Replacing carpet due to water leak - who pays?

Over the period of 1.5 years the chimney on my condo would occasionally leak during heavy rainfall. Each time it was documented and nothing permanent was done to address the issue. A section of carpet next to the fireplace would get wet but the stain would clean up without too much effort. Finally during a major rainfall a large section got wet and had to be cleaned professionally. After 4 cleaning attempts it was decided that the carpet needed to be replaced because the stain would not come out. At this point the HOA has agreed to pay for new carpet in the one room with the fireplace/stain. The chimney issue has finally been permanently (hopefully) fixed.

QUESTION: There is a bedroom connected on each side where the carpet meets but will not match if only the damaged room is replaced. I want all carpet to match but the property management company will not return emails or calls regarding paying for carpet in the additional rooms. Is it unreasonable for me to be requesting that the HOA pays to replace all the carpet since it previously matched and they were negligent in fixing the leaking chimney in a timely manner? I am happy they are at least paying for the damaged room but I would not be replacing anything if it were not for the leaking chimney which they are responsible. I appreciate any comments.

James,

If this was a claim for damage to the interior of a car the insurance adjuster would pro-rate your claim based on the age of the interior. If it is more than seven years old they will pay for none of it. The term used in auto insurance adjustment is "betterment."

Count your blessings if your condo insurance is paying for any of it instead of arguing that it is old, worn out, and worthless.

James

My understanding of such would be that you call your insurance company and file a claim. They then subrogate with your HOA's insurance company. The questions then becomes what would your insurance company have done and are you better off with the HOA deal?

James

How much money did the HOA offer and how much money would it cost to replace all the carpeting you desire replaced?

The docs may say that, but that is not necessarily correct.

James G13 : Many dispute-resolving outcomes unfortunately leave innocent victims to suck up some grief. No question it's not being made whole again.

Like jurisdictions ( as my own ) for example annoyingly tolerate auto repair compensation that might not address loss of resale value. Or refuse to adequately compensate for destruction of an immaculately maintained vehicle that could never be replaced for the amount of the insurance payout even if deductible is waived.

Maybe the least pain is to rationalize something like : " the carpet was not absolutely new; the damage was thus to a depreciated portion that at least will be new again." Stuff like "insurance is about reducing pain but not daring to really make anyone truly whole".

The "but for" causality argument in some cases makes innocent victims suffer a lot of anger that maybe they can only best try to suck up.

You're not asking for new furniture nor a vacation trip, but the bigger picture might be that some victim claims might ask for the whole unit redone and everyone's premiums go higher . .