wall dampness requiring action

Question

► I live in an ad hoc society (society not formed yet) in Goa. Every year new members are elected Issue 1: Our bedroom wall has been getting damp since four years during the rains. We live on the third floor. This is due to external crack in the wall as we tried doing waterproofing on the inside but this did not solve the dampness. We communicated this to the committee members of our society on several occasions, last month they even visited our home and saw the damp walls but this is going unheard. Issue 2: The walls in our bathroom, passage, and part of the bedroom walls have been getting damp since six years due to drainage failure of our neighbour living above our flat. He brought a plumber and did some repair of his drain pipe of his bathroom but I informed him that he needs to rectify his complete bathroom, toilet and drain system but he is unwilling to cooperate saying that is not his concern. I have consulted engineers to get an opinion about the dampness of the above two scenarios, who have inspected my premises and they have confirmed that the society and the neighbour needs to rectify the same. As verbal communication hasn't helped in these cases, please guide the right and prudent legal steps to be taken in accordance with Goan laws that will sort this soon without much cost to us. Thank you

Answer 1

To answer the issue 1, the ad hoc society is not formed yet and hence they cannot be brought into the case unless there is evidence to show that the necessary cess is being collected by the unformed society. if that is the case, then a civil suit can be filed demanding damages but the same is advised to be done after sending the society a legal notice and exhausting any other available remedy. To answer the second issue, there is clear evidence to prove the damage was caused due to your neighbours’ actions and you are well within your rights to demand damages to fix the apartment and further seek directions from the court to force your neighbour to do the needful. Kindly contact an advocate with relevant documents such as payments if any made to the ad hoc society, engineer report on the damages and its causes.

wall dampness requiring action

1 Answer