Apartment flooding

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  1. #1

    Apartment flooding

    Can anyone help me with the following problem? I have no where else to turn to for assistance.

    I purchased a 2nd hand apartment (5 years old) which is built by Cheung Kong Holdings and after moving in and renovating the flat, just after living there for 3 months, the bathroom backflowed for 12 hours and completely ruined my apartment. 40 floors of human waste and all sorts of waste flowed into my apartment and out into the balcony, which was the only drain that wasn't 'clogged'. The management company of the building offered me to rest at the club house during this time. Luckily, I had purchased home insurance and that partially covered my furniture or whatever paint job to the wooden skirting I had.

    The management company(which is also a subsidiary of Cheung Kong HOldings) in the building said they resolved the backflow problem and it shouldn't happen again. However, I didn't trust them and moved out. 2 months later, the management offered to do improvement works to my toilet since I complained that water would still splash out from the toilet.

    About 1 month after completing the improvement works, the bathroom backflowed a 2nd time. This time was even worse since no one was home during the time. I had just rented out the flat who was going to move in the next day. This incident scared my new tenant and they decided not to rent and terminate the rental agreement.

    Lucky they did, because a week later, the flat was flooded with bathroom waste a 3rd time. Now, about 1/2 year later after the 1st flooding, the management is still "fixing" this problem and it has gone so far as to drain the pipes in the lobby of the building, as well as the floors below me.

    Up until now, I have not received a cent in compensation from the management company and their adjusters for their insurance company are just delaying any reply week by week.

    Anyone got any suggestions on who I can turn to next? Consumer Council will not get involved and the media also are not interested. I have passed this case to a lawyer but they have not decided on their approach yet.


  2. #2

    Join Date
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    What a horror!

    CK and bad pipes - alas a familiar tale.

    Press your lawyer or find another one. Although, HK developers don't stand by their work so don't hold your breath (figuratively... obviously you have to literally do that too).

    Do you have an active Owners' Committee? Can you let other owners know of the problem, perhaps hinting it could be their problem next?

    Can you get an independent survey to properly ascertain the problem to pass onto the Management?


  3. #3

    Join Date
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    Is yours the only flat that floods or are other in the building suffering too?

    I agree with approaching the owners committee, but if it is anything like what we've seen in big developments, it will be headed by a CK employee or a relative of an employee - they like to keep control of their developments due to the lucrative on going contracts.

    Also, review some the FAQs on the Buildings department site. Might be able to use them...

    http://www.bd.gov.hk/english/services/index_faqC.html

    If you cannot resolve the problem of water seepage with your neighbour, please call 1823 Call Centre for assistance. Upon receipt of the seepage complaint, the Joint Office will carry out a preliminary investigation. If the seepage has posed a sanitary nuisance, the Joint Office will act in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. If the seepage is mild or intermittent or if the source of seepage cannot be identified after investigation, Government intervention will cease.

  4. #4

    Apartment FLooding

    Thanks for your comments.
    I did previously contact the Owner's committee, but they are quite useless and not much help. I have also contacted my lawyers and they are in progress of drafting a letter.

    The first time it flooded, only my flat was affected. The second and 3rd time, the flat next to me also experienced some flooding but only in their bathroom. It's unbelievable

    I contacted the Joint Office of the Buildings Department and they will get back to me. Thanks for your help.....


  5. #5

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    next time bag it all up and send to to CK headquatres with your written complaint...should get their attention!


  6. #6

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    Lunchtime, D&H, lunchtime!


  7. #7

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    Next time somebody asks me why I live on a boat, I shall reference this thread! While we have issues from time to time, at least they are OUR issues which we can solve ourselves without having to deal with numerous unhelpful third parties!

    I have nothing helpful to add except good luck. I feel for you.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    Lunchtime, D&H, lunchtime!
    sorry about that!...although a lunchtime delivery would have maximum effect!

    Best of luck with the situation though, I too, do feel for you, it must be a real shitter (sorry, couldn't resist!)

  9. #9

    Join Date
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    Apartment Flooding

    Dear kenken2009,
    I am so sorry to hear about your predicament. I had my share of it once. I know how intolerable it can be.
    When it comes to problems of this nature, things tend to drag quite a bit in Hong Kong. It is the nature of people in Hong Kong to be very tolerant and not outrightly complain( or turn a blind eye) about any issue and hence large organisations take advantage of that and can even get away with murder.
    I had a similar experience before and it never got sorted---so I left, just like you---but not without a fight.

    Easiest way out---I would get rid of the flat--in case you haven't done so already. It will ease all pain. I know it's not that simple but it's one solution to the problem. The market is not good for that and you may suffer losses. But it is one way out, because this is most definitely going to take forever to get sorted.

    But if you feel that belligerence has got the better of you and wish to proceed with the battle, then here is my two cents worth.

    Based on what you have mentioned I would assume that you are on one of the lower floors. I am personally in the interior design & fit-out trade, but I am not an expert on plumbing and drainage issues.
    But toilet backflow can be due to several issues ranging from bad plumbing & drainage design ( in which case the organisation concerned would be desperately trying to cover it up), to inconsiderate/ignorant tenant/s living on one of the floors below you who are constantly flushing down material they are not supposed to. In which case there is nothing you can do. Or it can also be due to inconsiderate fitting-out contractors dumping stuff down the pipes---usually happens--believe me!
    Since the management may be too involved in the cover-up of the issue, it may be useful to ascertain the cause of the flooding by yourself. It may be very difficult now, especially because such a long time has lapsed since the first occurence. Not being very helpful, am I ??!!
    I hope you have lots and lots of pictures of the flood.
    Whenever there is an incident, I always dash for my camera.
    Photos are always very useful.
    When I was facing this problem before( and nobody was taking any meaningful action), I took matters into my own hands.
    I called up one of the local chinese newspapers(The HongKong daily News), and gave them all my photos. They immediately came over to interview me(because a large organisation's name was involved). They ran a short article too.
    I was not directly involved in any of the proceedings that followed because I was only the tenant( I was renting the premises at that time). Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was compensated with several month's rent. My landlord was being very nice to me for some strange reason! I moved soon afterwards.
    Incidentally, I did the same( reported to the press) regarding an issue with mcdonald's, and they gave me a huge stack of free-meal coupons to shut me up! Still have many left.

    I am sorry I have not been very helpful. When it comes to issues of such nature, the best thing to do is to take it to the press. And with regards to lawyers, not all of them are experts in building-related issues. There are some who specialise in construction cases and they tend to move a lot faster.

    I hope you can get your problem resolved soon, and I wish you all the best.
    Wishing you sunny skies and keep smiling OK.


  10. #10

    Apartment flooding

    Dear Van and everyone....

    Thank you for sharing your story with me. I will try the Hong Kong Daily Newspaper...(I tried some of the other magazines but they were not interested just yet since all their complaints are on Cheung Kong anyways). But I do have have tons of photos to share, plus videos, etc.
    Hopefully will have some good news soon.