Continuous Water Leak, With More Than 4 Maintenance Visits. 2 Plumber Visits. Issue Unresolved.
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
My apartment has had an ongoing water leak coming from the unit above us (maintenance believes it may be related to the upstairs HVAC/AC system, but they have not been able to permanently fix it).
Over the past several months, we have had emergency maintenance come out four separate times. Each time they have either shop vac the water, attempted to clear the drain lines, or told us they have done everything they can do. Despite this, the leak continues to return.
The water is actively staining our ceiling and walls, and water has also reached the floor. I’ve attached photos showing the damage. I am becoming concerned about:
Potential mold growth in the walls as they have only painted kilz on the water spots.
Damage to our personal property. No permanent solution is found. It has already ruined some shoes we had in the closet space.
The structural condition of the ceiling
Whether the apartment remains habitable if the issue continues
I have reported the issue multiple times through the apartment’s maintenance system and have records of the maintenance visits.
My questions are:
Under Virginia law, at what point does a landlord’s failure to permanently repair a recurring leak become a legal issue?
Is there a specific written notice I should send before taking further action?
If the leak continues, what remedies are available to tenants in Virginia?
Should I be documenting anything beyond photographs and maintenance requests?
Is this the type of issue that would justify contacting local code enforcement or building inspectors?
Additional information:
We are current on rent, never late and have been in this unit for 2 years.
We have not caused the damage.
Maintenance acknowledges the leak exists.
The problem has persisted despite four emergency maintenance visits.
Any advice would be appreciated.
This happened once last year. And they treated it the same way with a fix.
This year it has been an on going 2 month endeavor.
Spaces impacted in our 2 bed 2 bath apartment
1 closet, base boards and carpet completely soaked, 1 bed room corner ( behind the wall sits the ac unit space) our dining area ceiling walls and base boards. And of course the pictures of the utilities closet.
Please let me know if there’s anything we can do.
Pictures of dmg upon request.
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