Flooded the neighbors below - what to do? This question arises when a flooded apartment is found and causes people to panic. After all, damage can be caused not only to one’s property, but also to someone else’s. If you have flooded the neighbors below, what to do, how to assess the damage and peacefully resolve the conflict with the injured party, find out from this article.
The first steps
In the case when you flooded the neighbors, you need to try to get out of an unpleasant situation with the least expense of your time, nerves and money. To do this, the first thing to do is find the cause of the emergency and turn off the crane located on the riser. Next, turn off the entire apartment and call the plumber from the housing office. To reduce possible damage to neighbors, you need to try to collect water from the floor as much as possible.
It is also necessary to talk with neighbors, explaining to them what happened. There are situations when the injured party from a person who flooded a neighbor from below requires money. What to do in this case? It is necessary to find out who is to blame for what happened and who will be compensated for. Indeed, despite the fact that water flowed from your apartment, the fault does not always lie with you.
Not understanding the conditions of apartment insurance, people ask themselves: "Flooded the neighbors from below - what to do?" There is insurance - that means you need to call your insurance company and, having described the situation in detail, act according to the instructions of the company employees.
How to identify the culprit of flooding
How to understand who is to blame for the flooding of the apartment? In cases where the water was not turned off or a crane requiring repair has not been changed for a long time, you will be to blame for what happened. In this case, the neighbors will have to compensate for all the damage they suffered.
If the flooding of the neighbors occurred due to a breakdown of the riser, the blame for what happened will fall on the organization serving the house. Since the riser is legally considered common property, the organization hired by the management company should have taken up its timely replacement. In such a situation, all victims must write a collective statement addressed to the company serving the house.
If the dwelling is used under a lease, it is also necessary to understand the cause of the flooding. In accordance with the legislation, the owner must pay for the overhaul, and the obligation of the tenant becomes the implementation of the current repair. The owner will be responsible for malfunctions in the batteries and pipes that led to the flooding. The tenant will be responsible in cases when the apartment was flooded due to an open crane.
Compensation - who is required to pay?
Even when the culprit of the flood is identified, the question arises for the person who flooded the neighbors below: "What to do?" The accommodation is carried out depending on whose fault the property of others was damaged.
If the cause of the flooding is you, then you should try to negotiate with your neighbors "on the spot." You can try to immediately discuss the damage and the amount of its compensation. Most often, neighbors do not want to get in touch with state structures and prefer to solve the problem peacefully.
In the event that flooding occurred due to the carelessness of the organization serving the house, you and your neighbors are victims, therefore, you have the right to apply to the Housing Office with a request to compensate for the damage caused.
If the owner of the housing is to blame for the emergency, then he is obliged not only to compensate for all the damage done to the neighbors, but also to cover the cost of your personal property that was damaged as a result of flooding.
Damage assessment
Flooding an apartment is rarely without damage to someone else’s property, and questions immediately arise: “How to understand the size of someone else’s damage if a person has flooded the neighbors from below? What to do? How is the assessment carried out? ”
There are several ways to assess and recover damage from flooding an apartment:
- Having discussed the approximate cost of damages with neighbors and having achieved mutual agreement, you can pay the amount to the victims. It is necessary to draw up an act in which the agreed amount of damage that suits both parties will be recorded.
- It is also possible, together with a neighbor, to determine the amount of materials that are needed to restore the property. After purchasing all this in stores at your own expense and paying the cost of repair work in the apartment.
Peer review
In cases where it is not possible to reach agreement with the injured party, the losses of neighbors are estimated in other ways:
- Call an independent expert. His services can be paid both jointly and by one of the parties (this is decided by the parties to the conflict). Based on the expert’s opinion, a payment is made. If one of the parties does not agree with the decision of a specialist, it may require additional examination or consideration of the case in court.
- The court can resolve the conflict of interest on the basis of the documents provided: photographs of the damaged apartment, testimony of witnesses, and an act drawn up. The court may also order an examination.
Negotiations with neighbors
Having discussed the situation with the neighbors, we can solve the problem with the least losses. After all, with polite communication, it turns out not to bring the matter to court, but to do with a little compensation. Especially if the neighbors themselves admit that they already had an old repair, and when flooded, their personal property was not damaged.
If the neighbor is still determined to go to court, then you can try to dissuade him by giving the following arguments:
- All legal costs and expenses are paid by the plaintiff. Although the amount is usually small, it must be paid before the trial. Since it is impossible to predict a court decision in advance, a neighbor may well incur wasted expenses.
- The services of an assessment expert, in the case of a court request, are also paid by the affected party. A specialist call will have to be made without fail, as the court will be able to make a decision on damages only with the help of the information collected.
- The court will be able to take into account only the official earnings of the defendant. So if you work outside the contract, you will be able to oblige to pay no more than 1/5 of the subsistence minimum. Neighbors usually hope to receive the full amount at once, and the message that payments will occur within a few years can cool their ardor.
Nuances of damages
- The amount of damage will not be calculated from the purchase price of the property, but from the estimated value. So, the equipment can be estimated at two and three times cheaper, compared with the purchase price. Also, often the court decides to pay the funds not for the purchase of new equipment, but only for the repair of the old.
- If the injured party demands compensation for moral damage, then in court this will have to be confirmed by a doctor’s opinion or receipts for the purchase of medicines.
If you can’t agree
Often there are times when the injured party does not even want to hear that someone else is to blame, but insists that since the water poured from above, then you are to blame. Or, instead of a peaceful discussion of compensation, threatens the court. In this case, you must act in the following sequence:
- You need to try to negotiate with the affected party. If you do not want to waste your time and nerves in court hearings, then you should ask your neighbor how much he wants for the damage caused.
- It is necessary to record the results of flooding in someone else's apartment. With the permission of the owner, you need to photograph the rooms. Separately shoot the affected electronics, pay attention to the condition of the walls and places where the water got into the apartment.
- The act of flooding must be executed in accordance with all the rules. The form can be either found on the Internet or asked for from representatives of utilities. When filling out the act, the guilty party, the victim, and witnesses must be present. The act is signed by the chief engineer or his deputy and a plumber. Later this act will help recover material compensation from the management company.
- Keep a copy of the act. It must also have all signatures, otherwise it will lose its legal force.
- If the act was drawn up in your absence, then you must get it in your hands in the Housing Office.
There are situations when people find it difficult to choose the right solution or continue to worry about flooding the neighbors from below. What to do? A lawyer can provide professional help and solve your problem. Usually, many companies provide the first consultations for free, and thus you will receive professional assistance without material loss.