one.