The situation
Illustrative example. Not a real job or customer.
In a hypothetical 1960s-era mid-rise condo building near a busy central Denver corridor, the braided supply line feeding a toilet in a sixth-floor unit separates from its fitting overnight. The owner is asleep in a back bedroom. Water spreads across the bathroom tile, under the vanity, and down through the floor assembly along the plumbing chase.
- Before dawn, the fifth-floor owner wakes to dripping from the bathroom ceiling light and calls building management's emergency line.
- The building engineer reaches the sixth-floor unit, gets no answer, and uses the association's emergency access procedure to enter and close the toilet's shutoff valve.
- By then water has also reached the fourth-floor unit's hallway ceiling and closet.
- Management notifies all three owners and the HOA's insurance agent. Each owner calls their own insurer.
- The association arranges a mitigation contractor for the common areas and offers access to the same contractor for units. One owner chooses a different company; the two agree to share readings at the unit boundary.
- Moisture mapping shows wet subfloor and ceiling drywall in the sixth- and fifth-floor bathrooms, and a wet ceiling and closet wall on the fourth floor.
- The failed supply line is bagged and labeled. A plumber notes that the fitting separated and recommends replacing similar lines throughout the building.
Drying is finished in each unit within days of each other because the contractors coordinated. Responsibility for each piece is worked out under the declarations, the master policy and the owners' HO-6 policies. The board later adopts a schedule to replace aging supply lines and adds leak sensors in mechanical rooms.
Who did what
| Party | Role in this scenario | Key record |
|---|---|---|
| Sixth-floor owner | Source unit; contacted own insurer | Failed supply line and plumber's note |
| Fifth-floor owner | Discovered the leak and alerted management | Time of call, photos of ceiling |
| Fourth-floor owner | Secondary damage to ceiling and closet | Photos and moisture readings |
| Building engineer | Entered unit and closed the valve | Access log and time shut off |
| HOA and manager | Coordinated notices and common area drying | Master policy claim and communications |
| Mitigation contractors | Dried units and shared boundary readings | Daily logs for each unit |
Questions each owner might ask
- Under our declarations, is the toilet supply line the unit owner's responsibility?
- Does the master policy cover drywall and finishes inside my unit?
- Is the master policy deductible being assessed to anyone?
- Can I get copies of the readings taken in units above and below mine?
- Is there a building-wide plan for replacing aging supply lines?
General information for Denver, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.