Flooded a neighbor: what to do if you are the culprit of the flood

Unforeseen situations can happen at any time. It is good if a person is at home during the flood or comes to the apartment when it has just begun. However, such a fortunate combination of circumstances is extremely rare. Most often, the owner of the apartment learns about what happened only in the evening, after coming home from work.

It is good if a person lives on the ground floor and, in case of a flood, can only flood the basement. It is much worse when neighbors from below fall under a natural disaster and are affected.

Causes of flooding

There can be several main reasons why an apartment is flooded:

• burst pipe in apartment. This is the most common cause of flooding by neighbors from the upper floors. The pipe can break at any time and be controlled, or it is almost impossible to somehow prevent this incident.

If there were people in the apartment during the breakthrough, then the leak can be eliminated quickly enough, however, if the room was empty, then, until the owners of the living space return, it is necessary to endure, or call an emergency service that will block all the risers, due to which a flood could occur.

• Roof pipe burst. If the flooding of neighbors is not the fault of a plumbing accident living on the floor above, then the housing and communal services are to blame, which does not monitor the condition of the pipes in the house.
• Plumbing breakthrough. It often happens that in the absence of the owners, the hose of a working washing machine or dishwasher breaks through. In these cases, it is very difficult to stop the flow of water before the arrival of the owners.

However, regardless of who is really to blame, the first "stones" of the flooded are directed precisely at the residents of the apartment above.

How to identify the culprit in the flood of the apartment

To determine the person responsible for flooding the apartment from below, it is necessary as soon as possible, while the consequences of the flood are still visible, fix breaks in plumbing or pipes.

If in a flooded apartment water flows from the ceiling or along the walls, it is necessary call the utility workers so that they make up . Without an act, it will be very difficult to prove that the flooding of the neighbors from below was not the fault of those living above.

After drawing up the act, it is necessary apply with an official application for compensation for material damage to the structural subdivision of the housing and communal services. The best thing, for the statement to be collective, from all owners whose apartments suffered.

If the apartment was flooded from the roof, then Utilities are to blame, to which you immediately need to put forward a claim and write an application for reimbursement for apartment repairs.

Upon receipt of applications, housing and communal services are obliged to reimburse the repair of the affected premises.

Definition of damage

In order to make an adequate assessment of the damage, it is necessary to resort to the services independent expertise.

The cost of the examination depends on the area of ​​​​the apartment and the number of items that were damaged by the leak.

The average cost of the examination ranges from 15-20 thousand rubles.. If art objects were damaged during the bay, then the score can increase up to 50 thousand rubles.

However, it is worth remembering that the costs associated with the assessment of damage, the victims may or the perpetrator of the flood, in court.

When conducting an independent examination, the main rule for the guilty party is to choose an independent company that can adequately assess the damage caused.

There are cases when the injured party calls "their" appraiser, who calculates the amount of damage many times greater than the actual one.

If this fact has occurred, the injured party must independently apply to the court and challenge the assessment. During the contestation process, the flooder must apply for an independent damage assessment.

Examinations ordered by the court the flooder pays, but, most often, paying for expert examinations comes out much cheaper than paying for imaginary damage.

Compensation for damage

Compensation for damage can occur voluntarily and judicially.

In case of voluntary compensation for damage, the party that is to blame for the flooding pays material damage to the injured party, in an amount equal to the expert's assessment, or in an amount agreed by the parties.

In this case, it is very important that the injured party writes a receipt stating that after receiving the funds it has no claims against the flooded party. If the receipt is not written, then the injured party may later go to court and once again recover the amount of damage.

In the event that the flooding party does not agree with the amount of damage caused, the dispute must be resolved in court.

The injured party files a lawsuit in court. In the statement of claim, the party must attach all documents that will confirm the damage caused.

After evaluating all the circumstances of the case, the judge will make a decision on compensation for the damage caused to the flooded apartment, partial compensation for damage, or refusal to provide material compensation.

When the neighbors were flooded by tenants

Often there are situations when it was not the owner who flooded the neighbors from below, but those who lived in the apartment at the time of the flood. In this case, the injured party will resolve all issues related to compensation, with the owner of the premises who, after payment of damages, can go to court and, by way of recourse, recover the costs incurred from the tenants.

A lawsuit and its positive outcome is possible only if an official agreement is concluded between the tenant and the tenants.

Without a lease agreement, the owner has no right to make claims against the tenants.

However, regardless of the situation that has arisen, it is worth remembering that it is not worth giving up and paying any named amount that the injured party decided to receive.

In the event that disputes arise that require judicial resolution, it is best to contact a lawyer who can competently conduct a trial and resolve the situation in a positive way, for the client.

The cost of the services of a good specialist is quite loyal and is determined by the pricing policy of the Bar Association of the region.

The average cost of conducting a case for compensation for material damage associated with damage to property due to flooding, is from 30 to 60 thousand rubles, depending on the amount of damage and the complexity of the process.

However, it is worth remembering that the party that wins the case can recover the payment for the services of a representative from the loser in court, so the high cost of services should not be frightening.

A professional lawyer will be able to solve problems of any nature: accidental flooding of a neighbor's apartment, roof leaks that led to a flood, burst pipes due to the fault of housing and communal services.

Turning to a specialist, a person insures himself against additional costs associated with litigation and compensation for damage to neighbors who are flooded.

Video legal advice

Grigory Goryachev, a lawyer at Pravovedy, tells how to act and who is to blame for this or that situation. It is especially worth paying attention to the analysis of the cause of flooding, the correct definition of the guilty one will allow you not to pay extra amounts.