Kitchen fitter causes leak

Questioner

On Friday 7 May, the installation company removed my old kitchen from 0700 to 1200 and did the additional work for the installation of my new kitchen. This included moving one of my pipes. There was already some moisture visible around the pipes. On Monday 10 May, when I was present at the house to receive the new kitchen, I noticed that the area around the pipes was still wet. I was alerted by other residents to the fact that there was a leak in the meter cupboard of the downstairs neighbour. Leakage was also found in the garage of the complex. I did not report this at the time because it seemed illogical with regard to the location. And water had been released during the additional work. On Wednesday 12 May, after further inspection of the hole, I called the mechanic and indicated that I was not reassured and that he had probably damaged the pipes. He said that he would fix this on Thursday 13 May and that he could not assess the situation over the phone. It was clearly visible that water was forming at the places where a new connection had been made. In addition, the leaks had started to get worse at the neighbours below and in the garage of the complex. On Thursday 13 May 0700 I went with the mechanic to look at the additional work he had delivered and also noticed that 1 of the pipes was probably leaking. Not saying that this happened because of him of course. He started on this immediately and according to him he fixed the leak around noon. He indicated that the water that had collected in the hole after the leak would find its way down and that the downstairs neighbor would still experience problems for 1 to 2 days. After this, the fitter installed the new kitchen and assured me that it would be fixed within the next few days. Here too, no form of 'aftercare' or that I could call him if the water was still there. On May 14th, my downstairs neighbor indicated that the leak had still not stopped and in her opinion it had even started dripping faster. There was also still water collecting now under my new kitchen where the dishwasher was. We then, because we were assured of the mechanic's assumption that it had been fixed, called the VVE plumber. This with the reason that it could possibly come from somewhere else. Then on Monday the 17th I got a call from the plumber who found that the leak was actually under the dishwasher where the same extra work mentioned earlier was done. It would be due to a leak in the hot water pipe since closing the other water tap does not reduce the leak. This leak was not present before the kitchen was removed and the downstairs neighbor had not experienced any leaks in the days before, so it seems obvious to me that this was due to the additional work done by the installer. After contacting the mechanic by phone, he would remove the dishwasher from the kitchen in my absence due to my work. Here so that the plumber has space. He took the space to put a new coupling on the hot water pipe without consultation, but I appreciate that he tried to solve it. He also turned off the water tap so that the neighbors would not experience any leakage. However, after I returned to my apartment it was still wet under the kitchen and after turning on the tap the neighbours started leaking again. I am now done with it and forced to call in a real plumber because the fitter doesn't know what to do anymore. The neighbor's laminate has warped due to the leak. My question now is: Who will pay for the plumber and the neighbor's laminate flooring? And how can this be confirmed on legal grounds?

Lawyer

If you believe that the mechanic has made a second mistake, which has caused another leak, you must declare him in default and give him another chance to repair the mistake and hold him liable for the damage. If you structure the letter in such a way that it follows that you are legally allowed to terminate the trust, you can hold him liable and have a third party finish the job at his expense. You may also contact me by email.