Roof Leaks

[Phatboy]

Just wondering if anyone has roof leaks and who they turned to (eg., if they live in a house still under builder's warranty). I guess it's different issue if its a long-term leak vs one that just came during the freak storm.

My builder is trying to handball to my insurance, but I don't think insurance will cover pre-existing building defects that allow rain in. I think it should be the builder's responsibility for not sealing the roof properly. What's the process for escalation? Is it Consumer Affairs/Building Commission 1st then VCAT if no luck?

Thanks. I really appreciate any people with experience in this area.

[Ant97GTR]

I only have a little bit of experience with this, so confirm what I write.

If its an actual error/fault caused by the building of the place it should be covered by the building warranty. If there is no fault with the building then it will be covered under your insurance. Building errors/faults that could cause flooding are things like incorrectly installed gutters or spreader pipes not being installed as per the plans etc etc.

You shouldn't need to take it to the legal system just yet. The builder is legally required to provide you with the name of his insurance company - contact them, they will send an assessor out to inspect the place and be able to determine whether it was an 'act of god' or whether there is a fault with the building. An 'act of god' gets taken up with your insurance and the latter will be covered by the builders warranty.

Good luck with it all.

[180Roman]

I was actually talking to a builder today about the freak storm

I asked him if there were any problems with any of the houses during the storm

He said that only 1 house had a roof leak and that was only due to the rain being very slanted with high winds forcing the water under the roof tiles and into the roof.

How old is the house in question? coz if it has previously withstood heavy rain without any problems, the leak may just be caused by the issue the builder mentioned to me.

[180Roman]

oops, stupid double post

[BigDatto]

Just claim storm damage thru your insurance. I work in the business of removing/affixing things to rooves. Half our business is insurance. As for builders warranty, getting a claim is like trying to find a needle in a needlestack

[gdogzgtr]

I've gone threw this before and made insurance claim which was declined due to error in building/maintenance and was told to chase up threw builder. I would firstly claim threw your insurance and see what they have to say. If it's building/maintenence fault they won't cover it and then chase up your builder to fix.

hope that helps

[Phatboy]

OK cool thanks for the replies. I will try that.