A DUBLIN HOMEOWNER whose property suffered over €20,000 in water damage originating from a council-owned apartment is in limbo as the council’s insurer claimed it is not liable for the damages.

John, whose name has been changed as he wished to remain anonymous, purchased his home in Cedar Wood in the west Dublin suburb of Cherry Orchard in 2020. His property is located beneath an apartment owned by Dublin City Council. 

In September 2024, John was at home when water began to enter his property from above. He contacted the tenants of the council apartment, who were not home at the time.

It transpired that one of the family members in the council apartment had not turned off an air-locked tap. 

“At some stage after that, water started flowing through,” John told The Journal. “To make matters worse, the sink was blocked, so the water spilled over and cascaded down into my property.”

The water was running for around 40 minutes before they returned.

The damage was independently assessed as costing €20,809, accounting for specialist drying works, repairs to the bathroom, a full electrical check and replacements, plastering the walls and stairs where damage occurred, as well as replacing water-damaged flooring and skirting. 

The provisional bill of estimate issued to John and seen by The Journal also accounted for the cost of replacing his couch and cleaning his carpets.

The apartment complex where they live has a block insurance policy, but in the case of escape of water, there is an excess of €25,000 – meaning John could not be compensated through this insurance.

He contacted the council and explained the situation, but ultimately Dublin City Council’s insurers, IPB Insurance, wrote to him to inform him that its client was denying liability.

A letter from the insurer, dated March 2025, said: “We are denying liability on behalf of our insured Dublin City Council.

“We cannot see how liability attaches to our insured. There has been no act(s) of negligence on their part. The council are not responsible for the actions of their tenants.”

But the tenants, who are in receipt of social housing, do not have the means to compensate John, he said, leaving him in limbo. He is reluctant to initiate costly legal proceedings.

Further, the tenants of the property where the flooding originated provided John with evidence that they had repeatedly contacted the council regarding issues with plumbing over months preceding the incident in September 2024.

At least two reports were made by the tenants to the council regarding plumbing issues earlier that year, which were reportedly not acted on. John added that the offending tap likely would not have been left on if it was not air-locked. 

John has paid for some repairs to be carried out and replaced some furniture, but said: “There’s a lot of stuff that just hasn’t been done because I just simply don’t have the money to do it.

“There’s damage done in behind the wall – that’s my most pressing concern, with the installation – and damage done to the floorboards.

“Essentially it hasn’t been resolved.”

While the council has denied liability and the tenants cannot compensate John, he said he feels it’s deeply unfair.

“Is this a fair solution, for a private resident who’s totally removed from this, to have to carry the can of €20,000?” he asked. “It’s literally cost me hundreds of hours of my life. I just want the damages fixed up.”

Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment.