A couple in their 60s who dreamed of a peaceful retirement have been suffering for three years due to rainwater leaks in their apartment, enduring a difficult legal battle amid what they describe as neglect by the management office and local government.
Living in an apartment in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the couple loses sleep every time it rains as water leaks down the ceilings and walls of three rooms, leaving them exposed to the risk of electric shock.
When they first discovered severe dampness on their walls in September 2023, the management office repeatedly avoided investigating the cause and taking responsibility, claiming it was condensation caused by a lack of ventilation.
After the couple threatened legal action, a belated detailed inspection pointed to exterior wall cracks and damage to the upper floor's window frames as the cause of the leaks. However, the upstairs household reportedly refused to cooperate with repairs, claiming they could not believe the findings.
Ultimately, the affected couple had no choice but to shoulder over 10 million won in out-of-pocket expenses and file a lengthy civil lawsuit against the residents' representative council and the upstairs neighbor.
Suffering from financial burdens as well as psychological distress severe enough to disrupt their daily lives, the couple pleaded, "We want to uncover the objective truth as soon as possible, fundamentally stop the intrusion of rainwater, and reclaim our lost peaceful routine."
Experts point to blind spots in relevant laws as the reason why such unfair damages continue to repeat.
Under Article 6 of the Act on Ownership and Management of Buildings, there is a provision presuming responsibility to lie with common areas if the cause of a leak is unclear. However, local governments that should oversee this are reluctant to actively mediate, claiming they can only intervene once the cause is definitively identified.
Experts unanimously emphasize that "there is an urgent need to establish clear legal grounds allowing local governments to compel apartment management entities to immediately launch investigations into the causes."
(Photo: Provided by reader, Yonhap News)
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