Colossal Squid
Returning video tapes
OK so I live in a privately rented flat at the top of a building that is otherwise occupied by housing association tenants. The flat below me have gone on holiday (to Ibiza, despite the fact that she's a jobless benefit claimant, but that's another story) and entrusted me with keys to water the plants. I went down earlier to discover the carpet is soaked, the place stinks and water is coming down fairly rapidly from the ceiling. Now the water isn't coming from my flat above, it's obviously coming from outside and the ceiling looks an absolute mess.
I can hardly ignore it as it doesn't look minor and the tenants know I'll be going in from time to time for the plants. Furthermore I'm somewhat selfishly concerned for my own flat. If their ceiling collapses it's unlikely to do the structural integrity of my flat any good.
So, I've looked up the housing association and tried calling but they're helpfully not open at weekends so I've sent an email but have received an automated response saying they can only reply to registered tenants. Obviously I'll give them a call again tomorrow when they're open but in the mean time what am I supposed to do?
Do I let the neighbours know and risk ruining their holiday even though there's essentially nothing they can do? Or do I just carry on trying to sort it out by myself, hoping to get hold of somebody helpful tomorrow, assuming the damage isn't too much worse by then?
Also, am I overreacting at all? If rain comes in through your ceiling is it more of an inconvenience than a genuine structural concern? I'm shitting it that the place is going to collapse, which is no doubt pretty extreme. But surely there's no situation where water getting in can be harmless, right?
Any suggestions gratefully received!
I can hardly ignore it as it doesn't look minor and the tenants know I'll be going in from time to time for the plants. Furthermore I'm somewhat selfishly concerned for my own flat. If their ceiling collapses it's unlikely to do the structural integrity of my flat any good.
So, I've looked up the housing association and tried calling but they're helpfully not open at weekends so I've sent an email but have received an automated response saying they can only reply to registered tenants. Obviously I'll give them a call again tomorrow when they're open but in the mean time what am I supposed to do?
Do I let the neighbours know and risk ruining their holiday even though there's essentially nothing they can do? Or do I just carry on trying to sort it out by myself, hoping to get hold of somebody helpful tomorrow, assuming the damage isn't too much worse by then?
Also, am I overreacting at all? If rain comes in through your ceiling is it more of an inconvenience than a genuine structural concern? I'm shitting it that the place is going to collapse, which is no doubt pretty extreme. But surely there's no situation where water getting in can be harmless, right?
Any suggestions gratefully received!
