What if the neighbors were flooded from above?

Any resident of a multi-storey building can suffer from a flood in an apartment through the fault of neighbors from above. From such incidents no one is insured, and it is not at all necessary that the neighbors are to blame for the flood, because any tenant, at the most inopportune moment, can burst the battery or fail the sanitary equipment. At the sight of the consequences of flooding, any normal person can not restrain emotions and keep calm, but what if the neighbors were flooded from above, not everyone knows. In order to receive material compensation from the perpetrators of an emergency, it is necessary to observe a certain procedure: correctly record the fact of flooding, as well as the scale of the damage. In this article, we'll tell you what to do and where to call if the neighbors are heating up.

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How to stop the flooding of your housing?

If you, having come to the apartment, found that the scale of flooding is much larger than a small spot on the ceiling, then first of all, disconnect the entire apartment. To do this, click the switch of automatic shutdown in the "Off" state or press the red button on the plug. This will help protect you from electric shock, and avoid short circuits inside the walls.

What to do next if the neighbors are flooded:

1. Remove the most valuable items from the flooding place, immediately go up to the neighbors. Find out what happened, if necessary - provide all possible assistance in eliminating leakage.

Important! If neighbors are not at home, and you can not contact them for various reasons, then in no case do you break open the doors of a neighbor's apartment, since this right is possessed only by police officers, and that is not always the case.

1. The next action to be taken is to completely cut off the water supply. In the absence of neighbors from the top, urgently call the management organization. Specialists of the emergency service will block the water in the riser, and if necessary - in the entire entrance.
2. Upon arrival of employees of the management company, it is necessary to draw up an act on flooding the living quarters.

Important! If in emergency you have to act on your own, then remember that all responsibility for the decision taken will completely fall on your shoulders. Your arguments about protecting your home from the flood will not be saved from the need to compensate for damage if the communal communications are damaged.

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Ways of fixing the damage

The first thing that comes to mind as to what to do if the neighbors are flooded from above is to put things in order in the affected house. But do not rush until you collect and properly complete all evidence of damage to your property.

Basic rules of

For this:

1. First of all take a photo of all the places in the apartment that most clearly display the scale of the flood. Consequences of an emergency situation, if possible, take off on a video camera. All video materials and photos are accepted in court as evidence base of the statement of claim.
2. The most important document confirming the fact of flooding, which indicates the date, time of the incident and details of all the consequences for the property, is an act. This written document must be drawn up by a commission, which includes representatives of the management company and the eyewitness neighbors. The act is made in two copies. One original copy of the document remains in the hands of the owner of the affected apartment.

Important! If you did not wait for the employees of the managing organization, draw up an act yourself and involve for this purpose several witnesses of the incident.

We draw up the certificate correctly

In addition to the above information, the following must be indicated in the certificate:

• Cause of flooding. It can be damaged pipes, negligence of tenants, breakdown of home appliances, etc.

Important! The act must be drawn up on the same day, or, on an extreme occasion, the next day of flooding. Otherwise, without this document, you will not be able to defend your rights in court, to prove that you were flooded by neighbors, respectively - and to compensate for material damage. Be sure to mention in the certificate on the fact that there are no special representatives of the management company called at the scene of the incident.

• List of destruction caused to property by water. Here should be listed: all furniture, spoiled carpets, household appliances, clothes, interior items, ceiling, floor, walls, etc..

Important! If the neighbors flooded, the culprit of the flood must be present when drawing up the act, in order to personally verify the amount of damage inflicted. If the culprit of an emergency has refused to take part in the examination and fixing the consequences, it must be indicated in the act.

• Signatures of all members of the commission, as well as the owners of the affected apartment. Without proper signatures, the act can be recognized as invalid, so very carefully check the design of this document.

Useful advices:

1. Sometimes, when considering a court, an independent expert opinion may be required. This document is paid by the interested party, and the expenses incurred will be returned through the court, in case of satisfaction of the requirements of the statement of claim. So when drafting an act, invite specialists from the management company to accurately and correctly record the cause of flooding.
2. Attach an estimate of the amount of damage to the act, but remember that it is compiled by independent appraisers. Therefore, do so in case of significant damage, as the services of appraisers are quite expensive.
3. When contacting a management company by phone, always ask the first and last name of the person who accepts your complaint. This will, in the further investigation, personify the responsibility for the failure of emergency services and the management company.
4. If the neighbors guilty of the incident immediately compensate for the damage that is enough to repair and restore the damaged property, then all legal proceedings can be avoided. But unfortunately, it is often not possible to recover all the damage without the intervention of unauthorized persons. Therefore, we can talk about peaceful regulation only if you know the neighbors well and you can trust them completely.

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Appeal to the judiciary

In most cases, unfortunately, there is no question of a peaceful resolution of the matter with compensation for material damage. If neighbors have flooded you, do not admit guilt, that is, they are not going to cover the damage, you will have to apply to the judicial authorities. This is the only way out of what can be done if the neighbors are flooded from above.

To apply to the court it is necessary to collect a package of documents:

1. Copy of the certificate of flooding.
2. Documents that confirm the ownership of the apartment.
3. Defective act. The document should reflect the cost of damaged items, as well as the costs of repairing the affected apartment.
4. Estimate of the repair work performed during the liquidation of the Flood.
5. Statement of Claim. The document can be drawn up by yourself or you can ask for help from a housing lawyer who will help you to properly file a complaint, and at the court session will represent your interests.

Important! It is also important to know where to turn if the neighbors flooded. The statement of claim must be submitted directly to the district court at the place of residence or to the justice of the peace.

1. Documents on the payment of the services of the appraiser. This amount can be included in the claim.

Important! To the claim, you can also attach photos and video materials about the consequences of flooding.

Useful advices:

1. If, after the court decision in your favor, the defendants are in no hurry to recover damages and pay the entire amount for various reasons, then go to court for receipt of the writ of execution. In this case, the bailiffs themselves will determine the amount of the minimum monthly cash payments, as well as the ways and ways in which these amounts will be paid.
2. In many cases, legal costs only increase the cost of resolving the issue. An effective solution to all such problems is apartment and property insurance. Having such insurance on hands, you definitely will not be defenseless. If you have such a document, if you are flooded by neighbors from above, then just call the insurance company, which will take care of all your questions.

Important! The sooner you apply to the judiciary, the better. If it takes a long time, you can not prove the exact amount of damage. You will need to conduct another examination, which may be unreliable, and you will not receive sufficient compensation for the loss of property. Therefore, do not make repairs until the court has reviewed your case and will not satisfy your claim.

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Who is to blame for an emergency?

At first glance, everything is very clear - if the water flowed from the neighbors, it means they are to blame. However, a hasty conclusion is not always correct, since the guilty party can be:

1. The owner of the apartment, if the apartment is privatized, and the owner of the house forgot to close the faucets or failed poor sanitary equipment.
2. Management company, housing department. In case the riser or other communications that are in the service of the management company have burst, then this housing company will be the culprit.
3. State. In the event that the apartment is provided under a contract of social hiring, and the owner is the state, then the owner of the living quarters, which is either the state, or the municipal entity, or the subjects of the federation, will be responsible for the consequences of the accident.

Important! To find out who to call to account, read the contract of social hiring and specify in whose property your house is located. So you will understand, what exactly it is necessary to do, if the neighbors are flooded from above and where to call.

How to determine who is to blame when flooded?

The management company is responsible for all accidents occurring with the common hot and cold water risers. The heating system, which includes heating radiators, risers and control equipment located in these networks, is also responsible for managing your house company. However, if you yourself have made repairs and replacement of radiators, heated towel rails, etc., then the responsibility will be placed on the tenants of the apartment.

For all the plumbing equipment( taps, wiring located in the apartment), the responsibility is borne by the owner of the dwelling. It is very important in the act of flooding to indicate the cause of the emergency in order to find and punish the perpetrators.

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What if the neighbors flooded the apartment repeatedly?

Where to go and what to do if the neighbors have flooded the apartment once, is more or less clear. But if such extraordinary incidents occur systematically, and the neighbors do this with enviable regularity, then in this case such tenants violate the rights of other tenants. As a result, by decision of the court, the perpetrators of such situations can be evicted from the occupied dwelling.

Your task in this case is to prove the fact of repeatedly appealing to violators with the demand to compensate for the damage inflicted, or to indicate to them the existence of perfect violations of their rights. It is also necessary to record the fact that the measures to resolve the conflict with neighbors have not had a proper effect.

Important! If you collected all the necessary evidence of violation of your rights and the irresponsibility of neighbors, the only solution to this problem is to file a statement of claim with the courts with a claim for compensation for the damage caused and mandatory eviction of dishonest tenants.

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What to do if you are flooded by neighbors from the outside - step by step instruction

To summarize all of the above, we will compose a manual and step-by-step instructions for those who are in such a difficult situation:

1. Urgently disconnect the apartment and minimize damage by removing the most valuable items from the place of the flood.
2. Notify neighbors from the top, and if necessary - emergency services( if neighbors are not available) about water leakage.
3. Shut off the water if the operating organization does not send the emergency service.
4. Collect all evidence of the damage caused, draw up an act about the flooded apartment.
5. Find out who is to blame for the emergency, since the statement of claim must be addressed to the particular perpetrator of the flood.
6. Carry out an independent construction and technical expertise to determine the cost of repair repairs.

Important! To carry out the expertise, involve only construction experts who have certificates of the state forensic expert institution.

1. Solve the problem by amicable agreement with neighbors, and if impossible - make a claim to the court.

Useful advices:

• Very carefully follow the drawing up of the act by the management company and do not hesitate to make your comments on each controversial issue. After drawing up the certificate, be sure to request one copy of the document for yourself.
• To settle the issue peacefully with your neighbors, meet them 2-3 days after flooding, so that by that time you can find out all the damage that has been caused, and also determine the amount of work necessary to recover it. It is best to make a written agreement on damages and fix it in a notary's office, regardless of the level of your relationship.
• If during the legal proceedings of your case there is a repeated flooding, draw up one more inspection report, adjust the estimate of expenses and file documents with the court to attach them to the main case.
• After making a decision in your favor, file an application for enforcement of the court decision. To do this: in the territorial department of bailiffs provide an enforcement sheet issued by the court, write an application for the initiation of enforcement proceedings. Indicate in the application your bank details, which should receive money on the execution sheet.

Of course, all the above actions will take some time, but without these steps you will not have a chance to get a financial reward to repair your apartment. We very much hope that this problem will not concern you, and if an emergency happens, you will solve the problem peacefully, without spending your time, nerves and health.