What to do if the neighbors 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. No one is safe from such incidents, and it is not at all necessary that the neighbors are to blame for the flood, because any tenant, at the most inopportune moment, may burst the battery or let down poor-quality plumbing. At the sight of the consequences of flooding, any normal person will not be able to restrain emotions and maintain calm, but not everyone knows what to do if the neighbors flooded from above. In order to receive material compensation from the perpetrators of the emergency, it is necessary to follow a certain procedure: to correctly record the fact of flooding, as well as the extent of damage. In this article we will tell you what to do and where to call if the neighbors drown from above.

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How to stop the process of flooding your home?

If you, upon entering an apartment, find that the scale of flooding is much wider than a small spot on the ceiling, then first de-energize the entire apartment. To do this, click the auto-off switch to the “Off” state or press the red button on the cork. This will help protect you from electric shock and avoid short circuits inside the walls.

What to do next, if the neighbors are flooded from above:

1. Remove the most valuable things from the place of flooding, immediately rise to the neighbors. Find out what happened, if necessary - provide all possible assistance in eliminating the leak.

Important! If there are no neighbors at home, and you cannot contact them for various reasons, then in no case should you break open the doors of a neighboring apartment, since only police officers have this right, and not in all cases.

2. The next action to be taken is to completely shut off the water supply. In the absence of neighbors from above, urgently call the management organization. Emergency specialists will block the water in the riser, and, if necessary, in the entire entrance.
3. Upon arrival of the employees of the management company, it is necessary to draw up an act on the flooding of residential premises.

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

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Ways to fix the damage

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

Basic Rules

For this:

1. First of all, photograph all the places in the apartment that most clearly reflect the scale of the flood. If possible, record the consequences of an emergency on the camcorder. All video materials and photos are accepted in court as the 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 all the consequences for the property, is the act.This written document must be drawn up by a commission, which includes representatives of the management company and eyewitnesses. The act is executed in duplicate. One genuine 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, then draw up the act yourself and attract several witnesses for the incident for this purpose.

We draw up the act competently

In addition to the above information, the act must necessarily indicate:

• The cause of flooding. This can be damaged pipes, negligence of residents, breakdown of household appliances, etc.

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

• List of damage caused to property by water. It should be listed here: all furniture, spoiled carpets, household appliances, clothes, home furnishings, ceiling, floor, walls and more.

Important! If neighbors have flooded, the culprit of the flood must be present at the time of drawing up the act in order to personally verify the amount of damage caused. If the culprit of the emergency refused to take part in the inspection and recording of the consequences, then this 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 may be invalidated, so check the design of this document very carefully.

Helpful hints:

1. Sometimes, in court, they may require an independent expert opinion. This document is paid by the interested party, and the costs incurred will be returned through the court, if the claims are satisfied. So when drawing up the act, invite specialists from the management company to qualitatively and correctly fix the cause of the flooding.
2. Attach an estimate of the amount of damage to the act, but remember that it is drawn up by independent appraisers. Therefore, do this in case of significant damage, since the services of appraisers are quite expensive.
3. When contacting the management company by phone, always ask for the name and surname of the person who accepts your complaint. This will allow, in further proceedings, to personify the responsibility for the inaction of the emergency services and the management company.
4. If the neighbors guilty of the incident immediately compensate for the damage that is enough to carry out repairs and restoration of the damaged property, then any legal proceedings can be avoided. But unfortunately, often it is not possible to compensate all the damage without the intervention of unauthorized persons. Therefore, peaceful regulation can only be discussed if you know the neighbors well and can trust them completely.

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Appeal to the judiciary

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

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

1. Copy of the flooding act.
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 cost of repairing the damaged apartment.
4. Estimated repair work performed during the flood.
5. Statement of claim.You can draw up the document yourself or ask a housing lawyer for help, who will help you file a complaint correctly, and will represent your interests at the hearing.

Important! It is also important to know where to go if the neighbors have 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.

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

Important! You can also attach photos and videos about the consequences of flooding to the lawsuit.

Helpful hints:

1. If, even after a court decision, the defendants are in no hurry to compensate for the damage and pay the full amount for various reasons, then contact the court for a 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 means by which these amounts will be paid.
2. In many cases, legal costs only increase the cost of resolving the matter. An effective solution to all such problems is apartment and property insurance. Having such insurance on hand, you certainly will not be defenseless. If you have such a document, if you are flooded with neighbors from above, then just call the insurance company, which will deal with all your questions.

Important! The sooner you contact the judiciary, the better. If a lot of time passes, then you can no longer 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 satisfied your claim.

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Who is to blame for the emergency?

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

1. The owner of the apartment, if the apartment is privatized, and the landlord forgot to close the taps or failed low-quality plumbing.
2. Management company, housing department. If the riser or other communications that are in the service of the management company burst, then this housing company will be the culprit.
3. State. If the apartment is provided under a social contract of employment, and the state is the owner, then the owner of the premises, which are either the state, the municipality, or the federal subjects, will be responsible for the consequences of the accident.

Important! To find out who should be called to account, read the social contract of employment and specify who owns your home. So you will understand what exactly needs to be done if the neighbors flooded from above and where to call.

How to determine who is to blame when flooded?

For all accidents that occur with communal risers of hot and cold water, the management company is responsible. For the heating system, which includes heating radiators, risers and control equipment located in these networks, the company managing your home is also responsible. However, if you yourself have repaired and replaced heating radiators, heated towel rails, etc., then the responsibility will rest with the tenants of the apartment.

For all plumbing equipment (faucets, wiring located in the apartment), the owner of the housing is responsible. It is very important to indicate the cause of the emergency in the flooding act in order to find and punish the perpetrators.

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What if neighbors flooded the apartment more than once?

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

Your task in this case is to prove the fact of repeated appeal to violators with a demand for compensation for the damage caused, or to indicate to them the existence of committed violations of their rights. It is necessary to fix the fact that measures to resolve the conflict with neighbors did not have the proper effect.

Important! If you have collected all the necessary evidence of a violation of your rights and the irresponsibility of your neighbors, then the only solution to this problem is to file a lawsuit with the courts demanding compensation for the damage caused and the eviction of unscrupulous residents.

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What to do if you are flooded with neighbors from above - step by step instructions

To summarize all of the above, we will draw up a guide and step-by-step instructions for those who find themselves in such a difficult situation:

1. Immediately de-energize the apartment and minimize damage by removing the most valuable things from the flood site.
2. Notify the neighbors from above, and if necessary, emergency services (if there are no neighbors) about water leakage.
3. Shut off the water if the management organization has not sent an emergency service.
4. Gather all evidence of damage, draw up an act of flooded apartment.
5. Find out who is to blame for the emergency, as the statement of claim should be addressed to the specific culprit of the flood.
6. Perform an independent construction and technical examination to determine the cost of restoration.

Important! For the examination, only attract construction experts who have the certificates of a state forensic institution.

7. Solve the problem by a settlement with your neighbors, and if it’s impossible, file a lawsuit in court.

Helpful hints:

• Carefully follow the drafting of the act by the management company and do not hesitate to make your comments on each controversial issue. After drawing up the act, be sure to require one copy of the document for yourself.
• For a peaceful settlement of the issue with the neighbors, meet with them 2-3 days after the flooding, in order to find out by that time all the damage that has been done, as well as determine the amount of work necessary to compensate it. It is best to draw up a written agreement on damages and record it in a notary's office, regardless of the level of your relationship.
• If during the trial of your case there is a repeated flooding, then draw up another inspection report, adjust the cost estimate and submit documents to 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 official bailiffs, provide a writ of execution issued by the court, write a statement on the initiation of enforcement proceedings. Indicate in your application your bank details for which money should be received on the writ of execution.

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Stock footage

Of course, all of the above actions will take some time, but without these steps you will not have a chance to receive material compensation for the repair of your apartment. We very much hope that this problem will not affect you, and if an emergency event does occur, then you will solve the problem peacefully, without wasting your time, nerves and health.