Landlord receives £4.75m compensation for damage caused at flats

A landlord has received £4.75m compensation after faulty workmanship and equipment led to “catastrophic” flooding at a block of flats.

The damage occurred after a pressurised water system was installed throughout the building. The system enabled water to be pumped to the higher floors in the block, but could also produce an effect known as “water hammer” in which high pressure surges caused burst pipes.

There were two such incidents in different sections of the building on one day.

The companies involved in installing the system agreed that the subsequent flooding caused £4.75m worth of damage.

The issue was how much blame should be apportioned to the contractors and how much to the manufacturers of the equipment.

The court held that the first incident was caused by a combination of metal debris in the threads of a nut and the over-tightening of that nut.

There were various reasons for the second incident including failures of both workmanship and the design of the system.

The court held that 60% of the overall liability fell to the contractors and sub-contractors, and 40% to the designers of the mechanicals systems used.

Please contact Matthew Melling if you would more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of litigation, professional negligence or commercial property law.