Who is responsible for water damage in my unit?
It depends on where the water started and on your lease or the association's governing documents. A landlord commonly controls the building and its systems, a condo association usually controls shared elements, and an owner controls the inside of the unit. Read your lease or declaration, notify in writing and ask for the decision in writing.
This site cannot decide that question for you, and neither can a cleanup crew. What the crew can do is document the cause and the extent, which helps whoever has to decide.
Renters often carry a renter's policy that covers their belongings and, in some cases, extra living costs. Ask your insurer what yours says, and file promptly.
Does the Maryland home-improvement licence apply to condos and apartments?
Not clearly. A 2006 fiscal note describes the Maryland Home Improvement Commission definition as covering repair of a residence, and as excluding apartment buildings of four or more units and condominium common areas, but that is a secondary summary. Ask any contractor what licence it holds for the job type and check the state lookup.
For work inside a single unit that you own, MHIC licensing is more likely to be relevant than for the building's common elements. The safest approach is to ask the contractor to say which licences it holds and what scope they cover.
In both cases, ask for the scope and price in writing before work begins, and compare it with what your association or landlord has approved.
What if the water came from a neighbor?
Photograph it, tell management or the association in writing, and tell the neighbor if you can reach them. Do not wait for the neighbor to act. The water in your unit still needs to be extracted and dried quickly. Who pays is for the owners, the association and the insurers to settle afterward.
Drying a unit does not depend on settling blame. The crew documents the cause, the timeline and the extent, and you keep a copy for whoever needs it.
Water that crosses a shared wall may also have reached the unit on the other side. Mention it to management so they can check.
How is first-floor flooding different from a leak upstairs?
Water from outside comes through doors, vents and floors, carries soil and is treated as contaminated. A leak from above is usually clean or gray. First-floor flooding is also an insurance question, because flood is generally excluded from standard policies and needs separate coverage, which a renter's policy often does not include.
In Riverdale, repeated flash flooding has left water around apartment complexes and in first-floor units. If you live on a garden level near a creek, ask your landlord about the building's flood history, and ask your insurer what your policy covers.
See flood damage cleanup for how those losses are handled.
What should I put in the letter to management?
State the date and time you found the water, where it is, what you think the source is, what you have done to limit it, and that you are asking the landlord or association to act. Attach photographs, send it by email or another method that leaves a record, and keep a copy. Ask for a written reply that says who will arrange the repair.
Keep it factual and short. The aim is a dated record that you reported the problem promptly and asked for action, not an argument about fault.
Follow up if you do not get a reply. A second message that refers to the first one shows a pattern of notice and can matter later.
What about my belongings while the unit dries?
Move valuables and papers out of the wet area, lift furniture off wet floors, and photograph everything. If rooms must be emptied for drying or rebuilding, a pack-out moves contents to storage, which is a separate service with its own price. Your renter's or owner's policy may address belongings, and your insurer decides what it pays.
Soft goods that sat in contaminated water, such as sofas, mattresses and rugs, are usually discarded. Hard goods can be cleaned. The crew sorts them with you, and you keep a list.
Electronics and documents are worth taking with you if the unit is unsafe. Do not plug in a device that was wet.
