What to do if your upstairs neighbors are flooded: where to go and what documents are needed

Troubles always happen suddenly. After all, we, as a rule, do not expect bad news.But no one has yet managed to live life without failures, annoying incidents and minor dirty tricks, the negative impact of which can be significantly reduced if you meet adversity head-on.

One such emergency could be a flood. In order to survive an unfortunate event without unnecessary stress and with minimal financial losses, you need to know what to do if your upstairs neighbors are flooded, how to eliminate the consequences of the “flood” and resolve controversial issues.

The answers to the above questions have been studied by us and presented in detail in the article. The information will help identify the culprit of the flood and receive compensation for property damage. Remember, forewarned is forearmed.

What to do during a flood

If you hear the sound of a spring drop at the wrong time of year and in a place where there are no icicles, for example, in your bathroom, you urgently need to find out what happened. Unfortunately, there was a leak from the top floor. It's a nuisance, but not a grief.

You need to pull yourself together and start acting immediately, because a lot now depends on your competent actions. And we will tell you what to do if your neighbors flood your apartment.

It’s good if you were lucky enough to be at home when your apartment was flooded: in this case, as a rule, large-scale damage can be avoided if measures are taken in time and the water is turned off

It is necessary to de-energize your own home only if the leak is really large-scale. A small stain on the ceiling does not pose a significant danger. But a flood can lead to a short circuit somewhere inside the wall or to electric shock to those present in the apartment.

The automatic fuse, popularly called a plug, must be looked for in the panel located in the entrance; You should know exactly which one is yours, so as not to cut off power to your neighbors by mistake.

To turn off the power to your apartment, you need to press the red button on the automatic plug. You can turn the circuit breaker switch to the off position. If the waterfall does not stop, its source should be turned off.

You can do it like this:

• if the neighbors are upstairs, warn them that you are flooding - have them close the tap;
• if they are away, you should call the management company - have them send an emergency service to shut off the water.

By the way, in the future, emergency service employees will draw up a report on the flooding of your living space.

This is a modern valve and it looks quite decent, but if you try to deal with old equipment yourself, there is a high probability of making the situation worse

What not to do:

• You cannot break down the doors to your neighbors’ apartment, otherwise you may fall under Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which talks about criminal liability for violating the inviolability of someone else’s home;
• if you have unimpeded access to a shut-off valve that shuts off the water supply to the entire entrance, you can use it, but if you subsequently discover damage to equipment or property from your actions, you will have to answer.

In any case, you need to act collectedly, quickly, but without panic. Then you will be able to protect your own interests without infringing on others.

Finding the culprit of the flooding

To determine the person responsible for the flooding of your apartment, you need to find out where the water leak occurred. After all, neighbors who forgot to turn off the tap is, oddly enough, not the most common cause of leaks.

More often, a breakthrough occurs in the water supply riser. This situation is especially relevant for old houses with worn-out communications, where pipelines require replacement. In this case, the procedure for determining the culprit is more complicated than in a situation with a tap that they forgot to turn off.

Do not rush to blame your neighbors for the current emergency situation, even if water is flowing from their apartment

So, if a breakthrough occurs in the water supply system, then the culprits may be:

• management company (MC), if a leak is detected before the first shut-off device, for example, a shut-off valve in the upper apartment;
• neighbors from above, if the leak is located after the specified shut-off device - the tap.

This algorithm for determining the culprit of the accident is established by the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building (hereinafter referred to as the Rules), approved by Decree N 491 of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006, as well as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (LC RF) .

Art. 210 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the responsibility of owners for the maintenance of their property. According to Art. 36 LC RF and Art. 290 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, owners of residential premises are the owners of communications of the entire house on the right of shared ownership.

The agreement concluded by the owners with the management company delegates responsibility for the safety of common building communications to managers.

The first disconnecting device (locking ball valve) in the apartment - a kind of dividing point, delineating areas of responsibility: before the tap - the company, and after - the owner of the apartment. This is how clause 5 of part 1 of the Rules is defined.

But when there is a breakthrough in the heating system, there are no distinctions. Regardless of the location of the heated towel rail, risers and heating radiators, their breakthrough entails the responsibility of the management company (clause 6, part 1 of the Rules). Moreover, there is already judicial practice on the application of this legislative act.

However, there are exceptions to this rule.If the heating system in the apartment was independently re-equipped and the company responsible for the condition and maintenance of the house was not notified, the blame for the leak will fall on the owner of the converted apartment.

How is the fact of a flood recorded?

The consequences of flooding the apartment must be recorded in an act, the drawing up of which requires a representative of the management company. He must be called immediately.

While he is gone, there is no time to waste, you need to do the following:.

1. Take photos and videos of the damage caused. Your photographs and video will be evidence in court if litigation becomes inevitable.
2. Invite your neighbors. Two or three people will be enough to act as witnesses when drawing up the act.

If by this time a representative of the management company has not yet approached, you can begin to draw up the act without him.

Representatives of the management company do not always have the opportunity to immediately appear to inspect the apartment and draw up a report: you can assemble a commission of neighbors and draw up the necessary document yourself

The procedure for drawing up the act

So, we need to draw up a report on the consequences of flooding the apartment.

It must include the following data:

• document's name;
• full address of the affected apartment;
• date of act: day, month, year;
• the composition of the commission is listed in full; it includes: the victim (you), neighbors who are invited as witnesses, those responsible for the damage caused (if any) and a representative of the management company (if any); do not forget to indicate the position of the representative of the management company;
• essence of what happened: briefly list the facts, describe the apartment.

For example, the author of the act may indicate that he (full name) drew up this act in the process of inspecting apartment N, located at the address (full address) upon the fact of the flood from apartment N, located on the floor above.

The affected apartment is located on such and such a floor of an N-storey building, and contains N rooms. If the cause of the accident is identified, it must be indicated. Otherwise, you can write the probable cause.

Go to the descriptive part

At the beginning of this part of the act you should write: “The commission established on the day of the survey...”. Not all consequences of flooding may occur immediately. Sometimes it takes 2-3 days. If new consequences are discovered (the parquet has reared up, for example), these facts will need to be added to the act as an addition.

Initially, the parquet may not look damaged, but after a few days, when the coating begins to dry out, it may become completely unusable

It is also necessary to mention that the act was drawn up based on an external inspection. With instrumental monitoring, the scale of troubles may be more significant, because not every breakdown is visible to the eye.

It is necessary to carefully record all information about signs of flooding:

• in what rooms they are located;
• where exactly are they located - ceiling, walls, floors;
• intensity of existing traces;
• We list all the damaged property - furniture, appliances, parquet, interior elements.

If the owner of the apartment in which the leak occurred allows it, you can include a description of the location of the leak in the act. Everything you see in this apartment needs to be included in the report: wet floors, emergency plumbing with a crack, etc.

When conducting photo and video filming, this fact must be mentioned in the report.Subsequently, it is advisable to print out photographs and have them certified by all members of the commission. If the person who caused the damage refused to sign the act, it’s okay: you just need to record this fact in the document.

Despite the fact that there may be a lot of damage and describing them will take a lot of time, do it: your determination will not leave the culprit with the illusion that he will get away with it

A representative of the management company must also draw up a report of approximately the same content, with a mandatory indication of the cause of the accident. Make sure he points out everything you think is important. If there are controversial issues, do not hesitate to make comments. The finished document must be supplemented by a defective statement.

When managers find themselves at fault for an accident, they try to distort or “fail to replace” the essential facts that determine their guilt, because they want to avoid responsibility or reduce its volume.

Remember that your goals are different, yours is compensation for damage. The management company must provide you with one copy of its act.

By the way, if the affected apartment is not privatized, you should carefully study your social rental agreement, since the owner of such housing is the state.

Pre-trial problem solving

Remember that your goal is not a quarrel with your neighbors, but compensation for the damage caused to you. The best way out is always to reach an agreement without resorting to court and forget about this annoying situation.

You need to talk to your neighbors about pre-trial compensation for the damage caused not immediately, but after 2-3 days from the date of the flooding. During this time, as a rule, all hidden defects caused by the accident appear.

The amount of damage becomes obvious, as does the amount of work to be done.Make a written claim, attaching an estimate of upcoming work to eliminate the damage.

Try not to bring the matter to court: firstly, a peaceful resolution of the issue saves you time and effort, and secondly, you still have to live nearby

It happens that the perpetrators immediately pay the victims the entire amount, but such facts are rather exceptions than the rule. But even just the consent of neighbors or the management company to compensate for the damage caused by their fault is already good.

An agreement on such compensation must be drawn up in writing and certified by a notary, indicating the date of final payment. Do not neglect the services of a notary, even if it seems to you that you are confident in the intentions of the opposite party. The agreement is accompanied by an estimate of the upcoming work signed by the parties.

The fact of completion of settlements between the parties to the conflict can be certified by a receipt that the victim gives to the perpetrator of the flooding. It must indicate that the amount of damage caused by the accident has been paid in full and the injured party no longer has material claims.

What if you still have to go to court?

If an attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict does not find a response from the person responsible for the accident, you will have to go to court. There is nothing wrong with this, except that the process may drag on, and the actual payments due to you will not arrive as quickly as you would like.

Be aware that after filing a claim with the judicial authorities, you will not be able to begin repair work, because a retrial may be scheduled. However, if other options are exhausted, we go to court.

Preparatory stage

It is necessary to invite a competent specialist who has the right to assess the damage caused.Where else should you turn and who should you involve if your neighbors flooded and caused damage? You can involve an expert from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or a specialized organization of appraisers.

The examination must be carried out officially with the preparation of:

• service agreements;
• work completion certificate;
• payment receipts, etc.

The costs of conducting an expert assessment may be included in the total amount of damage to be paid by the guilty party.

Such a notification telegram must be sent to the person responsible for the accident in advance so that he has the opportunity to be present during the independent examination (+)

By the way, the guilty party must be notified of the date and time of the examination. To do this, a telegram is sent to the culprits 4-5 days before the agreed date. In case of their absence at the appointed time, a corresponding note must be made in the examination report.

How is the examination carried out?

Damage in a flooded apartment must be inspected at an agreed time. The expert should be provided with all damage for inspection, as well as a flood report and documentation of the damaged furniture and household appliances.

The victim is interested in ensuring that the inspection is carried out as thoroughly as possible, and that all facts regarding damage from the accident are included in the expert’s report. The appraiser's final report is an important, but not the only document that must be submitted to the court.

Collecting documents for the court

To consider the case in court, you must submit the following documents:

• statement of claim - the composition of the information that must be contained in the statement of claim is given in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation;
• a copy of the act on the consequences of flooding the apartment, drawn up and signed on the day of the flooding;
• estimate for work to eliminate the consequences of the accident;
• independent examination report — indication of the cause of flooding, assessment of material damage;
• estimate documentation on the costs of performing appraisal work;
• title documents for an apartment - purchase and sale agreement, gift, inheritance, etc.

Please pay attention to the total amount of damage indicated in your statement of claim. If it does not exceed 50,000 rubles, then, according to Art. 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation (clause 5, part 1), the case can be considered in the magistrate’s court. If this amount is exceeded, the claim is filed in the district court at the location of the defendant in accordance with Art. 22 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The amount of established damage also affects the amount of the state duty that you will pay for the consideration of the case in court.

If an independent assessment was not carried out before applying to the judicial authorities, a construction and technical examination will necessarily be ordered by the court.

Unfortunately, flooding of an apartment is far from being as rare a situation as we would like, and if it is repeated during an already ongoing trial, then the materials on it can be added to the existing case

It may happen that, during the consideration of the case in court, a new flooding of the affected apartment occurs. Then you need to draw up an inspection report again, adjust the estimate and submit these documents to the court so that they can be added to the existing case.

Recovery of the awarded amount

When the court makes a decision in favor of the injured party, you will receive a writ of execution. Now you should turn to the bailiffs to force the culprit to comply with the court decision.

You need to come to the bailiff service (territorial department) on the reception day. Take with you your identification documents, a writ of execution issued by the court, and your bank details to transfer funds to pay off the damage.

On the spot, you will have to write a statement on the basis of which enforcement proceedings will be initiated.

The bailiff assigned to work on your case handles several similar cases of varying degrees of complexity at once, so do not forget to remind him of yourself

Although the law allows only five days for the execution of a court decision, the procedure can take much longer. To speed it up, a few days after the date of your application, find out which specialist is assigned to your case.

You need a phone number and full name. bailiff Your business is one of many for him, so only by systematically reminding him of yourself will you finally achieve the desired result.

To avoid becoming the culprit of a flood yourself, it is necessary to promptly inspect the water supply pipes in the apartment, check the tightness of the connections and monitor the condition of the taps. You can partially reduce the risks by installing in the bathroom leak sensor - anti-flood system.

If trouble occurs and you flood your neighbors, we advise you to read the information provided in this article.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

This video material will help you systematize the information you have received about what to do when your upstairs neighbors flood your apartment.

A consultation with the assistant prosecutor of the Avtozavodsky district of the city of Tolyatti will allow you not only to correctly navigate the documentation that the court will need, but also to think about whether it is worth insuring your property against flooding.

Now you know exactly in what sequence you need to act to compensate for damage to property when your apartment is flooded.

Keep a list of documents that you may need when going to court so that you are always fully prepared. Act calmly, do not give free rein to your emotions and still try to come to an amicable pre-trial agreement in order to save your nerves, time and energy.

Do you have anything to add? Or do you want to share your experience in resolving issues after flooding by your upstairs neighbors? You can leave comments on the publication and participate in discussions. The contact form is located in the lower block.