My downstairs neighbors who don't speak Dutch or English, have water damage. They have a moist, smelly, moldy wall for over half a year now.
They think the leakage comes from my place. But I had a plumber look at it, and it's coming from upstairs neighbors. So there is nothing I can do, and they should contact the upstairs neighbors.
Because of the language barrier, I can't seem to convey this message:
- I told my downstairs neighbors that they should contact the upstairs neighbors.
- I pointed where the leakage should be in my place, and then pointed to the door of upstairs neighbors.
- I used google translate to write a letter in Polish with a link to the original, so they can translate it themself (as I am not 100% sure they are Polish)
After the first two attempts they knocked on my door after a few days, saying that the problem was still not solved. After the third attempt I did not hear from them for several months. We did see each other those past months, but they never mentioned it in that time.
But last weekend they were back, mentioning something about a washing machine. Which sounds to me like they still don't understand that the leakage is not coming from my place.
some extra info
- My upstairs neighbors are also foreign, so asking them to get in contact with downstairs, sounds like an equal challenge.
- As far as I understand, they bought the house. So I can't contact their landlord.
How can I overcome the language barrier, to make it clear to foreign neighbors that I can't help them?