A homestay guest caused a water leak to the unit below? Stop the water first, photograph the source, then tell building management and the neighbour downstairs. Under Malaysian strata rules the upper unit's owner is usually presumed responsible first. Claims against the guest or the platform come afterwards and are not guaranteed.
This article is for owners of homestay units in condominiums. It describes a common type of incident in the short-stay business, not a story about a particular guest of ours. We do not label any group of people. Anyone can forget a running tap, including us at home.
Why is a leak into the unit below worse than a wet floor?
A wet bathroom floor is only our problem. Water coming through a neighbour's ceiling involves three parties at once:
- The neighbour downstairs, whose ceiling, lights, wardrobe or mattress may be damaged.
- Building management (the JMB or MC), who must inspect and decide the cause.
- The homestay owner, because in a strata building it is the upper unit's owner who gets the call, not the guest.
By the time anyone counts the damage, the guest has usually checked out and gone home. The neighbour lives there every day. Handled badly, one leak turns into a complaint to management and makes other residents less tolerant of short stays in the building. We covered that dynamic in our article on neighbour noise complaints.
What usually causes water to overflow in a homestay?
Not every leak is the guest's fault. We separate the causes before anyone talks about money.
| Cause | Usually caused by | Who usually bears it |
|---|---|---|
| Sink or shower left running until it overflows | Guest | Claim from the guest if there is proof, the rest falls to the owner |
| Floor drain blocked with hair, food or plastic | Guest, or old build-up | Depends on what is found in the drain |
| Toilet blocked by sanitary pads, nappies or wet wipes | Guest | Claim from the guest if there is proof |
| Washing machine hose came loose or burst | Usually an ageing part | Owner |
| Air-conditioner drain pipe dripping | Air-con maintenance | Owner |
| Pipe inside the wall or failed bathroom waterproofing | Age of the unit or building | Owner, or management if the pipe is shared |
| Main pipe serving several units | Common property | Building management |
The last two rows matter. According to a lawyer interviewed by Recommend.my (September 2024), a pipe that serves more than one unit counts as common property, so management repairs it. A pipe serving only one unit is that unit owner's responsibility.
What do we do in the first hour?
We usually hear about it one of three ways: the guest messages "there is a lot of water on the floor", the neighbour comes down to the lobby, or security calls. Our order:
- Stop the water. Ask the guest to turn off the tap, or show them where the unit's main water valve is. If the guest is not in the unit, our team goes over.
- Keep electricity safe. If water reaches sockets or lights, ask the guest not to touch them and to switch off at the distribution board if it is safe to do so.
- Photograph and video before wiping. The sink, the drain, the floor and whatever caused the blockage. These photos decide whether we can claim from the guest at all.
- Call the management office. They will inspect the unit below and record the incident.
- Meet the neighbour downstairs politely. Photograph their ceiling, take a phone number, and explain that the upper unit's owner will be contacted. We do not promise a compensation amount on the spot.
- Tell the owner the same day, with the photos and what we know so far, including "cause not yet confirmed".
We do not start with "whose fault is it". Water that is still running does more damage every minute.
What do strata rules say about inter-floor leaks?
This is a summary of the Recommend.my interview with a lawyer (29 September 2024). It is not legal advice.
| Point | What it says |
|---|---|
| Starting presumption | Under the Strata Management Act 2013, a leak is presumed to come from the upper unit until its owner proves otherwise |
| Inspection | Management must inspect as soon as practicable, or within seven days of receiving notice |
| Certificate of inspection | Issued after the inspection (that article says five days; other legal sources say seven) |
| Repair | The responsible party must repair within seven days of receiving the certificate; if not, management can do the work and recover the cost |
| Access | The owner must allow entry for inspection; in an emergency entry is allowed without written notice |
| Refusing access | Fine of up to RM50,000, up to three years' jail, or both |
| Disputes | Can go to the Commissioner of Buildings, or to the Strata Management Tribunal for claims below RM250,000 |
What this means for a homestay owner: the neighbour downstairs will not chase the guest. They will chase the owner of the unit above. The owner can then try to recover from the guest or the platform, but that is step two.
Different sources quote different regulation numbers and certificate deadlines. If your case is large, ask a lawyer to check the current text.
Can the deposit or the platform cover the damage?
Partly, sometimes.
- Direct-booking deposit. Our default deposit is RM200, and every deduction must come with a photo. That covers a new drain cover or a short plumber visit. It does not cover a neighbour's ceiling. How we deduct is explained in homestay deposit deductions for damage.
- Damage records in our system. Every damage record has a payer: owner, customer or insurance. To charge the customer, it must be linked to a booking that checked out within seven days before the reference date. A leak only found two weeks later is hard to charge to a guest.
- Airbnb. Airbnb's AirCover pages say Host liability insurance of up to US$1 million can cover damage a guest causes to common areas and nearby properties, but not intentional damage. Terms vary by country and the cover is underwritten by third-party insurers, so we do not promise an outcome.
- Booking.com and Agoda. We could not find a public page explaining cover for damage to a neighbour's unit. We would rather not guess.
For the owner's own policy, see our article on homestay insurance in Malaysia. Public liability in a home policy is the part most relevant to a neighbour's ceiling.
Who pays what when things do not go smoothly?
This is the part owners should hear plainly:
| Cost | Who pays first | Can it be recovered? |
|---|---|---|
| Plumber to clear the drain | Owner (on the monthly statement) | From the guest's deposit if there is a photo of the cause |
| Repairing the neighbour's ceiling, paint and lights | Owner of the upper unit | Partly from the guest, the platform or insurance; not certain |
| Neighbour's damaged belongings | Owner of the upper unit | As above |
| Nights that cannot be sold during repairs | Owner (lost revenue) | Rarely |
| A burst shared pipe | Building management | Not a guest matter |
An RM200 deposit will not cover ceiling damage. We do not buy insurance on the owner's behalf. We cannot promise Airbnb will approve a claim. And if there is no photo showing the cause, we do not deduct from the guest's deposit, so the cost lands on the unit.
How do we reduce the risk of overflow?
Not everything can be prevented, but a few cheap things help:
- Show the main water valve in the check-in guide, with a photo, so a guest can shut it off in an emergency.
- Hair catchers on floor drains and a lidded bin in every bathroom, so rubbish stays out of the drain and the toilet.
- Cleaners check the drains at every turnover: does water go down fast or slowly?
- Short house rules: no sanitary pads or wet wipes in the toilet, turn off taps before going out. We wrote about house rules guests actually read.
- Service the air-con and replace old washing machine hoses, because these two causes are not the guest's fault and are entirely the owner's cost.
What should an owner ask a management company?
Ask every company, including us, in writing:
- Who goes to the unit if water leaks at 2am, and roughly how long does it take?
- Does your team photograph the cause before cleaning up?
- Who deals with the neighbour and the management office, you or me?
- If the leak comes from your team's work (for example a cleaner blocks a drain), who pays?
We do not publish a guaranteed response time. We manage more than 100 units across Johor Bahru and Desaru, and arrival time depends on location and the hour.
Summary for owners
- Stop the water first, photograph second, assign blame last.
- In a strata building the upper unit is presumed responsible until shown otherwise.
- An RM200 deposit covers small costs only; a neighbour's ceiling needs insurance or a platform claim.
- Old pipes, washing machine hoses and air-con drains are not the guest's fault.
If you want a company that handles incidents like this for your unit, anywhere in Johor Bahru or Desaru, talk to us at /ownerenquiry.
This article is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Check your platform's terms, your insurance policy and your building's by-laws.