What to do if your upstairs neighbors are flooded: step-by-step instructions

Determine the source of apartment flooding:

By external signs in the form of wet spots on the ceiling and smudges on the wall, you can determine the source of flooding in the apartment. One of the common misconceptions is that an apartment can only be flooded by the neighbor above, but it is not uncommon for the source of the flood to be a side apartment or a fault in the building's utility lines.

Important:

When flooding the apartment, you must follow safety precautions and do not turn on electrical appliances. If possible, disconnect the apartment from power supply.

Recommendation: if possible, make video recordings (you can use a smartphone for these purposes) of flooded rooms, focusing on the details. Subsequently, the recording made may be useful for legal proceedings.

Confirmation of the fact of flooding

The apartment is flooded, what to do in such a situation? Typically, such an incident involves a lot of damage, and the injured party will want to recoup the funds spent on repairs. Therefore, it is important to accurately record the fact of flooding; this will be useful for litigation and other proceedings:

• First of all, you should call the emergency service through the management manager. While she is driving, you can photograph the consequences of the flood. Even better is to make a short video with explanations and comments.
• You need to quickly call several neighbors who will witness what happened; their signature will be needed to draw up a report on this incident.
• In addition to the emergency service, you should also call a representative of the Management Company. He will draw up an act.

Eliminate the cause of flooding:

Prompt elimination of the cause of flooding will minimize the disastrous consequences of a utility accident. Let's assume that by looking at the wet spots on the ceiling you have identified the source of the flooding - your upstairs neighbors. If there are leaks only in the lower part of the wall, it makes sense to contact the owner of the adjacent premises. But it’s not always possible to quickly find the culprit neighbor, so let’s consider two situations:

2.1. The culprit neighbor was at home:

All the neighbor needs to do is turn off the tap.

However, if the cause of flooding is related to a violation of the integrity of common house communications (riser, radiator battery). In other words, the neighbor cannot influence the cause of the flood, then we follow the instructions in paragraph 2.2.

2.2. The culprit neighbor is missing:

The absence of a neighbor in the apartment is the most common situation. The peak of flooding occurs during the holiday period.

First of all, you need to call the neighbors who are responsible for the flooding, since sometimes before leaving on vacation, the keys to the apartment are given to one of the neighbors, or they are left with a contact phone number. If the search for keys/contacts is unsuccessful, then: you should report the incident to the UDS - the joint dispatch service or to another organization determined by the management organization.

Establishing the circumstances of the flooding

So, after you notice water entering your apartment from your neighbors, it is recommended to immediately record these circumstances on video, and then begin to eliminate the possible threat to the life and health of residents, and also try to minimize material damage on your own.
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Save money and time with us! If your apartment is flooded, take the following measures immediately :

• Turn off all existing sources of electricity consumption, and then vacate the premises.
• If you can influence the leak and eliminate the cause of the flooding, start doing so. It is possible that the pipe can be repaired before specialists arrive. It would not be amiss to appeal to the residents of the upper apartments with a request to temporarily block the source of formation of this bay.
• Call the emergency dispatch service of the housing and communal services company or the house management service and call specialists, notifying them of the current situation.
• After you have eliminated the cause of the flooding and called specialists, you will need to prepare a report, the contents of which must indicate all the clarified circumstances of the incident and a list of property damaged by the leak.

Lawyers note that depending on how responsibly you take in drawing up this document, you can be confident in receiving compensation for damaged or destroyed property in court.

In order for the act to become a legally binding guarantor of receipt of funds, try to adhere to the procedure described below when drawing it up.

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Contact UDS:

UDS accepts citizens' requests in writing, orally and by telephone 24 hours a day. If you have a question about how to find an ODS phone number, you can find it:

- in a management agreement for an apartment building concluded between the owner and the operating organization,

— at the information stand near the elevator or at the entrance to the entrance,

- on the website of the management organization. The website of the management organization is indicated in the EPD (single payment document), and can also be found on the official website of Housing and Communal Services Reform: https://www.reformagkh.ru/.

If for objective reasons it was not possible to contact the UDS, then follow the requirements of paragraph 4.

Important:

After you have notified the ODS dispatcher about the incident, you need to find out his full name and registration data (number, time, date) of your request, as well as when a representative of the operating organization will be able to arrive to eliminate the cause of the flood and draw up a Report.

For reference: Each request is recorded in the requests log.

Whose fault

Someone must be held responsible for the flooding of property such as residential premises in an apartment building. In addition, there must be compensation for damage so that it is possible to restore the damage. Therefore, it is important to know where and for what reason the water entered the apartment.

There are two options

:

• In the event of a breakdown of equipment, an overflowing bathtub, or a break in the pipeline that goes after the shut-off valve (directly in the apartment), the blame lies with the owner of this living space
  .
• If the pipeline of the common riser, which is located outside the apartment, breaks,
  the management company (MC) is
  responsible
  for what happened .

Exceptions to the latter case are situations in which homeowners independently redesigned the living space, moved heated towel rails, etc., and did not notify the management company. In this case, responsibility lies entirely with the owner of the apartment.

The management company's area of ​​responsibility includes the water supply system to the place where the shut-off valve is located directly in the residents' apartment.

Draw up the Bay Act:

Before we begin to consider the issue of the procedure for drawing up the Gulf Act, we should take into account various variations in the name of this document, for example:

— Damage act,

- Filling Act,

Act on flooding of premises (apartments),

Leak report,

and etc.

But all these different names imply the same document - the Gulf Act.

Regardless of the name of the document, the requirements for drawing up the Act are uniform!

The Bay Act requires the following to be specified:

— fix the flood (leak);

— establish and record the cause of the flood (if possible) or the source of the flood;

— record the amount of damage caused.

The person responsible for the spill must be notified in advance (3 days in advance) about the upcoming procedure - drawing up the Flood Report.

For reference:

The act acquires legal significance if it was drawn up in the presence of the injured and guilty parties, 2 independent persons (neighbors, chairman of the HOA, chairman of the council of the apartment building), a representative of the operating organization (chief engineer or other competent person).

During the process of drawing up the act, it is strongly recommended to make a video recording of the flooded premises and the group of people who signed the act, about which a corresponding note is made in the act.

Appendix 2 to the order of UGZ N 55-48/1 and UZHKhiB N 5-37/1 dated March 12, 2001 contains the requirements for drawing up the act.

Important:

The act is drawn up in any case. If, when drawing up the act, the person through whose fault the flood occurred, or a representative of the management organization, is absent, then the act must indicate the reason for the absence or the actions taken to notify the absent person.

What should be in the document

1. The address of the apartment, the date of compilation, and the composition of the commission (this will not include neighbor witnesses) are indicated. It is recommended that the person responsible for the flooding be included in the commission. Then specific facts about the flood are indicated and a description of the affected object is given.
2. Damaged rooms, damaged furniture and equipment are described. You need to write down how wet and stained the walls, ceiling, and floors are. The weight of the parts relevant to the problem is important.
3. The description of the consequences begins from the date of their establishment. If after some time something else appears, then it will be possible to supplement the act with an application.
4. The report is drawn up based on the results of the external inspection and will reflect only what can be seen visually.
5. It is necessary to indicate in this document the presence of photographs from the scene of the incident and video recording.
6. It is also advisable to have an inventory of the condition of the apartment in which the leak occurred. But an inspection can only be done with the consent of the owner; you cannot enter someone else’s premises yourself, as this will entail criminal liability.
7. This document is signed by the members of the commission.

If possible, you need to indicate the reason for the water breaking into the apartment. The important part is the descriptive part, which depicts the consequences of flooding. You can draw it up yourself if the Management Company has not sent a representative to the site.

ATTENTION! An act of the same plan must be drawn up by emergency service workers.

You need to approach the drawing up of acts and signing them very responsibly, checking every moment. The fault for the leak may lie with the management company; therefore, it will try to distort the facts or reduce the amount of damage. It is recommended to select honest and responsible witnesses.

In any case, the Management Company must draw up a report within 12 hours, even if it does not send its representative to the site. You can come to the management company’s office yourself and check that the call was registered at the flood address.

It should be taken into account that in this situation, most likely, you will have to act through the court, and evidence, witnesses, and accurate recording of the facts of what happened in the relevant documents are important for it.

After completing the Bay Act, only two questions remain:

— Will the culprit of the flood admit his guilt?

— Is the culprit of the bay ready to compensate for the damage in full?

If you have already received a positive answer to these questions, and any day now you are expecting the amount of compensation to be transferred to your bank account - YOU ARE LUCKY!

But, unfortunately, practice says the opposite: the percentage of such lucky people is not so great.

The refusal of a neighbor or management organization to admit guilt or disagreement with the amount of compensation can only be resolved in court.

Before going to court for damages, a victim of the flood must:

• conduct an examination of the bay;
• prepare a statement of claim and attach a set of documents to it in accordance with procedural legislation;
• decide which court to file the application with;
• pay the state fee (the relevant bank details are available on the court’s website);

After the statement of claim with the attachment is filed with the court:

• Keep track of mail correspondence (miss the court hearing twice, the judge will return your application),
• Be ready, at the request of the judge, to promptly provide additional documents that confirm the following facts: the fact of violation of the law, the fault of the perpetrator of harm, the amount of loss, the presence of a close cause-and-effect relationship between the amount of damage and the unlawful behavior of the offender.
• Please note that the legal battle may take more than 8 months in total.
• Be prepared that the neighbor who flooded the apartment will present his objections in court, to which you will need to formulate counter-objections in writing.

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Actions in case of flooding

1. Stop the flood.

• We turn off the electricity in the apartment, take measures to shut off the water;
• We call an emergency service specialist;
• We identify the culprit of the incident;
• We draw up a report and damage assessment. This document can be drawn up by the visiting emergency service or an independent expert.

2. We calculate the amount of losses incurred.

After eliminating the causes of the flood and fixing the damage, we move on to calculating the cost of material costs and options for their compensation. The most convenient ways:

• Describe the losses incurred, stipulate the procedure and deadline for payment in an agreement with the culprit of the incident.
• After drawing up the agreement, a receipt is written about the money accepted and the absence of claims if the payment has taken place;
• Calculation of amounts covering the purchase of building materials and the work of the repair team. The responsible person either pays the invoiced amount, or makes the repairs and purchases materials himself;
• If the parties do not reach an agreement, third-party experts are invited. If the examination is not trusted, a repeat examination may be requested or an appeal may be made to the court.

What to do if they refuse to compensate for damage?

After the first urgent actions related to eliminating the leak, de-energizing the apartment, documenting the fact of the flood, the parties begin to sort things out. If the culprit does not want to pay, you must:

1. Take further actions necessary to go to court.
2. Regularly notify the future defendant about the activities carried out or the intentions of the future defendant in order to force him to voluntarily pay for the damage caused.

The main steps to be taken if the neighbors flooded and do not want to pay are to obtain a flood report and conduct an examination. There is no need to take any special demonstrative actions; the culprit will be officially notified:

• On drawing up the act;
• About the date of the planned examination and the fact of its implementation.

In both the first and second cases, he will be invited to attend both the inspection and the assessment, and will be asked to sign the documents drawn up.

Additionally, it is recommended that after drawing up the act, you contact the future defendant and explain that his refusal to voluntarily compensate for the harm caused will entail negative consequences for him, namely:

1. Carrying out an examination.
2. Seeking legal services.
3. Payment of state fees and notary services.

All expenses will be borne by the defendant ; the final amount from the initial amount required by the victims may differ by 2 times or more. This is a compelling argument for the culprit to agree to settle the dispute out of court.

For public utilities, this settlement procedure is the most preferable financially. Practice shows that court decisions oblige management companies to pay not only the damage itself and the costs of an expert and lawyer, but also a penalty and compensation for moral distress. The result is that the final payments increase by 3 or more times the initially required amount.

At each stage, even after filing a claim in court, it is recommended to negotiate with the culprit of the gulf and persuade him to peacefully resolve the dispute. The argument is the ever-increasing costs that the defendant will have to pay for. It is necessary to substantiate the position by referring to figures - the amount of the final amount that the defendant will have to pay if he awaits a court decision.

Going to court

If the culprit of the flood does not meet the demands of the victims and refuses constructive dialogue, it is necessary to prepare a statement of claim. The period for submitting claims is 3 years. This is enough to figure out the question of how to attract neighbors to the bay of the apartment. Exceptions are provided for in the legislation and relate to the following cases:

1. The victim did not know about the fact of the flood.
2. The culprit took actions aimed at compensating for the harm caused.
3. Insurmountable circumstances.
4. Other cases provided for by the provisions of Article 202 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The statement of claim must contain:

1. The name of the court where the injured party applies.
2. Information about the plaintiff and defendant, including residential address.
3. Brief description of the incident – ​​date, place, cause.
4. List and detailed description of damaged property.
5. Justification of the requirements with reference to documentary evidence.
6. Requirements.
7. Date of drawing up the appeal and signature of the plaintiff.

The jurisdiction of the case depends on the value of the claim. If it does not exceed 50 tr. – the appeal is sent to the magistrate, if more than 50 thousand rubles. - to the district court.

You need to be prepared that the defendant will raise an objection to the plaintiff’s demands. The most advantageous position for the defendant is to draw the court’s attention to the following points :

• The apartment inspection report was drawn up incorrectly, the cause of the flood was not indicated, and the culprit was not identified;
• The defendant was not notified of the inspection; the document itself does not record the fact of his absence or refusal to participate in the inspection;
• The defendant was not notified of the date of the scheduled examination, did not participate in it against his will, and knows nothing about its results;
• The specialist who conducted the assessment does not have the right to do this (there is no appropriate license or certificates).

This is not a complete list of objections, but they are the most significant to reject the plaintiff's claims. Finally, the defendant can file a counterclaim against the victims, alleging their wrongful actions. These may include:

1. death threats made publicly against the perpetrator.
2. causing him bodily harm.
3. forgery of documents.
4. and others.

A special case is when the defendant is an insurance company. She has arguments in her defense, which relate not only to the act and the examination performed, but also to non-compliance with the terms of the contract, namely:

• Late notification of the fact of flooding;
• Inclusion in claims of property that does not fall under the insured event.

In addition, the amount of damage in the report of the expert hired by the plaintiff may not coincide with that indicated in the insurer's examination. The court will have to call both specialists, listen to their arguments and accept the point of view of one of them or order a forensic examination.

Read about how to sue neighbors who flooded in this article.

Who is responsible, the neighbors or the management company?

Depending on the reason specified in the report, the culprit of the flood will be clear: neighbors or the management company.

If your neighbors' water risers are damaged, the shut-off valves on the risers burst, there is flooding from the sewer system, or there is a flood from the roof, then the Management Company will be to blame.

But, if their apartment water supply leaks, the water supply hoses are damaged, or the faucet “flies,” then the neighbors will be responsible for the damage caused to you.

If the reason is not indicated in the act (this happens), then the help of our experts and lawyers will be needed.

If the neighbors above are flooded, what to do and who should prove it?

In civil law relations, unlike some other types of legal relations (for example, criminal law), there is a presumption of guilt of a person. In civil legal relations, in particular obligations, the responsibility to prove one’s innocence lies with the person who has violated certain obligations. A person is considered innocent if he proves that he took all measures that depended on him in order to properly fulfill his obligations.

We find similar norms in civil law when we talk about liability for property damage, incl. caused by flooding of the apartment. The obligation to refute the fact that the harm was caused through no fault of the person rests with the person named by the plaintiff as a defendant.

Neighbors upstairs flooded: what to do, where to go

When we talk about what to do if your upstairs neighbors flood your apartment, you need to consider several points, in particular:

• on what rights do you live in this apartment (as the owner or, for example, do you rent it);
• what kind of housing stock does the apartment belong to: is it a private, communal (or dorm room) or state (service) apartment;
• who provides housing maintenance services for your home: housing office or condominium association. What is a condominium association can be read in the article “What is a condominium association in Ukraine: questions and answers.”