A stain on the ceiling, drips from the light fitting, water running down the bathroom wall. A leak from the flat above is probably the most common dispute between neighbours in an apartment block — and one of the few that happens in minutes but takes months to settle.
Here is the order to deal with it in: the water first, then the evidence, and only then who pays.
Without evidence the dispute becomes your word against theirs. So, before you mop up and things dry out:
Damp patches often "grow" days later. Photograph again after a week.
If the leak comes from the installation inside the flat above — washing machine, sink, bath, water heater, pipes after the flat's own shut-off valve — the owner of the upper flat is liable.
Bulgarian law is clear on several points:
If the leak comes from the common parts — the vertical riser, the roof, a terrace above the top floor — the damage is not "the neighbour's". The claim is against the condominium through its manager, and the repair is voted on and paid for by all owners. How those decisions are made and what the repair fund is — see our guide to the general assembly.
The line between "riser" and "the flat's own plumbing" is the most common point of dispute. A written opinion from a plumber who has actually seen the fault settles more than any argument.
If the fault is in the common parts but the only access is through the upper flat, its owner must provide access for the repair (Art. 6(1)(12) of the Condominium Management Act). The obligations in Art. 6 also apply to occupants — tenants, not only owners (Art. 6(2)).
If you have home insurance that covers water damage, the quickest route is often to notify your own insurer. Once it has paid you, the insurer recovers the amount from the liable neighbour itself — you do not have to fight that dispute.
Watch three things: the notification deadline in your policy (it is in the general terms and is often short), the excess, and whether the home is under-insured relative to its value — in which case the payout is reduced proportionally. Our home insurance guide shows how that works with an example.
If the neighbour has third-party liability cover on their home policy, it may pay for your damage directly. Ask — it is the easiest way out for both of you.
The limitation period for tort claims is 5 years (Art. 110 of the Obligations and Contracts Act) and runs from discovery of the person responsible (Art. 114(3)). Time is on your side; evidence is not — which is why documenting from day one matters so much.
The best prevention is mundane: proper waterproofing when the bathroom is redone, washing-machine hoses that are not ten years old, and turning the water off when you go away for a while. More on bathrooms in our bathroom renovation guide, and on what you owe the neighbours during works in our guide to renovating a flat in a block.
Old leaks leave traces — ceiling stains, swollen skirting, fresh paint in just one spot. Ask about them directly at a viewing; a seller does well to disclose them: what happened, whether the cause was fixed, and who paid. What else to check on site is in our viewing checklist.
Stop the water, document before you clean up, and establish where it came from. Plumbing in the flat above — the owner upstairs pays (jointly with the occupant); riser or roof — the condominium does. Your own insurer may pay first and recover the money itself.
This is general information, not legal advice on a specific case. If you manage a let property or are buying a home with signs of old leaks and would like us to look at the situation — call us or come into the office.
Information verified as of October 2026.
