Neighbor AC leak caused mold and nobody is responding
When an upstairs neighbor or HOA ghosts your emails about water damage and mold, you are left dealing with property destruction, anxiety, and uncertainty over whether repairs require a licensed contractor to claim reimbursement. This communication breakdown prevents owners from securing repairs or holding the responsible party accountable, especially when trying to manage the issue from overseas.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1hire a local contractor to do the repair and then take the upstairs owner to small claims court for the costDid this help you?
- 2Hiring a licensed surveyor to establish legal property pinsDid this help you?
- 3Setting the replacement fence slightly inside the property lineDid this help you?
- 4Sending written emails to the neighbor to propose neighborly solutionsDid this help you?
- 5Accepting cash payments from the neighbor to rebuild the damaged fenceDid this help you?
- 6asking for insurance information from the owner and contractorDid this help you?
- 7rescuing and moving damaged shrubsDid this help you?
- 8asking a mechanic or forum for opinions on whether damage looks like theft or intentional sabotageDid this help you?
- 9Trying to soft hammer the dent back into shapeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We rented a U-haul and were backing it up to access the area between our and neighbors' house to load some items. Unfortunately, the neighbors' gutter corner was damaged.”source ↗
“our local mechanic shop, which we’ve trusted and used for many years, told us during a routine service inspection that someone had deliberately cut the fuel filler hose.”source ↗
“We have a toxic, narcissistic, racist neighbor whom we’ve had a few horrible encounters with.”source ↗
“Do I have anything to worry about here? This has plagued me with anxiety for years at this point.”source ↗
“The problem is that I now have mold growing on the wall where the leak happened, and neither the HOA nor the owner of the second floor unit is responding to my emails.”source ↗
“I’m renting out the condo right now, and unfortunately I’m currently living outside the country because my husband is in the military and was stationed in Okinawa, so I can’t just go to the property myself.”source ↗
“Does it has to be a license contractor for me to be able to claim the money?”source ↗
“The problem is that rootball was basically a Siamese twin of my tree a foot on my side of the line.Now my tree is leaning as it has no roots on the side they chopped with the back hoe .”source ↗
“I’ve asked for insurance info from both the owner and contractor to repair and replace the damaged property . They refuse to give any info .”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 10Can my neighbor legally let water run onto my property?
- 32Neighbor is encroaching on my property line to sell their house
- 36How to get a contractor to fix damage they caused
- 2How to talk to neighbors about lawn care debris without starting a fight
- 5Neighbor demands kittens from stray cat I feed
- 4Inherited a house with sudden damage and no idea what to do