Major renovation of the basement of an apartment building

Almost every apartment building has basements, which very often become the main point of contention between neighbors. This happens because there are many families in the hallways, but there are not enough additional storage spaces. Most often, each of the residents wants to take possession of the extra square meters and is sometimes ready to go to court for this. So who rightfully owns the technical floor and how to achieve it for personal use? What laws and nuances should you know when fighting with neighbors for “tidbits of space”? And how will you be able to privatize a basement in an apartment building with minimal material costs?

Why do you need a basement in an apartment building?

Many apartment buildings built in Soviet times have technical floors that are designed to ensure the life of the apartments. They contain parts of utilities, such as heating and water supply risers, pipelines, as well as various equipment and structures.

Attention! If you have any questions, you can chat for free with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; ext.480 Free call for all of Russia.

In addition to the main function, the basements of apartment buildings (MCDs) also perform secondary functions; the premises can be used by residents for household needs:

• a workshop can be organized in the basement, which can be used for commercial activities or used for domestic needs;
• the occupied area can be used as a cellar for storing food, such as: fruit and vegetable supplies for the winter, cappings or cereals;
• on the technical floor various things of residents can be stored: clothes, old furniture or equipment, bicycles, sleds, etc.;
• After receiving permission from the BTI and consent from neighbors, the owners have the right to carry out redevelopment in the basement of an apartment building and make an additional room from part of it, cutting an entrance for it in the floor of the apartment.

Where to go if your commercial basement floods?

Emergency situations are handled by the building's utility company. According to the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock, approved by Resolution of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2003 N 170 (hereinafter referred to as Resolution 170), dispatch services are created in all settlements to service residential buildings. Typically, every management company has such a service.

Telephone numbers of control centers are posted on information boards, on the website of the Management Company or on the web resource of the municipal utility service. An application for flooding in the basement of an apartment building can be submitted by any owner or user of the premises. All calls to dispatchers are recorded in the application log.

According to Decree 170:

“Emergency malfunctions of interface pipelines (with fittings, fittings and devices of water supply, sewerage, hot water supply, central heating, gas equipment) are eliminated immediately from the moment they are detected or an application is received.”

A repair team is sent to the scene of the incident. If the management specialists have not arrived, you can call the city emergency service, which accepts applications around the clock.

Qualified personnel will shut off the water supply or take other measures to eliminate the cause of the flooding. However, emergency crews do not draw up reports on the causes of the flood. To prepare the document, you should contact the Criminal Code.

Normative base

To get the use of the basement of an apartment building, you should find out who has the right to occupy the technical floor and how to privatize non-residential space correctly, without breaking the law. The regulatory framework will help with this, which includes articles and laws that define the principles and main nuances of the distribution of basement space between residents of an apartment building.

According to Article 36 of the Housing Code, the technical floor is the common property of the owners of a multi-storey building, and residents can own, use and dispose of it. It is worth considering that reducing the basement during the reconstruction process can only be done with the consent of all citizens living in the apartment building.

This article of the Housing Code assumes that, by decision of all owners, premises with permitted common use can be transferred to the full ownership of other persons, if this does not violate the interests and rights of these citizens.

Art. 289 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation implies that the basement of an apartment building is the joint property of the apartment owners, between whom legal relations regarding the technical floor are determined by the 6th and 9th articles of the Housing Code. Thus, each owner of housing space owns a share of basement premises, but their alienation is limited by Article 290 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and use by 288.

Citizens must comply with Art. 30 LC duties and know that they have the right to create property partnerships in accordance with Article 291 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Where and to whom to complain?

However, the verdict rendered by experts after inspecting the basement, as well as a correctly drawn up act, are evidence and legal basis for the management company to compensate for the damage caused. That is why, before filling it out, you must carefully study the sample and strictly follow it. Residents of apartment buildings served by management companies should remember that it is the management company that is responsible for monitoring the condition of pipes and other equipment. And it is the management company that is responsible for pumping out sewage, disinfecting and cleaning the premises after it is flooded. How to draw up a report If you discover water in the basement of your own home, you must inform the emergency service by calling the control room and call the locksmiths of the Criminal Code. After arrival, specialists will fix the problem and stop the leak, if this can be done on site. Next, you need to draw up a flooding act.

Who owns the basement in the house?

Often, residents of a house cannot determine who owns the basement in the house. Neighbors should take into account that premises with prohibited private access (the area on which utility networks, communications, water supply, heating, etc. are located) cannot be transferred into private ownership. But the rest of the technical floor can be used by citizens with the right property at your own discretion. According to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, in privatized apartment buildings the owners (common shares) of basement premises are the residents: the first part of Article 37 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation states that they have the right to such a share of the joint property that is proportional to the size of the apartment belonging to the owner. But for this the following conditions must be met:

• the basements of an apartment building should not be owned at the time of privatization of housing;
• the technical floor should not have any specific purpose;
• the basement must be separated from the apartments of a multi-story building.

Also an important condition for the owners to own non-residential premises in equal shares is the presence of technical equipment in it, with the help of which more than one apartment is serviced.

It should be taken into account that if all the apartments of a multi-storey building belong to the city, then the technical floor premises cannot have an owner, and the basement should be used only as a technical room for utilities.

The decisive factor in determining the right to this property is the question of whether the house is under the control of the TSC and whether it is part of the HOA, since in this case the common premises of the house will necessarily belong to management companies.

Read more: Flooding of an apartment by upstairs neighbors - judicial practice

To determine who owns the basement in a high-rise building, you should contact Rosreestr for an extract: it will indicate not only the real owner of the premises, but also must specify the date when he became the owner of this area and the reasons due to which the technical floor was privatized by this person . This can be done using the official website of Rosreestr (public cadastral map).

Basement renovation

Advice from lawyers:

1. Does the owner of the legal storage room in the basement of MK pay contributions for major repairs.

1.1. Hello. Of course he pays.

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2. Non-residential premises and the basement under it are owned, capital payment. renovation for the basement?

2.1. Non-residential premises and the basement under it in the property, payment of capital. renovation for the basement? For all square meters. And the basement too, since it is owned.

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3. In our house there is an HOA, who should repair the sewerage system in the basement of the house?

3.1. Sewage repairs should be done by the organizations with which your HOA has entered into an agreement to service the house - this is either the management company or third-party organizations, sometimes the HOA itself has an employee on staff who can carry out certain repairs...

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4. If I have a two-story apartment and the first and second floor, my 5 families live in this house, we have no basement and entrances, each has its own entrance, the problem is that they force me to pay for major repairs, but I have already done everything on my own, the roof is blocked only from me My neighbors are being forced to pay for major repairs. Can I refuse their services?

4.1. Good afternoon. Your house does not have the status of an apartment building. And then there is no reason to demand payment for major repairs from you.

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5. A hot water pipe has burst in the basement; the management company refuses to repair it, citing the fact that many apartments do not pay for ongoing repairs. I have no debts, we have been sitting for three days without water. What to do?

5.1. Refusal is illegal. File a complaint with the housing inspectorate about the inaction of the management company.

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5.2. Hello. Contact the housing inspectorate.

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6. What conditions must be met in order to repair the entrances using capital repair funds? The governor of the Republic of Rostov-on-Don mentioned this possibility, I would like to know in more detail. The roof, façade, basement, etc. were repaired in the apartment building. Rostov-on-Don.

6.1. Resolve this issue with the district administration.

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7. Does the management company have the right to replace sewer pipes in the basement and repair (restoration) on the roof of ventilation shafts.

7.1. Andrey Gennadievich, that’s what a management company is for. This is her responsibility: maintenance and ongoing repairs of the common property of an apartment building. Legal basis: Art. 162 Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

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8. We bought a room (share) in an individual housing construction project in the basement. According to all documents, “residential premises”. After the repairs were made and the first rain passed, it was discovered that it was drowning. Water soaks the wallpaper in the corner and the linoleum on the floor is constantly in water. When we looked at the room, everything was dry without streaks on the walls, which is why we bought this room there. It was hidden, most likely dried to sell. What to do? Everyone says that the seller is not a developer but a private person and he doesn’t owe anything. Please help me with anything.

8.1. A lawsuit to eliminate or terminate a transaction.

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9. We wanted to rent the basement of a living space. And do a major renovation in the basement. How to formulate all this in the contract. Please advise. Thank you in advance.

9.1. Write this down in the responsibilities and rights, as well as in the rental price, indicate how it will change as a result of the renovation or how the funds spent on the renovation of the premises will be taken into account.

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9.2. This circumstance should be indicated in the contract. Either in additional conditions, or in rights and responsibilities.

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9.3. Yes, everything is the same, you rent a basement as if it were not a living space and write about repairs, the cost of which should be included in the rent.

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10. What does the owner of non-residential premises have to pay when paying capital? repair? In the sense that the residents of the house in which there is a non-residential premises - I am repairing the entrance, porch and shopping center - we have a separate entrance; in fact, only the roof concerns us. At the same time, we covered the area, which is not adjacent to the walls of the non-residential premises, with tiles at our own expense, we also did the façade at our own expense, and repaired the basement.

10.1. The administration will come up with a thousand excuses so as not to compensate you for anything. But you can demand it through the court if you prove that the repair was necessary.

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11. The apartment is on the 1st floor of an old two-story apartment building, there is no basement. A cap is carried out. heating system repair. The pipes run directly under the floor, large sections of the floor will need to be opened up (recently renovated with expensive laminate flooring). There is a lonely pensioner living there, for her this is a disaster. Is it possible and how to demand compensation for damage? Is it possible to not allow work to be carried out?

11.1. Record the damage. Engage an appraiser to assess the amount of damage caused and file a claim with the contractor. If voluntary compensation is refused, file a claim in court.

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11.2. Good afternoon You have the right to write an application addressed to the head of the organization that performs the work, with a request to restore the integrity of the flooring upon completion of the work.

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12. We are doing renovations in the apartment, we want to change the risers in the toilet for hot water and cold water, but the management company does not allow it, since the risers are common to the building, what should we do? I live on the first floor, we want to change from the basement.

12.1. Risers are common house property. Receive a written refusal from the management company and appeal it in court.

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13. I have a question. We live on the 1st floor of an apartment building. Our basement is constantly flooding. We breathe all this smell. Damp all the time. Can I avoid paying for maintenance and repairs? And what do I need to do to avoid being charged these amounts for maintenance and repairs?

13.1. Good afternoon, unfortunately, it is not possible not to pay. But you can and should sort it out with the management company. If there is water in the basement, it is flooded, they are obliged to remove it. The complaint must be written to the housing inspectorate, the Prosecutor's Office, and the administration of your district. They will immediately come running to clean it up.

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14. I am considering purchasing a building at a bankruptcy auction that contains a bomb shelter in the basement. Moreover, the bomb shelter is included in the property being sold. What restrictions arise from this circumstance for the future owner? Does the buyer have the right to demand compensation for the costs of restoration of the building if its defects were not specified in the lot documentation by the arbitration manager?

14.1. Leonid, hello! You will have to maintain this object in accordance with the requirements imposed on it by current legislation. And there are many of these requirements. Some of them are contained in by-laws. You will also have to coordinate many actions with the relevant government agencies.

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15. We were tenants of the basement, we didn’t pay for it for a long time, but we paid off the debt in full, it turned out that they terminated the contract with us and signed it with another person to whom we wanted to sell the rental rights and he agreed. But since the basement has already been registered for him, he refuses to pay. What to do in this situation? This basement was renovated at our expense, but a long time ago.

15.1. Go to court. Prove in court that the contract was terminated illegally, just as a new lease agreement was illegally concluded.

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15.2. You need to go to court and you need to review the lease agreement.

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16. For many years I have owned a non-residential basement premises; for many years I have never seen a receipt for payment for major repairs of this premises. Do I have the right not to pay the huge amount that was sent to me? Because I pay cap. repairs for the apartment and this amount includes repairs to the basement. It turns out I have to pay for major repairs for the basement 2 times.

16.1. According to Art. 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, owners of premises in an apartment building are required to pay monthly contributions for major repairs of common property in an apartment building. You are the owner of residential premises (apartment) and non-residential premises, therefore you must pay cap. repairs based on the area of ​​both premises. For information, contributions to the cap. repair You are not paying for the basement, as you put it, but for major repairs of common property in an apartment building, and this is the basement, roof, walls, foundation, utility networks, etc.

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17. The riser is leaking in the interior space into the basement, I live on the first floor, it’s dry. The management company requires disassembling the tiles and kitchen units for access. Will they pay for material damage for repairs?

17.1. No. The owner (tenant) is obliged to provide access to energy supply systems.

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18. Major renovations are being done in the house, the pipes in the basement have been replaced, everything is leaking, the smell is terrible, the materials are the cheapest. Can I refuse thorough repairmen access to the pipes in my apartment, the apartment is privatized, the pipes are good quality Soviet ones.

18.1. The decision to carry out major repairs is made at a general meeting of owners, since there is such a protocol, you do not have the right to refuse access.

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19. I have just finished renovations. The apartment is on the first floor. They are planning to do a major overhaul of the house with the replacement of pipes in the basement and are demanding access to my riser, but my riser has been replaced.

19.1. Hello. You did not have the right to change the riser without the permission of the Criminal Code.

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19.2. Hello! Most likely, you also sealed the riser with tiles, for example? Then let's look at the law. In accordance with clause 5.4.9 SP 30.13330.2012 (updated edition of SNiP 2.04.01-85*), water risers and cold and hot water inlets into apartments and other premises, as well as shut-off valves, measuring instruments, regulators should be placed in communication shafts with the installation of special technical cabinets that provide free access to them. If the management or contracting organization has discovered that access to general communications in the apartment is blocked by the owners, then it has the right to demand that the owners dismantle the erected structures and open the utility systems (clause 10.6 SNiP 01/31/2003). The owner must do this at his own expense , since his responsibilities include compliance with the norms and requirements of the law for the maintenance of residential premises and common property, the rights and legitimate interests of other persons living in the house (Part 4 of Article 30 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

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20. I own non-residential premises. Initially, it was a room for MK (an extension to the house), now, according to documents, it is a separate building, but the land under it is not registered and belongs to MK. It turns out to be in limbo due to lack of improvements in the design. Question: 1. Are the requirements of the Criminal Code to pay for utilities and major repairs legal? 2. If legal, then who should repair communications in the basement? 3. What algorithm for registering the land under the building should be followed in my case?

20.1. Good afternoon, Dmitry. Your non-residential premises are located in an apartment building and are not defined as a separate building by law. The property is assigned one house address. Communications are also common property in the apartment building. 1. The requirements of the Criminal Code to pay for utilities and major repairs are legal; 2. Current repairs of common property in the apartment building are carried out by the management company by collecting funds for these purposes; 3. It will not be possible to allocate a share on the land plot of the local area, since in accordance with clause 4, clause 1, art. 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the land plot under the apartment building belongs to the owners of premises in an apartment building on the right of common shared ownership. In accordance with clause 1, clause 4, article 37 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the owner of premises in an apartment building does not have the right to allocate in kind his share in the right of common ownership of common property in an apartment building.

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I live on the first floor. The sewer pipe in the basement leaked. They will come to change the management code through our apartment.

Our house has 5 floors. There is a stench coming from the basement. The pipes need to be replaced, there is a leak.

My parents changed the pipes to polypropylene 10 years ago, on the 1st floor of hot water. Today a pipe in the basement burst and the company requires repairs at our expense. What to do?

There are mosquitoes in the entrance, the management company refuses to poison them in the entrance, they only poison them in the basement, I refuse to pay for maintenance and ongoing repairs. Will I be right?

Should I allow mechanics into the apartment who were repairing pipes in the basement and made a mistake?

2 months ago my husband did some housework at the request of a housekeeper and insulated the pipes in the basement.

Non-residential premises, basement, in an apartment building owned since 2015.

At whose expense are the heating pipes being repaired in the basement of a privatized apartment building?

The housing inspection gave an order to the management company, they are going to repair the entrance, in the complaint they asked to eliminate the smell from the basement, i.e.

I am the owner of non-residential premises in an apartment building, access to common areas (entrance, basement, attic)

In a 9-story building, I am the owner of the basement. On 5th floor blockage Am I obliged to let the management company in for cleaning?

If there is a store in a residential building

In life, there are often cases when the entire first floor of an apartment building is occupied by a grocery or household store, cafe, restaurant, billiards, gym, etc. In this case, the basement can be either owned by a commercial organization that uses the technical premises as a warehouse, or and residents. In the first option, the organization is obliged to provide access to utility equipment (immediately in case of an emergency or accident and the next day after written notification during a routine inspection of the condition of the equipment) located in the basement, since they belong to an area with prohibited general access.

Sometimes a commercial organization can be located directly on the technical floor, in this case (for this the consent of the residents of the apartment building must be provided) it must be the owner of the entire occupied territory or a tenant (this area can be rented out only with the consent of all apartment owners).

There are cases when illegal seizure of basement premises occurs, on the territory of which unauthorized shops are opened - going to court will help to cope with this offense.

Stages of work

Water and light for the basement

When carrying out cellar repairs yourself, you still have to call specialists.

Wiring is a rather complex part of the work, which can turn into a tragedy if an error occurs:

• First make sure that everything is installed correctly, in the right places.
• Determine in advance where the sockets will be located and where it is better not to lay the wire.
• After electricity, sewerage and the necessary pipes are laid. It is also better to entrust this matter to professionals, since the slightest leak due to an improperly installed system can result in a flood.

Carefully check the correct connection and installation several times - this will reduce the risk.

Sound insulation

If necessary, it is worth insulating the walls and ceiling so that loud music does not disturb the rest of the inhabitants of the house:

• Sound insulation, which consists of specially created partition systems, will help you with this.

Note. Inside they are filled with mineral acoustic wool, outside they are a metal frame covered with plasterboard or gypsum fiber boards. Being located at a distance from the main wall, they help reduce passing sounds.

To carry out soundproofing yourself, we recommend watching the video. Nowadays you can buy ready-made panels that only need to be fixed in place.

The ceiling can be made suspended, with a small gap between the ceiling itself and the partition walls with the floor above (for more details, read How to make a ceiling in a cellar in different versions).

Thermal insulation

Thermal and sound insulation of the basement

For thermal insulation, heat-insulating boards made of rigid foam are used, which are hung on the walls outside (see How to insulate a basement from the outside according to all the rules).

Advice. As an alternative, gas silicate block plates can be used. They are easy to process and hang, they do not require special skills - just be able to hold a brush in your hands.

You can find detailed instructions and understand the operating principle in many videos presented in our video collection. Also, do not forget to organize full heating in your basement.

Dividing the basement

At the next stage, you will need to select and design internal walls and partitions:

• They are usually made of wood or steel: the first is cheaper, but the second is more reliable. Now this will only be the skeleton of the future building, onto which the plates will then be attached.
• You should choose them based on your financial capabilities and overall appearance. You can use any materials suitable for your interior.

The instructions will help you get excellent results. Don't forget to leave room for a future door or passage. When dividing rooms, you will need to install basement doors.

Is it possible to privatize a basement in an apartment building?

Residents have the right to privatize basement premises in an apartment building if:

• they are apartment owners;
• the technical floor is not owned by anyone;
• basements do not belong to management companies or the municipality.

Citizens privatize the basement in order to:

• use it for personal purposes;
• increase the potential value of an apartment belonging to a given technical floor;
• to seize the premises from the persons who illegally seized it;
• receive your own benefit (renting, etc.).

Is it possible to rent?

If the basement belongs to all the owners of the apartment building, and at a general meeting they decided to rent it out, then there are no obstacles to this.

The decision on how the proceeds from the rental will be spent is made by the body under whose management the house is located - the HOA or management company. For example, finances can be spent on routine repairs, installation of intercoms, landscaping and other needs.

The residents’ agreement with the management company specifies the conditions under which common property is rented, as well as the intended use of the proceeds.

If the basement space is owned by another owner, for example, the city administration, then it also has the right to rent it out. Such situations are far from uncommon in practice.

How to privatize a basement in a residential building?

The most difficult thing in the procedure for privatizing the basement of an apartment building is obtaining the consent of all owners of the apartment building.

1. To begin with, a general meeting of residents should be held, the topics of which will be the transformation of the boundaries of the technical floor and the alienation of part of the joint property. To do this, you need to draw up a protocol that will comply with Articles 36, 44-46 of the Housing Code, as well as notify the apartment owners about the upcoming event 10 days in advance. At least half of the owners must be present and more than fifty percent of consents, confirmed by the signatures of those present, must be obtained.
2. After a successfully held meeting, it is required to draw up petitions from persons who will be the future owners of the basement and make certified copies of documents for housing in this apartment building. You also need to have a plan for that part of the technical floor that will be privatized, and contact the Housing Office to obtain a building inspection report.
3. The next point will be the signing of a contract with a design organization that can help in preparing the reconstruction of the basement of an apartment building: a conclusion must be made confirming the intention of the new owner not to violate the operating system of the residential building. After completing the described actions, you should submit documents with an application to the interdepartmental commission related to the district administration.
4. In order to privatize a technical floor, the future owner must obtain permission from the Architecture Department, as well as coordinate the reconstruction project with the SES and the fire organization.
5. The basement cannot be transferred into ownership if housing and communal services bills are not paid before the submission period. Therefore, after eliminating the debts, you need to file a claim in court, attaching all the required documents and permits.
6. Upon successful completion of the trial, ready permits should be obtained from the interdepartmental commission and the Department of Architecture.
7. The last stage in the privatization of the basement of an apartment building is the registration of title documents at the BTI and the receipt of a cadastral plan, after which it will be possible to carry out an inventory of the premises. Now all that remains is to carry out the required work in the basement and put it into operation.

How to protect your home from water

To do this, make blind areas with a slope from the walls of the house to the outside.

The blind areas are made from ninety to one hundred centimeters wide, then you need to look at what level the blind areas are in relation to the threshold. The threshold should be 6-8 centimeters above the edge of the blind area.

If this condition is not met, the threshold must be raised to the required height. To do this, the door is dismantled, its opening in the upper part is enlarged, and bricks are laid out in the lower part. At the same time, we must not forget about waterproofing.

And having completed all the work to protect the basement from water, you need to decide where to divert it.

Next, we will equip the roof drainage system with a slope in the direction where the storm drainage system will be installed. To prevent storm drains from clogging, special grates are placed on the gutters.

Protecting the yard from melt water

Of course, there is a solution; you can equip a container at the lowest point of the storm drain where water will be collected.

To prevent rain and melt water from stagnating on your site, you just need to lay pipes along its path, but it is only important to maintain a slope towards the water collection tank. And make the correct calculation of the number of pipes to drain all the water from the site.

To avoid blockages, install special nets.

There is another problem, water that gets from the street into the yard. What should we do with it? After all, the container you have is not enough to collect it.

Read more: Seizure of common area in an apartment building

There is a solution! It is necessary to build a ten-centimeter fence along the site. To build such a fence, you must first dig a trench. Then we cover the bottom of the trench with roofing felt, so that one edge remains outside. Next, this trench is concreted to ground level, as a result we get a small foundation with waterproofing. The next step will be laying bricks on the resulting foundation, after which all cracks and cracks are putty on the resulting wall. The last step will be gluing the edge of the roofing material remaining on the surface onto the brick. After all the manipulations, the wall for draining water from the street is ready.

If there is a very large space behind your fence (a field, for example), then retreat fifty or sixty centimeters from the wall and dig a trench (drainage) whose depth should be from twenty to thirty centimeters. Next, this trench is covered with stone, crushed stone or pebbles.

Basements can also be flooded by groundwater, even if you did everything right outside.

Very often, houses are built on a brick foundation, and even with proper treatment, the basement walls become damp. What needs to be done to avoid this problem?

First, it is necessary to carry out standing ventilation; if this does not work, then this means that groundwater is passing nearby. At the beginning, it is worth figuring out what material the foundation is built from, and from this we will proceed on what to do next.

If the basement walls are made of concrete, they must be treated with special penetrating waterproofing. When processing, you need to do everything strictly according to the instructions. Before applying the mixture, the surface must be moistened. After treatment with penetrating waterproofing, the leak may be partially eliminated, but this is not a reason to worry. After all, the crystals that are supposed to seal the leak take a very long time to grow.

This method is suitable for concrete walls, but which one is suitable for brick basement walls?

Let's look further. And so, in order to eliminate the wetting of brick walls, it is necessary to dig a trench (depth 1.5 - 1.8) around the perimeter of the building and pour clay into it.

But if the house is flooded with water, then take action immediately. Namely, all the water from the premises must be pumped out, and then the premises and objects from them must be thoroughly dried and treated with special compounds.

Well, in this article we told you about a method of combating basement flooding in a private house. We hope you find this information useful. We wish you patience and good luck!

Almost any kind of commercial activity requires a salon, office, warehouse, store. Prices and rent for non-residential square meters are high, and a basement is a good alternative to the classic options for running your own business in business centers and apartment buildings. One of the specific problems of business at the underground level is basement flooding.

The content of the article:

Redevelopment in the basement

By planning a privatized basement, you can increase the living space, create an additional place for relaxation or entertainment, and also organize a convenient warehouse for storing things that are not used in everyday life.

If there are still controversial issues, you can also consult a free chat with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; ext.480 Free call for all of Russia.

To bring this idea to life you will need:

• prepare a floor plan with an explanation;
• make a copy of your personal account;
• obtain an extract from the house register, which must indicate all the persons registered in the apartment of the multi-storey building;
• have a notary certify a copy of documents confirming ownership;
• develop a basement redevelopment project.

The following difficulties may arise during this procedure:

• It may not be possible to design a living space from the basement of an apartment building if the Utilities refuse to give permission for this type of redevelopment due to non-compliance with sanitary standards requiring the presence of at least one light source in the room;
• It is possible that difficulties will arise when redeveloping a technical floor into an office or store, since this requires a complex procedure for registering an apartment as a non-residential premises;
• Restrictions may arise when processing redevelopment due to the poor condition of the multi-storey building and the long-term lack of major repairs.

What to do if water appears in the basement of a multi-apartment building?

• Real estate
• Housing and communal services
• Good afternoon In our new apartment building there is water in the basement. There is mold in the apartment. The wallpaper has fallen off twice already. We contacted Roszhkh.
  As a result, water was pumped out of the basement. But after the rains, the water comes back into the basement. They explained to us that during construction the developer did not make a drainage system.

  They also explained to us that constant pumping of water can lead to rupture of the soil and the house can settle and even collapse.

Spontaneous seizure of the basement

Often there is an illegal seizure of the basement of an apartment building. Most often, the reason for such offenses lies in the fact that the owners do not know that they are the owners of the technical floor, and also because of the instability in the country in the 90s. The problem is that “fake” owners stubbornly prove their rights to the technical floor, arguing that they have invested material resources for major repairs and redevelopment. But these arguments have no legal force, so residents of a multi-storey building can safely defend their rights.

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Filing a lawsuit in court will help restore justice in this case.

What to do if a basement used for commercial purposes is flooded - step-by-step instructions

After detecting a flood in the room, it is recommended to take the following actions:

1. Turn off electricity in the room to prevent short circuits.
2. Find out the cause of the flooding.
3. Eliminate the cause of the flood. If you cannot do this yourself, call emergency services.
4. Collect evidence of the incident: record flooding and damage to property using a camera, phone, or video camera. At this stage, you can invite the person responsible for the incident to verify that the damage was caused.
5. Eliminate consequences.
6. Call the employees of the Management Company to draw up a flood report.

Even if the guilty party has agreed to compensate for the damage caused by the flood, you should not neglect the collection of material evidence. In the future, refusal to pay expenses or disagreement with the amount of compensation payment is possible.

Drawing up a flood report

The flood report is drawn up by a commission, which includes:

• The owner or representative of the owner of a flooded commercial premises.
• The person at fault or his representative (if the cause of the flooding has been established).
• An employee of the building maintenance organization.

Other persons may be included in the commission. It is better to ask neighbors or witnesses to the incident, who can then speak in court. It is advisable to invite the chairman or chief engineer from the housing department or management company.

The form of the flood report has not been established.

The document can be written by hand on a regular blank sheet of paper. But representatives of the management organization usually already have a standard printed form that can be quickly filled out on the spot.

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Contents of the flood report

The flood report contains the following information:

• Date of examination.
• Date of occupancy of the premises.
• Composition of the commission.
• Address of the property being surveyed.
• Fact and cause of flooding.
• List of damaged property, extent of damage.
• Cause-and-effect relationship between flooding and damage caused.

All members of the commission sign the document, and the seal of the service organization is affixed. If one of those present refuses to sign, this fact is reflected in the flooding report.

Attention! To determine the amount of damage received, you should additionally obtain a report from an appraisal company. The services are paid, but without this document it is impossible to justify the amount of claims in court.

The video story will tell you about the intricacies of writing the act of flooding the premises

Main reasons

There are several causal factors that cause basement flooding:

• Seasonal surface waters. A rather rare factor, but it also occurs. This includes active snow melting or heavy and prolonged rains. Partial or complete flooding may occur due to violations in the drainage of storm and melt water.
• A sewer pipe break or an accident in the drainage line. A broken sewer can result in the use of unsuitable equipment or poorly performed pipe replacement work.
• Flooding with groundwater. Basically, groundwater regularly rises to the surface, especially during autumn and spring. It is impossible to determine their level of rise in advance.
• Flooding by residents of the first floors. The basement may be flooded due to renovation work or improper use of plumbing by apartment owners.
• Breakdown of the heating system. In this situation, the first step is to find out the cause of the flooding, and then determine the culprit.

Quite often, the basement is flooded not only with water, but also with sewage from the drainage system.

This can be affected by blockages in the general building sewer system and main networks.

If a sewer flood occurs, where should you contact first? The company that maintains and operates sewerage equipment in an apartment building is responsible for what happened. The management company is responsible for repairs not carried out on time.

The management company also has an administrative unit that must monitor the water level in the soil, remove collected water, and maintain groundwater pumping equipment in good condition.

ATTENTION! Employees of the management company must monitor engineering and communication systems to prevent flooding of the basement with sewage, especially if the house is old and is more than 50 years old.

The use and untimely replacement of pipes that have reached the end of their service life can lead to similar unpleasant consequences. In this situation, the management company must completely eliminate the consequences, namely:

1. Pump out the sewage.
2. Carry out disinfection.
3. Clean the room.

Whatever the circumstances of the flooding, it is first necessary to conduct an expert assessment of the reasons for the occurrence of this emergency situation. This guarantees compensation for the loss incurred and holding the guilty party accountable.