How to draw up a claim for compensation for damage from flooding of an apartment? Step by step order

Pre-trial compensation for damage caused by flooding of an apartment

Despite the fact that the law does not provide for a mandatory pre-trial procedure for resolving such disputes, before going to court, you should send a claim to the guilty party demanding compensation for damage after the apartment was flooded. A pre-trial demand allows the victim to indicate the seriousness of his intentions to receive compensation for the damage caused, and also encourages the other party to seek a resolution to the current situation. The claim must indicate:

1. recipient of the claim;
2. sender of the claim;
3. date and time of flooding of the apartment, exact address, alleged cause of flooding and the person responsible;
4. requirements for the perpetrator, including the procedure for obtaining compensation;
5. date of preparation of the pre-trial demand.

The claim is signed by the victim, after which it is handed over personally or sent by registered mail with a list of the contents addressed to the recipient. No matter how the claim is sent, the main thing is that you have documents on hand confirming the fact that it was sent.

It is worth noting that the court always positively perceives the party’s intentions to resolve the conflict peacefully. In addition, the presence of an unanswered claim in the case may indicate dishonest behavior of the defendant and is used by the plaintiff to prove his case.

USEFUL : read how you can make a claim profitably through us, and also watch a video with additional tips on filing it

What expenses does the culprit pay?

To evaluate this, there are two ways:

1. The victim and the perpetrator make their own assessment.
2. This work is performed by an expert.

The first method is suitable if both parties are determined to resolve the dispute out of court and independently assess the damage caused. At the same time, the victim does not abuse the situation and does not make excessive demands, and the culprit behaves decently, is aware of the harm caused and strives to compensate for it as soon as possible.

If the parties can independently agree on a reasonable amount of compensation, they will have to bring the dispute to court. The court needs an official document in which the amount of damage is indicated at an expert level. An insurance company also needs an examination, for which the specialist’s report is the basis for charging the amount specified in the document.

When assessing damage for an insured event, insurance companies send their specialist employees who deliberately underestimate the amount of damage caused. The difference between the actual damage after flooding an apartment and that indicated in such a report is 3-5 times or more.

If the culprit refuses to voluntarily pay compensation or the insurer underestimates the amount of payments, an independent examination is required . To do this you need:

1. Find a company that provides services for conducting damage assessments as a result of the flood.
2. Make sure that she has a license to conduct construction and technical expertise and certificates for measuring equipment.
3. Agree on a preliminary date for the inspection of the apartment.
4. Notify interested parties (the culprit, the insurer).

In court, an expert’s report can be refuted by various arguments, namely:

• Wrong license.
• Uncertified equipment.
• Interested parties are not notified of the date and time of the inspection.

Therefore, the fact of notification must be documented. For this letter:

1. Sent with an inventory and notification of delivery;
2. It is presented in person with a signature on delivery on the second copy.

When submitting an application to a company that will assess damage after an apartment is flooded, you need to submit:

• Passport or other identification document of the applicant;
• Document of title to the apartment (social tenancy agreement, certificate of ownership);
• Flood Act;
• Technical passport for real estate.

On the appointed day and time, a company specialist will inspect the apartment, and the customer will receive his report within 3-5 days. For the court, copies must be attached to the report:

1. Construction and technical license of an expert.
2. Certificates for measuring equipment.
3. Copies of the notification to interested parties with confirmation of receipt.

Reimbursement of expenses

It is carried out both pre-trial and in court. In the first case, you can receive compensation:

• Immediately after identifying the fact of the flood;
• Within a few days, after drawing up the act on the bay;
• After receiving the expert's report.

A respectable culprit may proactively offer to resolve a property conflict without going to court . You can do this in two ways:

1. Immediately settle accounts with the victims.
2. Enter into a written agreement.

A hybrid option - when the person through whose fault the flood occurred, compensates for the damage immediately, and undertakes to pay the remaining amount under a written agreement.

Refusal to immediately compensate for the harm caused does not mean that this cannot be achieved over the next week or month, while the act and examination are being prepared. Well-drafted claims can convince the culprit not to bring the case to court. The emphasis needs to be on increasing the amount of payments by court decision, which will oblige to pay not only damage as a result of the flood.

For example, the amount of compensation increases:

• For 7-10 tr. – when ordering an examination;
• For 20-50 tr. – when hiring a lawyer;
• For 3-5 tr. – when applying to a notary and to court.

If it was not possible to do without a lawsuit, the parties defend their position in court. Before a decision is made, the applicant and the defendant may enter into a settlement agreement.

The amount of damages to be compensated depends on who is at fault - a private individual or a management company. In the latter case, a penalty is added to the total amount, which consists of direct compensation for damage, examination, legal costs and legal services.

It is calculated in accordance with the provisions of Article 23 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights at the rate of 1% of the amount of damage for each day of non-payment. The countdown begins after 10 days from the date the management company receives a request for payment of compensation.

Another feature between compensation for damage from the flood caused by a neighbor or utility workers is that in the latter case, the courts satisfy claims for compensation for mental suffering and anxiety.

Recovery of moral damages

Courts are reluctant to grant these demands.
In cases in which both parties are private individuals, compensation for moral damages is denied. The prospects for the management company are worse; practice shows that the courts are meeting the demands of the victims halfway. You should not count on large sums; the average size of such payments is in the range of 5-10 tr. The courts are skeptical and reluctant to agree to compensate for moral damages when an apartment is flooded; judicial practice eloquently testifies to this. The applicants do not sufficiently prove the cause-and-effect relationship between the flood and the harm to health, which is estimated at a certain amount. They believe that the justification for this harm can be abstract, because emotional experiences are an equally imprecise and subjective category.

The main disadvantages in defending claims for compensation for moral damages:

• The connection between the actions or inactions of the culprit and the harm caused is not justified;
• There is no precise indication of how the suffering and experiences caused are expressed;
• It is unclear what illegal activities led to them;
• There is no calculation of the amount of compensation for moral damage;
• The circumstances presented by the plaintiff and the arguments given by him are not supported by documentary or witness evidence.

To overcome skeptical judges and the defendant's objections, the evidence and justification for claims for moral damages must have a good margin of strength.

Determining the amount of compensation for flooding an apartment

In accordance with Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, damage caused to a person or property is subject to compensation in full. After flooding the apartment, the parties have the right to agree on an amount that will compensate for the damage caused. To do this, the injured party should record the damage (in a photo or video) and invite witnesses who will be able to confirm the visible damage in the future. It is permissible to compile the amount of compensation with a reasonable degree of reliability in the form of a table, after which, transfer the documents to the culprit of the flood so that he can express his position.

If the parties were unable to agree on the amount of compensation on their own, then they should contact a specialized organization engaged in the assessment of damaged property, building materials and apartment decoration. If there are disagreements after involving a third-party appraiser, to resolve the conflict, you will need to go to court with a statement of claim.

The damage assessment previously carried out by an independent appraiser will be a weighty argument in determining the amount of compensation. In addition, if any of the parties disagrees with the results of the assessment, the court, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, may order a forensic examination, therefore it is not recommended to carry out repairs on the premises until all issues regarding compensation for damage caused have been resolved.

Official website of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation made important clarifications for the apartments affected by the flood: the lack of documents confirming the nature and extent of the damage caused, and the cost of the repair work carried out are not grounds for refusing to collect compensation. Also, the plaintiffs may make a mistake with the defendants in the flood case; the court cannot refuse their claims because of this mistake, but must itself remove all obstacles to restore justice, the highest authority emphasizes.

The Case of the Flood

A resident of the Stavropol Territory filed a claim against her neighbors and the management company for compensation for damage caused by the flooding of her apartment.

The plaintiff asked the court to jointly and severally recover the cost of restoration repairs, legal costs for assessing damage and conducting a forensic examination, as well as the cost of state fees. The total amount of the claim was more than 370 thousand rubles.

According to the case file, the cause of the incident was a broken pipe in the hot water supply in the apartment above. As a result, the ceiling tiles in the living room, kitchen and hallway, the floor in the hallway and almost the entire bathroom were damaged. The next day the management company drew up a report about this.

The defendants did not deny or refute the damage caused and the document drawn up, but they asked to refuse the claims.

Nevertheless, the Oktyabrsky Court of Stavropol satisfied the claim and even recovered in favor of the victim additional costs for conducting a judicial construction and technical examination - a little more than 21.5 thousand rubles.

However, the Stavropol Regional Court completely overturned this decision and issued a ruling dismissing the claim in full. Moreover, the appeal recovered the costs of the examination from the plaintiff.

The victim of the apartment flood did not agree with this decision and filed a complaint with the Supreme Court.

Who is to blame for the bay?

The district court, satisfying the plaintiff’s demands, proceeded from the fact that material damage to the tenant was caused by both the neighbors and the management company, since they made a mutual decision to make changes to the hot water supply system.

“There are a set of conditions for compensation for damage caused as a result of flooding of the premises, the fault of the apartment owners, who should not have unauthorizedly made a connection into the common house hot water supply pipe, the fault of the defendant Housing Management Company No. 4 LLC, whose employee uncontrollably carried out the specified work, did not having agreed with the owners of the premises of the apartment building and the management company, as well as the management company’s failure to fulfill the obligation to check the temperature and humidity conditions of the basements, monitor the condition of technical communications, and timely eliminate identified violations,” the first instance indicated.

The appellate court considered that joint and several liability cannot arise, since the section of the hot water supply engineering system, the cut into which led to the flood, belongs to the common property of the house.

Consequently, the regional court decided, the management company is responsible for such a breakthrough, since it poorly performed its duty to ensure the technically sound condition of the common property.

The court did not receive evidence that the residents of the apartment above were also responsible for the flood, the appeal indicated.

She also noted that the plaintiff did not provide evidence to the trial confirming the types and costs of repair work, the costs of materials and equipment necessary to eliminate defects that arose solely as a result of flooding. That is, the plaintiff has not proven the amount of material damage caused as a result of the flood, the regional court believes.

The Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court found that when considering the case, the appellate court committed a significant violation of the norms of substantive and procedural law.

Responsibility of the management company

In its decision, the Supreme Court analyzed in detail the responsibilities of the management company and the concepts of common property in the house. He cites subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the owners own common property in an apartment building, including sanitary and other equipment.

In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building, approved by Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006, the common property includes in-house cold and hot water supply engineering systems, consisting of risers, branches from the risers to the first disconnecting device located on branches from the risers, the specified disconnect devices, collective (common house) cold and hot water metering devices, the first shut-off and control valves on the branches of the intra-apartment wiring from the risers, as well as mechanical, electrical, sanitary and other equipment located on these networks, reminds me of a court.

“From the above legal norms it follows that the in-house engineering systems of hot and cold water supply up to the first disconnecting device, as well as this device, are included in the common property of an apartment building,” he points out.

Clause 10 of the rules regulates that common property must be maintained in accordance with the requirements of the law (including on the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, technical regulation, consumer protection) in a condition that ensures compliance with the reliability and safety characteristics of an apartment building; safety for the life and health of citizens, safety of property of individuals or legal entities, state, municipal and other property, etc.

Management organizations are responsible to the owners of premises for violation of their obligations and are responsible for the proper maintenance of common property - guaranteed by paragraph 42 of the rules.

Also, in accordance with paragraph 2.1 of Article 161 of the Housing Code, in the direct management of a house, responsibility to the owners for the safety of common property and high-quality performance of work lies with persons performing services for the maintenance and repair of common property, providing cold and hot water supply and carrying out sewerage, electricity, and gas supply ( including the supply of domestic gas in cylinders), heating (heat supply, including the supply of solid fuel in the presence of stove heating), management of municipal solid waste, the decision recalls.

“Consequently, the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the common property of an apartment building, including in-building cold water supply systems up to the first disconnection device, is assigned to the management organization,” notes the Supreme Court.

He recalls that during the trial it was established that the cause of the flooding of the plaintiff’s apartment was the failure of the first shut-off and control valve at the distribution outlet from the hot water supply riser in the apartment.

“Under such circumstances, in order to properly resolve the dispute, it was necessary to establish whether the section of the hot water supply engineering system, the break of which caused the flooding of the apartment, belongs to the common property of the apartment building and whether the management company is responsible for such a break, as well as the circumstances associated with the occurrence of the cause bay - actions (inaction) of the apartment owners from above and the management company regarding the proper maintenance and operation of the hot water supply pipe,” explains the highest authority.

The plaintiff may make a mistake with the defendant

The Supreme Court was surprised by the position of the appeal, which refused to recover damages to the apartment damaged by the flood due to the fact that the plaintiff insisted on joint liability of the neighbors and the management company.

The regional court decided that only the management company was responsible for the breakthrough, since it occurred on an area of ​​common property. But since the applicant wanted to receive compensation from both defendants, the court decided to completely deny her demands. At the same time, the appeal referred to the possibility of the victim exercising her violated right in other ways provided by law.

Meanwhile, the appellate court did not refute the conclusion of the first instance court about the conformity of the plaintiff’s chosen method of protecting his right and did not substantiate in the determination what other method commensurate with the violated right could eliminate the violation of the plaintiff’s rights committed by the defendant, the Supreme Court points out.

It.

Amount of losses

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also did not agree with the conclusions that there were no grounds to recover damages from the resident due to the fact that the amount of material damage caused had not been proven. This position is not based on the law, the Supreme Court emphasizes.

He refers to paragraph 1 of Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which provides that harm caused to the person or property of a citizen, as well as harm caused to the property of a legal entity, is subject to compensation in full by the person who caused the harm.

In addition, by virtue of Part 2 of Article 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is the court that determines what circumstances are important for the case, which party must prove them, and brings the circumstances up for discussion, even if the parties did not refer to any of them.

And according to paragraph 1 of Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a person whose rights have been violated may demand full compensation for the losses caused to him, unless the law or contract provides for compensation for losses in a smaller amount.

The Supreme Court also provides clarifications from the plenum of June 23, 2015, in the second paragraph of paragraph 12 of which it is stated that the amount of damages subject to compensation must be established with a reasonable degree of certainty.

“In the meaning of paragraph 1 of Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a claim for compensation for losses cannot be refused only on the grounds that their exact amount cannot be determined. In this case, the amount of damages to be compensated is determined by the court, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, based on the principles of fairness and proportionality of liability to the violation committed,” the highest authority emphasizes.

The Supreme Court notes that in such cases, the duty of the court is to clarify the actual circumstances of the case: establishing the fact of the flood and the culprit in the incident, the fact of damage to the plaintiff’s property and its assessment in material terms. But the appellate court did not fulfill this duty.

“At the same time, the obligation to compensate for the harm caused and cases in which exemption from such an obligation is possible are provided for by law. Failure to prove the amount of damage caused is not included in the current legislation as a basis for not imposing civil liability on the tortfeasor,” explains the Supreme Court.

He considered the violations of substantive and procedural law committed by the appellate court to be significant and insurmountable, and therefore canceled the ruling and sent the case for a new trial.

Alice Fox

Documents to court in case of flooding of an apartment

The statement of claim for compensation for damage caused by flooding of the apartment, in addition to the claim itself, includes the following documents:

• information about the plaintiff and defendant in the future lawsuit . We are talking about passports for individuals or extracts from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities for legal entities. The plaintiff also needs to confirm his ownership of the apartment and the defendant's ownership. If the fault for flooding the apartment is related to the actions (inactions) of the management company or developer, then an agreement will be required, the terms of which, apparently, were violated by these legal entities;
• documents confirming the circumstances of the case . To record damage and establish the amount of compensation, a conclusion from an independent appraiser is required;
• a receipt confirming payment of the state fee or a request for deferred payment;
• notification of delivery of a copy of the claim with attachments to the defendant or confirming the fact of sending the application to him;
• other documents recommended by a specialist from the Law Office “Katsailidi and Partners”. These may include: a copy of the claim previously sent to the defendant, a power of attorney from the plaintiff’s representative, and others.

Are your neighbor's actions legal?

The neighbor’s actions are not conscientious, but they do not contradict the law, notes Nurida Ibragimova, head of the quality control department of the Amulex National Legal Service.

According to Arbat MCA lawyer Vadim Bashir-Zade, if the receipt does not specify the grounds for the transfer of funds, then it will not be possible to challenge the actions of the neighbors. “If it is impossible to conclude from the receipt that the money was transferred to compensate for damage from the bay, then there will be no unjust enrichment on the part of the neighbors in this case,” says the expert.

Moreover, if the receipt had been drawn up correctly, then you would not have to overpay twice. “If the neighbors hid from the insurance company the fact that they were compensated for the damage by receipt, then the insurance company will not be able to recover funds through subrogation [that is, demand compensation from the culprit - Sravni.ru],” says Bashir-Zadeh.

How does the apartment bay trial work?

This category of cases, depending on the amount of claims, is considered by magistrates or district courts. A civil case must be considered within two months from the date of receipt of the claim in court, but in reality it may take a longer period to consider the case.

After accepting the claim for proceedings, the court determines the date for the preliminary hearing in the case. In the ruling on preparing the case for trial, the court indicates to the parties what is required of them in addition to the previously presented materials. You must be fully prepared for the preliminary court hearing, since in cases involving flooding of an apartment, in the absence of objections from the parties, the court can proceed to the main hearing immediately after the preliminary hearing and consider the case on the merits.

The consideration of the case consists in the fact that the plaintiff substantiates his claims against the culprit of the flood in the apartment, and the defendant either accepts the claims or expresses his disagreement with them. If there is a dispute about the amount of damage, the parties have the right to request the appointment of a forensic examination to determine its amount.

After studying all the circumstances of the case, judicial arguments, remarks and studying materials, the court retires to the deliberation room to make a decision. The court decision comes into force after a month from the date of its production in final form, unless it has been appealed.

Arbitrage practice

In May 2021, the Cheryomushkinsky District Court of the capital considered a civil case regarding a claim for recovery of damage from the flooding of an apartment and compensation for moral damage. During the hearings, it was established that the defendant was indeed to blame for the damage caused. By court decision the following was recovered from the culprit:

• Damage to property - in full;
• Court expenses;
• State duty.

Compensation for moral damage was denied. The peculiarity of the case is that the flood occurred six years earlier, in 2010. However, the court did not consider the missed statute of limitations.

Another case of compensation for damage due to flooding of an apartment (judicial practice in the same institution). In February 2021, a claim was considered against two co-owners of an apartment in which the floor was screeded, which caused the neighbors below to flood. The stated demands are compensation for damage caused to property, costs for the services of an expert and lawyer, and state fees.

One of the defendants admitted guilt and partially agreed with the demands presented. He was ready to pay for the direct harm caused. According to the court decision, the perpetrators were obliged to jointly pay:

• Gulf Damage;
• Lawyer and expert services;
• State duty.

In April 2021, the Tushinsky District Court of the capital considered a civil case regarding a claim against the management company. The plaintiff demanded damages in the amount of 120 rubles. and compensate for moral damage in the amount of 100 rubles. The court satisfied the first demand and imposed a penalty, but rejected the second. Motivation – there are no grounds for applying Art. 150, 151 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

If you intend to sue your neighbors who flooded, we recommend reading a separate article about this.

How to win a claim for damages after a flood?

Litigation always involves some risk. In some processes the risk is higher, in others it is lower, but it still exists. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to predict the actions of one’s opponent, and no one can know in advance all the documents that will be presented by the parties during the trial. You can minimize the risk of becoming a losing party in a court case by following the following basic rules:

1. identify the defendant in the case . A claim filed against an improper defendant will be denied, so the proper culprit for the flooding must be identified before the trial. The alleged culprits could be neighbors, the developer, a management company or another organization that manages the house. If the owner of the apartment is unknown, then you can find him out at the territorial office of Rosreestr;
2. prepare carefully for the trial . It is necessary to collect as much useful material as possible for the trial. The main evidence will be an assessment of the damage caused and recording the fact of flooding by a specific person;
3. comply with all procedural formalities . These include both advance payment of state fees and support of your position directly at the meeting;
4. seek help from a professional lawyer . If you doubt your success, we recommend that you seek help from a specialist in this category of cases. The assistance of a lawyer can play a key role in achieving a positive result in a case for compensation for damage caused by an apartment flood.

Owner's procedure for flooding

The owner should pay attention to the following points. He must determine why the flood occurred. Who is to blame (manager, HOA, neighbor, third parties). What was damaged as a result of the flood. The assessment of damage will determine the cost of the claim and the procedure for applying to court for protection.

It is very important not to try to eliminate the consequences of flooding right away. Before this, it is necessary to draw up an Apartment Inspection Report. The document is not drawn up by the owner. It is produced by employees of the Homeowners' Association, Housing Office, and Department of Economic Protection. And always with the participation of employees of the service organization and the owner of the apartment from which the flooding occurred. This is the most important document that confirms the basis and subject of the claim.

What to do if your apartment is flooded

When a person sees that water is flowing along the walls of an apartment, or, worse, a puddle is forming on the floor, the first thing he does is panic.

. This is absolutely impossible to do. The victim should calm down and see where the water is coming from: if a hole has formed in his apartment, then he should turn off the water, if not, then substitute a basin or place a rag, that is, do everything possible so as not to flood the neighbors below.

In addition, the homeowner should prevent the possibility of negative consequences. Lawyer Aiman ​​Nurikenova spoke about this :

If you detect flooding in your apartment, first of all you need to turn off the electricity supply, and then move the most valuable things and papers outside the home.

Aiman ​​Nurikenova

, practicing lawyer at the “Unified Defense Center” service.

Step #1: Troubleshooting

The next thing a person needs to do is contact their upstairs neighbors and find out about their pipe bursts

. Perhaps the neighbors' pipes were faulty and caused the apartment to flood.

If everything is dry with your neighbors and there is no water flowing anywhere, then you should ask them to also turn off the water, and also look at the main water supply riser. Then you need to call the management company or housing office and call a specialist or emergency service.

But in real life, the upstairs neighbors are not always at home. When asked what the victim should do in this case, Aiman ​​Nurikenova answered:

If there are no neighbors, you must call the dispatch service, whose arriving workers will shut off the water supply to the entire entrance. Telephone numbers for this service can be found on stands at the entrance.

Aiman ​​Nurikenova

, practicing lawyer at the “Unified Defense Center” service.

Step No. 2: Drawing up an act of filling the apartment

The second step a person needs to take is to call the management company and call the commission

, which will record the fact of flooding of the apartment and damage.

Before the commission arrives, the victim can take a photo of all the damage on his phone. Thus, he will insure himself in the event of controversial situations.

The act is the main document confirming the fact of flooding of the apartment

. It is drawn up in the presence of employees of the management company or housing department. This document describes in detail the damage caused and the circumstances under which it was caused, and also indicates the guilty party.

The flood report is drawn up within 12 hours after contacting the dispatch service. It is signed by specialists from the Criminal Code or Housing Department, the injured and guilty parties, as well as witnesses (at least 2 uninterested people).

The act is drawn up in 2 copies

. One act is transferred to the injured party, and the second act remains in the management company or housing department. According to the application of interested parties, the management company can provide a photocopy of the act on the bay.

Step No. 3: Determining the person at fault and the amount of damage caused

The act of filling the apartment determines the guilty person

. But it happens that it is impossible to reliably determine the guilty party at the initial stage. The act may state that the owner of the apartment is guilty, but later it turns out that pipes were being repaired in the apartment and the organization that carried out the repair work will be found guilty.

However, it is the person who will be determined in the gulf act who will be guilty until he proves his innocence.

To determine the amount of damage caused to the victim, it is necessary to contact independent experts

. After drawing up the contract, a specialist arrives to assess the actual damage to the apartment and calculate the exact amount of damage, including the cost of installation and repair work.

It is advisable that at the time of the assessment, the guilty party is present in the apartment (as an option - a neighbor or a specialist from the management company or housing department). Notification of the upcoming assessment should be sent to the guilty party no less than 3 days before the appraiser inspects the apartment.

It is worth noting that the injured party can assess the damage caused independently, but on the condition that the guilty party agrees to pay in full

this amount. But this scenario can only take place if the guilty party is a citizen. Since if the culprit is a management company or housing department, then it is still necessary to contact an independent expert, since the management company must justify any expense, including compensation for damage caused.

But it is worth paying attention to two nuances. Oksana Vasilyeva spoke about one thing concerning confirmation of the amount of damage caused without calling an appraiser.

:

If the person responsible for the flood admits his guilt and the extent of the damage is obvious (for example, you recently made repairs and have all the receipts), you can do without a professional assessment.

Oksana Vasilyeva,

Candidate of Law, Associate Professor of the Department of Legal Regulation of Economic Activities of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Lawyer Natalya Chekalova drew attention to the second nuance regarding independent calculation of the amount of damage caused.

:

The injured party can independently calculate the damage that it suffered in connection with the gulf, but such calculations may later be considered unfounded and overstated if the case goes to court and is resolved in court.

Natalia Chekalova

, practicing lawyer.

Once the injured party has collected all the evidence of the damage caused and calculated the amount of damage, you can begin to file a claim.

to the guilty party.

Step No. 4: Making a claim

Currently, Russia has mandatory pre-trial settlement of disputes.

. Pre-trial settlement of the issue of apartment flooding is a proposal for voluntary compensation for the amount of damage caused.

Aiman ​​Nurikenova spoke about how to correctly file a claim

:

The claim should describe the fact of damage, justify its size and monetary value. Each argument must be supported normatively – that is, references must be made to legislation.

The pleading part of the claim states a demand to the neighbors for compensation for the damage caused in the calculated amount.

The prepared document must be signed and dated.

The claim is accompanied by the necessary evidence on which the victim’s claims are based: photographs, an expert’s opinion, a flood report, etc.

Aiman ​​Nurikenova

, practicing lawyer at the “Unified Defense Center” service.

It is better to make a claim in two copies

, one for each side. When submitting a claim personally or through a secretary (if the culprit is the management company), the second copy, which remains with the victim, is affixed with the date of receipt of the claim and a signature (if the culprit is the management company, then also a stamp).

If the guilty party refuses to sign or accept the claim, then one copy must be sent to the management company or the person who flooded the apartment via Russian Post in a valuable letter with a list of the contents. The second copy, which remains with the victim, is accompanied by a receipt for sending the letter and a description of the attachment (the post office stamp and the operator’s signature are required). This will confirm the pre-trial settlement of the controversial issue.

.

If the guilty party agrees to compensate for the damage caused, then a written agreement is drawn up, which specifies the amount of damages, the payment period and the amount of payments, if necessary. The agreement must indicate the passport details of the parties. It is advisable to have this agreement certified by a notary

.

It should be noted that the procedure for pre-trial dispute resolution is not limited in time. If the guilty party has not responded to the claim within a week, then the victim can move on to the next stage of the proceedings - judicial. The head of the legal center, Sergei Romanov, drew attention to this.

:

If the cause of the flooding was the management company, then the claim is submitted by a valuable letter with a list of the contents to the registered address of this company. If the flood was caused by one of the neighbors, then, if it is known where he is registered, the claim is submitted to the registration address. After 7 days have passed from the moment the debtor received the letter, it is considered that the pre-trial procedure for resolving the conflict has been completed, and therefore you can file a claim in court.

Sergei Romanov

, head of legal.

If the guilty party has not received the letter, then the 7-day period for responding to the claim starts 6 days after the date of sending the valuable letter

.