Home / Bay / How not to pay if your neighbors below are flooded?
If you live in an apartment building not on the first floor, sooner or later this can happen: you will become the culprit of a neighbor’s flood. No one is insured against such a nuisance, unless, of course, you take care of insurance in advance. How to behave in this situation? What to do first? First things first.
What to do if there is a flood?
The main thing in the event of a flood is not to panic. If you follow a certain algorithm of actions, you can avoid material losses in compensating your neighbors below. Are you not sure that the flood was your fault? This means that the first thing you need to do is call a commission from the housing office or call an independent expert.
Do not rush to eliminate the consequences of the flood: collect water from the floor, wipe the walls, ceiling, first, all this needs to be recorded using photos or videos, call witnesses who can subsequently confirm the fact of the leak.
To determine the culprit of the flooding, you need to understand its causes, there may be several of them :
- If the cause of the flood was an open tap or the use of faulty plumbing, in this case the damage will have to be compensated in any case either by mutual agreement or through the court (if the neighbors apply);
- Flooding occurred due to bad pipes, faulty risers or a battery breakthrough - the management company will be responsible for this, which must monitor the condition of communications, their timely repair or replacement;
- If you recently had plumbing fixtures installed and the flood occurred due to improper installation, the installation company may be found to be at fault;
- On the upper floors, the cause of a leak may be a worn-out roof of the house, the condition of which should also be monitored by the management company.
In any case, to further protect rights and record the true reasons, an expert opinion will be needed.
All circumstances and causes of the accident must be recorded in a special document - a flood report. It is compiled by experts who arrived at the leak site.
If you want to use the services of a free examination, you can call a commission from the housing and communal services , but it is worth noting that these experts do not often side with the apartment owner, so you need to carefully read what the experts indicated in the flooding report. To be sure that the causes of the accident were established impartially, you can use the services of an independent expert; if the leak was not your fault, the payment for his services will be made by the guilty party.
What are the features of drawing up a flood report for an apartment? We recommend reading a separate article.
When conducting an examination, you need to take into account some important points :
- It is necessary to familiarize the specialist who arrived at the scene in as much detail as possible with how and at what time the accident began; if possible, go to the neighbors below and record the fact of flooding of their property.
- Often the neighbors below themselves call emergency services and the commission; if possible, try to be present during the inspection and signing of the flood and property assessment reports, if possible, make copies of these documents.
- Housing office workers often suggest not drawing up a flood report and limiting yourself to an entry in the journal; do not agree to this, because this document will be the main argument in proving your innocence if you go to court.
- The flooding report must be drawn up in 2 copies, one the expert takes with him, the second must remain in your hands.
- Before signing the act, carefully read what is written there: is the cause of the accident indicated, the circumstances under which it occurred. If you do not agree with the content for objective reasons, do not sign the document, contact another expert service.
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Responsibility
Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that damage caused to the property of an individual or legal entity must be compensated in full by the one who caused the damage . In paragraphs 1 and 2 of Chapter 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation you can find explanations on the rules and procedure for compensation for damage caused to property, health and life of citizens.
That is:
- If the flood occurs due to a faulty battery or riser, the damage will be compensated by the organization serving the house;
- If it can be proven that the leak occurred due to a violation of the plumbing installation technology, compensation for damage will fall on the shoulders of the person who installed the plumbing (if the installation took place recently and the person responsible can be identified);
- Also, if you flooded your neighbors through your own fault, and they filed a lawsuit, you will have to compensate for the damage yourself.
The nuances associated with responsibility for flooding an apartment are discussed in detail in this material.
A pipe burst: the neighbors were flooded, who is to blame?
With long-term use of heating appliances, dilapidated and faulty pipes, and for a number of other reasons, citizens may unwittingly become the culprits of flooding their neighbors below.
Responsibility for the incident may fall on the shoulders of the resident, or on the company servicing the house, depending on the status of the housing:
Privatized apartment
In this case, the owner compensates the losses to the neighbors below, since he is obliged to carry out repairs of communications in a timely manner. However, there is a chance to avoid punishment if the breakthrough occurred due to incorrect installation of the heating system, of which the pipe is part. In this case, it is possible to involve the person who installed the system.
Municipal housing
The responsibility for checking and maintaining communications lies with the management company. The organization is obliged to periodically conduct system checks, the results of which are recorded in documents. If the room from below was flooded because the company missed a fault, the damage will be recovered from it. But if the tenant voluntarily made changes to the systems, changed batteries, installed pipes, he himself will be responsible for what happened.
If the heating riser breaks
In such a situation, the management organization will be responsible, since the heating riser belongs to the common property of the house, and responsibility for the functioning of such property lies with the specified organization. Replacing risers is prohibited if citizens have committed actions that violate the integrity of the heating riser; they will be held responsible if they flood the premises located on the floor below.
When the apartment of the citizens living below is flooded, the problem needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Consistent actions will establish justice and protect the innocent party.
Author of the article: Petr Romanovsky, lawyer
Work experience 15 years, specialization - housing disputes, family, inheritance, land, criminal cases.
Useful information on the bay of the apartment
- If your apartment is flooded due to the fault of housing and communal services
- Judicial practice regarding flooding of an apartment by neighbors
- Compensation for damage due to flooding of an apartment
- Statement of claim when filling an apartment
- Independent assessment of damage to the apartment after the flood
- Drawing up an act on the bay of the apartment
- State independent examination of the apartment after the flood
- Apartment flood insurance
- If the neighbors below are flooded
- Refurbishment after flooding of the apartment
How to win a trial?
If you are confident in your innocence, and your neighbors have filed a lawsuit and are demanding compensation for damage from you, and have already managed to file a claim in court for flooding them, you need to carefully prepare to protect your interests.
This instruction will help you understand what to do if you flood your neighbors below, how not to pay and how to properly build a defensive position.
To begin with, you need to carefully read the materials on the case . In addition to the statement of claim itself, the materials must contain the following documents:
- Two copies of acts on the bay (from the emergency service and the commission from the Housing Office). In case of independent elimination of the accident, the report must be in one copy.
- Damage assessment report.
- Agreement and certificate of completion of work with the company that carried out the assessment.
- A receipt or agreement for the provision of lawyer services (if the plaintiff used them).
Carefully study the spill reports and damage assessments . Firstly: the flood report must indicate the reasons for the accident; if it was not your fault, voice this to the court. Secondly: in both acts the information must match; some people may pass off old traces of the flood as new ones in order to get more money.
If you see discrepancies in the data on the documents, you can appoint an independent examination, in which case the court hearing will be postponed.
An independent examination does not have to be carried out before the trial; it can also be carried out during the consideration of the case.
Arguments in which the court may take your side and refuse to compensate the plaintiffs for damages may be:
- Evidence of your innocence, due to the fact that the accident occurred due to the fault of public utilities or other persons (the reason must be indicated in the report);
- Discrepancy in the documents drawn up by the appraiser and the commission (different locations of damage are indicated);
- The acts lack the signatures of some commission members;
- The expert assessment was carried out by a person who did not have permission to do so;
- The assessment was carried out after a long period of time after the accident;
- The statute of limitations has passed (3 years);
- The appraisal agreement was not concluded with the owner of the apartment;
- The plaintiff is not the owner of the premises.
Instructions for use
If you are the culprit of the flood, you do not need to wait for your neighbors to come to you with claims, much less sue you for damages. After all, in court, in addition to material damage, you can recover compensation for moral damage, plus legal costs. In this case, the amount will be significantly higher.
You can try to negotiate peacefully . If you have good relations with your neighbors, there is an option not to pay at all, simply to eliminate all the consequences of the flood. Or buy materials and hire workers to fix them.
All agreements between the parties must be recorded on paper (receipt for receipt of money, waiver of claims, etc.).
If your neighbors agree that the flooding was not your fault, you can file a joint lawsuit against the person responsible for the accident. In this case, not only your neighbors, but also you can receive compensation (for damaged walls, carpet, flooring, furniture).
How to properly challenge a flooding act? Read here.
Negotiations with neighbors
After all the causes of the flood of the neighbors below have been eliminated, it is time for the parties to negotiate and discuss the current situation.
What can we agree on?
About the amount of damage and the procedure for its compensation. For example, not the entire apartment might have been flooded, and we could be talking about cosmetic repairs, buying new household appliances, etc. Remember that you don’t always need to follow the lead of the victims: if you think that the amount of damage is too high, agree on an examination.
How to record an agreement?
In writing. A receipt/agreement that will reflect the amount of damage and the procedure for compensation.
For reference ! The parties may go to a notary to have the paper notarized; however, the notary has the right to refuse them this, since they will not be able to provide any documentary grounds, for example, to determine the amount of damage (except in cases where there is an expert opinion).
Case practice
There are a lot of claims filed in such cases. As a rule, when making a verdict, courts are guided by decisions in cases considered earlier. If we analyze the judicial practice on claims for compensation for damage after flooding of apartments, we can identify decisions that the court is more likely to favor :
- Refusal to satisfy claims due to insufficient evidence or incorrect completion of documents;
- Partial satisfaction of requirements;
- Full satisfaction of requirements.
Also, in cases where defendants flooded neighbors below, the practice had precedents in which claims were rejected due to unreasonably inflated demands of the plaintiff. That is, the culprit of the accident was able to prove that the plaintiff wanted to receive additional benefits from this situation, while satisfying the requirements of the claim was completely refused.
There are also often cases where the defendant was able to prove his non-involvement in the accident. Bay acts or the results of an independent examination served as evidence.
Terms and nuances of compensation for damage
There are no strictly defined deadlines for compensation. If you manage to reach an agreement peacefully, then an agreement is drawn up, which indicates the amount to be paid (according to the appraisal or agreement), as well as the time frame within which you are willing to pay it.
If the court decision is not in your favor, you can file a motion to extend the execution of the court by installments. Then a schedule is drawn up, and the injured neighbor receives guaranteed compensation on a monthly or scheduled basis.
Calculation of the value of flood-damaged property is based on its assessed value, which is usually significantly lower than the market value. Often the court decides that funds should be paid only to repair the equipment or furniture that was damaged. And, of course, they are not enough for a new purchase.
It is not easy to confirm the claimed moral damage. To do this, you will need to provide a doctor’s report as proof of moral torment, as well as receipts for purchasing the medicine.
Let's record the damage
On the day of the emergency, to fill out a damage report, call an employee of the management company, the HOA (homeowners' association) of your home, the DEZ (Direction of the Single Customer - a regional economic organization) or the housing office. Describe in detail what went wrong, how many square meters.
m of laminate is damaged, how many strips of wallpaper have become wet/peeled off - what width and height, quality. Invite the neighbor who flooded you to draw up the document; if he doesn’t come, reflect this in writing.
You need to draw up a damage report on the day of the flood, otherwise it will be difficult to prove that you suffered losses due to the flood.
If a representative of the management company, HOA, housing office or DEZ cannot visit you on the day of the accident, go to one of these offices yourself and write a statement about flooding and losses. An alternative is to draw up a damage report yourself, with the neighbor who caused the flood, and/or witnesses.
Take photos and videos of all damage; if the culprit neighbor opens the door, also capture what is happening in his apartment while you are being drowned. This will strengthen your evidence base if the case goes to trial.
Full name of the participants in the incident, the representative of one of the 4 specified organizations drawing up the document, and witnesses;
cause of flooding (known or suspected);
an inventory of the damage (state that the damage was discovered on the day of the flood, because after a couple of days new consequences may appear);
signatures of participants in the flood and those invited and witnesses.
Take a copy of the damage report; it will be useful in further proceedings.
If the neighbor doesn’t show up when the commission draws up a flood report, don’t worry. The main thing is to inform him about the date and time of work of this commission, you can by telegram or registered letter, so he won’t get away with it.
You entered the apartment and saw that your upstairs neighbors were drowning you. How to behave?
If your property is insured, call the insurance company.
Call the emergency service - workers will block the risers.
Then turn off the electricity in the apartment - this will help prevent short circuits and breakdowns of surviving equipment that can still be saved.
Move everything valuable to the driest place in the apartment, to the vestibule or entrance, with an observer assigned to the things.
Go to the upstairs neighbors and find out what happened. Perhaps they, like you, are the injured party.
if the upstairs neighbors don’t open the door, don’t break down the door - for damaging their property or illegally entering someone else’s territory, you can go to court in a criminal case, and the flood will not justify such a rash step;
Do not try to block public risers yourself - this can be dangerous, and if your actions lead to a breakdown of communications, you will be obliged to fix it at your own expense.
If the neighbors above you have a washing machine that has given up on you and they flood you, the demand will be on them. But if the leak occurred in a common building riser, representatives of the housing office must be brought to justice.
In modern new buildings, engineering systems are installed using up-to-date equipment and high-quality materials are used
In such a house, the risk of being flooded due to the fault of the housing office is much lower - pay attention to the new complexes of St. Petersburg developers:
