K.B. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I live in a 4-unit condo where two units share a main water line. HOA newsletter in Nov. 2015 there was an article stating to make sure you notify your neighbor when you turn off the water line to both units. Recently my neighbor has been working on their condo and turned off the water while they were working. I was never notified that the water was going to be turned off. I saw their contractors leave and my neighbors return home around 4:30 p.m.. Water still was not turned back on, at about 6:00 p.m. I knocked on the door, no response. I thought they forgot to turn on the water. I turned on the water to take a shower. I went straight up the stairs heard water running and ran back down the stairs to turn the water back off. Not till 6:30pm did my neighbor return home. Their contractors did not cap her pipes in the bathrooms and she expects me to pay for the damage. Who would be responsible for the repairs?
Mister Condo replies:
K.B., it is too bad that there weren’t better communications between you and your neighbors. They needed to communicate with you when they turned the water off. You needed to communicate with them when you turned the water on. Neither of you did. Typically, I would say neither of you are responsible and let each of your insurance companies battle it out for how to handle the expense of the repair. The newsletter article is a nice way of reminding unit owners about the issue but it isn’t a legally binding notice. If your neighbor has insurance, I would think their homeowner’s policy would cover the damage. If not, they might elect to sue you in small claims court or such. Unless the damage was extensive, I doubt they will do that. I would offer my apologies and also ask them to make sure they do a better job communicating when and if the water is ever shut off again. All the best!