Water damage from the flat above: statement, insurance and ceiling repairs

Short answer: Warn your neighbour and building manager, have the leak stopped safely and photograph the damage. Report it to your home insurer as soon as possible. Ask for its claim form and send the facts without waiting for your neighbour’s signature. Payment depends on cover and established liability. The Assuralia convention simplifies certain settlements between insurers; it does not guarantee full reimbursement.

Published on 25 October 2026 · Updated on 25 October 2026

The 6 steps, in order

Limit the damage and notify your insurer promptly, without waiting to gather all the evidence. AG notes that reasonable measures to limit a loss are in principle reimbursed by home insurance, and advises taking photos and keeping every invoice.

1. Shut off the water and make the area safe. If the leak is on your side, close the main stopcock. If it comes from the neighbour, ring their bell or contact the building manager to close the supply. Move furniture away and do not touch wet electrical appliances.
2. Warn the neighbour, the building manager or the landlord. Tenants: tell the landlord (and the building manager) at once; the landlord has to report to their own insurer.
3. Record what happened. Note the date, place, apparent cause and damage; get the neighbour to sign it if possible (see below) and take wide and close-up photos.
4. Report the claim to your home insurer in writing with those details, without waiting until everything is priced. Your insurer will tell you whether an expert assessment is needed.
5. Have the cause repaired. The damage keeps growing until the leak is fixed. See the plumber section.
6. Keep every invoice: leak repair, drying, cleaning, emergency purchases and separately record the hours you spent cleaning up yourself.

For the immediate actions around a leak, see also our plumbers in Brussels.

Do not wait for a complete statement: article 74 of the Belgian Insurance Act of 4 April 2014 requires notification as soon as possible and within the policy deadline. It also protects notice given as quickly as reasonably possible. Article 75 requires reasonable measures to limit the consequences of the loss.

The joint statement: what should you send your insurer?

Ask your insurer or broker which form and supporting documents it needs. Meanwhile, prepare a dated record of the facts and invite your neighbour to read and sign it only if they agree with those observations.

• Date and time of discovery, address, floor, names and contact details of both occupants.
• Apparent cause (pipe, joint, washing machine, overflow, roof…) and what each person observed.
• Insurance companies and policy numbers on both sides.
• Description of the damage: ceiling, walls, floor, furniture, appliances; photos attached.

If the cause is unknown, write “cause to be determined” rather than assigning blame. Do not promise payment on your insurer’s behalf. Article 149 of the Insurance Act distinguishes acknowledging a fact from promising compensation without the insurer’s agreement. If your neighbour is away or refuses to sign, send your photos, account and any witness details promptly.

Liability: what the inter-insurer grid says

A leak in the neighbour’s flat does not by itself establish who must pay. Participating insurers use the grid below for their agreed settlements, according to the cause; it does not decide your legal or tenancy obligations.

Source: the grid annexed to the Assuralia Water Damage convention text. The grid is used between insurers: it does not replace general law or your lease, and a court may decide otherwise. Distinguish repairing the leak, ceiling damage and recovery from a liable party. This grid alone does not allocate the bill between tenant and landlord: the lease and regional tenancy rules must also be considered.

Assuralia convention: an indexed threshold, not your policy limit

The convention sets a base amount of 2,500 euro excluding VAT per injured third party, linked to ABEX index 490 from the first half of 2000. This is neither the current indexed threshold nor your policy’s payout limit: ask your insurer which threshold applies.

The insurers concerned must participate and the relevant cover must be in force. Under article 3, your water-damage insurer pays under your own cover. Where applicable, it may supplement certain uncovered damage on the liability insurer’s behalf at actual value, after deducting depreciation. This is not a promise to reimburse every invoice in full.

Article 7 states that policyholders and third parties cannot invoke the convention, which can neither benefit nor prejudice them. Ask how your claim will be handled rather than treating the agreement as a personal entitlement to payment. Source: Assuralia convention, articles 1, 3, 4 and 7.

The plumber's role: find, repair and document the cause

The plumber investigates and repairs the leak, documenting the cause found for the insurance file. The convention text also says the liable party's insurer must do everything to have its policyholder remedy the cause of the damage.

• Ask for a detailed invoice stating the cause found (joint, corroded pipe, fitting, appliance) and the work done.
• Ask the insurer whether it needs a leak-detection report, a statement of cause or other evidence. If the cause is not established, have that uncertainty recorded rather than presenting a guess as a diagnosis.
• If the leak is hidden (in a wall or slab), say so: a pipe that is not reachable changes the allocation of liability in the grid.
• Have the faulty part photographed before it is thrown away.

For a leak in common parts, contact the building manager; for the neighbour’s installation, notify its occupant and, if rented, its owner. Clarify who orders the work, who receives the bill and what the insurer accepts: fixing the pipe and paying for ceiling damage are separate items. For work at your place, see our plumber page and, to understand who pays after the meter, water leak after the meter: who pays?.

Excess, exceptions and what to do if it stalls

Even when the neighbour is liable, your insurer in principle deducts the excess from the payout. Assuralia explains that it also refunds that amount if it can recover it from the neighbour's insurer; otherwise you can claim it from the neighbour or go through your legal expenses insurance.

• Cover depends on the policy. Water damage, third-party recourse, family liability, legal expenses: each cover depends on your contract. Read the general conditions.
• Possible exclusions. AG gives examples such as a loss caused intentionally by the policyholder, a dilapidated building or one due for demolition, or failure to meet a contractual duty about the condition of the property, if that caused the loss.
• Tenants. Also tell your own insurer if your liability could be engaged.
• Dispute with the insurer. Go first to its complaints department, then to the Insurance Ombudsman.

Sources: Assuralia FAQ on the excess and AG, damage to your home.

• Assuralia - Convention Dégâts d'eau (page officielle)
• Assuralia - Texte de la convention Dégâts d'eau, avec grille de responsabilités (PDF)
• Assuralia - FAQ : dégât des eaux dont le voisin est responsable et franchise
• AG Insurance - Dégâts à votre habitation : que faire ?
• Assuralia - Conventie Waterschade (NL)
• Ombudsman des Assurances / Ombudsman van de Verzekeringen
• SPF Justice — Loi du 4 avril 2014 relative aux assurances, articles 74 à 76, 106 et 149