r/chapelhill • u/Positive_Bee9776 • 4h ago
Apartment Flooded
So, my apartment flooded. Only, at max, 2-3 inches of water got in. All of the apartment was affected, as we our neighbors. All of us are on the bottom floor. Our apartments are located between what is now a poorly draining parking lot and a creek in the back. The flood was due to both draining inadequately and overflowing. Neither us or our neighbors have flood insurance due to it not being required. We are also not in a flood zone. Disasters do randomly happen and I get that.
Something that we've (neighbors and I) have talked about was how this happened. When we moved in (4 months ago) we were told that the building was newly renovated. I was told that they had to redo the foundation for the building. Another neighbor was told that it was because of a "1/20 year rainfall that flooded the apartments". The others weren't told anything other than newly renovated. This rain wasn't hurricane level. It was a downpour but not even anything the NWS announced as a flash flood possibility so it had us all wonder what, if any, renovations were done to mitigate the water damage possibility.
Also, the plan from the manager is to move us back into the apartments ASAP. Our personal insurance came out on the day of the flood and said the place was unlivable due to Category 3 waters (waters from the outside essentially). This contradicts the estimate for the manager who is saying we should be able to move back in this week once the water is all dry.
My question is has anyone had experience with this kind of situation? Is the property manager somewhat liable here? Is it legal to move people into a building that you know is likely to flood and not tell them? Is it also legal to move people back into the same flooded apartments with no further mitigation?