Question About Leaky Ceiling
 

I discovered a small leak in my bedroom ceiling after all the torrential rain we just had this past week. It's very small and was just dripping around the air/heat vent in the ceiling. Maybe 1 drop every 6/7 minutes or so. Sidenote: I've already had a leak in the sunroom and he patched the roof and it hasn't leaked since.

I called the owner on Monday and reported the leak and followed up with an email. I also informed him that there was a wet wood smell coming from the ceiling in my room. I suppose the insulation and wood in the attic & rafters is soaked. I voiced my concern about mold and also about the fact that we have more rain forecast for this weekend.

He said "next dry day I'll be over and patch the roof". That was Monday. Yesterday was dry and today was dry. No sign of him. I forwarded the same email with a new note.....asking him to at least put a tarp over the roof before it rained again. And letting him know that the wet wood smell is getting worse.

Still nothing. Have not heard from him. I don't expect there'll be a problem but I've resorted to emailing all my requests to him just in the event I need a date/time paper trail.

Do you think what I'm smelling is mold or just wet wood and insulation? Should I ask for a new roof? Nearly everyone in this subdivision has gotten one due to a hail storm we had several months ago.

We were talking about me possibly buying this property from him in the future....but now I'm not so sure. The house is only 12 years old.

Make a date with a roofer for an inspection and an estimate, notify the landlord that you've arranged this just to make it easier for him. ;) Chances are, he'll be up there inside of an hour and will magically fix it to his satisfaction.

If you're serious about buying, you'll have the roof inspected anyway, so why not let him pay for it?

I'm sure everyone else will come up with the sensible solutions, but if there's water dripping, you have to think how much it's leaked to soak through that much. It'll be a replace job i reckon.

much the same thing happened to my partner's rental place years ago. flat leaking roof over the bathroom, i suspected a leak but could only watch as it got worse, then xmas eve, it rained Inside the house !!! it was hilarious. we wanted to move anyway. I called her up and couldn't stop laughing as I explained her house was leaking over my tree !!! still makes me giggle. :D

Good idea! I like the house and the location. Nice flat lot and not a stair in the entire place!

I get the feeling he doesn't want a claim on his homeowner's insurance. :rolleyes: I called my rental insurance company today to see if I was covered for flooding and I'm not!!! :eek: They said nobody is unless they specifically ask for it. And......get this......now that Georgia has been declared a disaster area the rates will more than likely be out of my price range. :mad: But, if my place didn't flood during this last episode I don't think it ever will!

Is there a local landlords association that has a board of some kind of authority?

If it is warm and wet - mold could grow pretty quickly.

I would stress that the longer he waits to do repairs the worse damage will be- and you may end up with mold allergies and damaged property also.

I would call/write and set a deadline.

"gee mr home owner, I know that you have been busy with the recent rains, and are working hard to get to the growing list of complaints, and I am throwing mine onto the pile. I have informed you of my leaky ceiling 2x now, and since this is the 3rd, I figure you must be overwhelmed taking care of other issues. I am going to propose a solution for you. If you are unable to take care of this issue by the 1st of the month, I am going to call a roofer, and have someone come inspect it with an estimate. I will be deducting this from my rent. Since I am immune compromised, I am not able to withstand a month long wait to have mold/mildew/water issues addressed. Thanks for your understanding"

I bet that will make him put a wiggle in it. He will not want you deducting fees off the rent, nor will he want a qualified roofing company inspecting his property. They are required to make reports about finding mold situations, and water situations and the health board would force him to fix it. Once mold sets into the wood, its darn hard to get rid of. I would make a pest of myself to get that fixed.

Hang in there. its not fun to take an umbrella to bed. :hug:

You said something about this small leak being on or near your heating/cooling vent. Your's is probably a real leak, but mine was just condensation from the humidity and the A/C. When the humidity came down, the leak stopped. It happens, because I keep my back door open a crack for the dog. Sometimes it even drips down the doors.

I hope your super can fix it, before it does any damage to your furnishings. :hug:

Oh take pictures!

just in case any evidence is needed.

Great idea!! Thanks for the suggestion......I'm calling my DS now and asking him to bring home the digital camera. :)

In NJ, (different states may have different laws) I had to get flood insurance by law because I was in a "flood Zone" River Levees eventually eliminated that. The other side of town next to another River, flooded bad one time.

Sheesh Kelly, when it rain's it pours (cheesy pun intended :D)! Everyone has given you good advice already. I don't understand people sometimes, if he keeps waiting it's just gonna cost him more money to fix. I'd be worried about the mold too. If you can smell the damp wood there's probably A LOT of moisture up there.

Kelly, if you have water dripping through the ceiling...then you have had a leak for some time. It takes a good bit of water to breakdown that drywall to that point. I would ask the homeowner to get someone to inspect that area for mold and wood rot. Heck I'd even insist he get a termite inspection too. We had a similar leak in a closet ...in a rental house. The wet area attracted termites and they ate wood, drywall paper and books that were stored in that closet.

You need to talk to your ins again if you're worried about what they cover. A leaky roof is not the same as a flood, and the coverage you need is different, if that's what you asked them about.

There is also a differance between if a dishwasher or toilet is the source of flooding or if it's rain, if a sump pump quits, etc. Ins co's are tricky that way.

I sold an expensive basement floor to a couple who had flood insurance. Their sump pump died a few months later and their ins refused to pay, because that was equipment failure.

The manufacturer of the material would not pay either, although the product was water resistant and specified for below grade. It was not garanteed for water proof. Those people were out a few thousand dollars!

:(

I later recommended a customer check her ins to see what it covered, and she must have done it. Because we went out on an insured replacement after the floor we installed was destroyed when an upstairs toilet seal leaked.

Water went down to first floor and ruined the kitchen floor - she got a whole new floor paid for.