Who pays when an upstairs condo unit floods your apartment in Florida?

When an upstairs condo unit floods yours in Florida, payment usually splits three ways: the association (common elements and the master policy), the upstairs owner (if the failed part is inside that unit), and your own HO-6 (your finishes and contents). Florida Statute 718 sets the framework. Your declaration of condominium sets the exact boundary.

Pipes that serve more than one unit, or that run in shared walls, floors, and chases, are typically common elements. Section 718.113(1) requires the association to maintain those. A supply line that serves only the upstairs unit and sits inside that unit's boundaries is typically that owner's responsibility. A camera in the ceiling does not settle this. The declaration does.

A fourth-floor line can wet three, two, and one. Each unit may have its own HO-6 claim for flooring, cabinets, and drywall finishes. The association's master policy may cover structure back to original spec, or it may be a bare-walls form that leaves more on the HO-6. Those two forms are not interchangeable. Condo stack water cleanup that maps moisture per unit is what those files need.

If the upstairs owner was negligent, 718 also has a path for uninsured costs to be charged back. If the owner was not negligent and a hidden common-element pipe failed, that path may not apply. Restoration companies do not decide this. Upstairs ceiling leak response is the physical work. Liability is a document question.

Insurance still has its own exclusions. Sudden discharge is the coverage most forms pay. Gradual seepage and flood water from outside are the usual no. Florida insurance coverage for water covers that split in more detail.

Practical steps: photograph the drip and the upstairs source if you are allowed in, report it to the association in writing, call your HO-6, and get the water extracted so the loss does not grow. We document source, path, and readings by unit. We do not interpret your declaration. Call (305) 390-4900.