In multifamily house there is always potential danger of flooding. At the same time not only the neighbors living from above can flood your apartment, but also you can quite cause damage to the lower residents, having flooded them. And it does not depend on how accurately you use water – very often the rusted pipes or violation of their tightness for some other reason become the cause of such accidents.
Drawing up act
As soon as accident is found, immediately call the plumber that it has blocked water supply. The owner of the flooded apartment has to call representatives of management company which serves your house, the RAP or condominium to draw up the statement of the incident and to assess the caused damages. You have to give up all affairs into this moment and be in the flooded apartment, controlling correctness of drawing up the act.
The unified form of this document does not exist, but in it it is described happened to the indication of date and the place, the cause of accident is specified. After that the list of the damaged property is given. The detailed list is provided with the indication of the specific room. Quantitative assessment of the damaged wall-paper, floors, ceilings is given in square meters. Control that in the act the degree of the caused damage has not been overestimated. In it the general condition and wear of rooms, furniture, home decoration and prescription of carrying out repair has to be noted. You watch that the damages which are not connected with flooding have not been included in the act.
Who is to blame?
The owner has to be responsible for the caused damage. If you rent the apartment, it is necessary to establish the reason of flooding and to find out, perhaps, the lessor has handed over it to you in employ with already available defects of pipes, or they have been damaged as a result of the natural wear and corrosion of metal. It is necessary to establish the guilty person. According to Government decree No. 491 of 13.08.2006, the management company on which balance there is your house, is responsible for condition of struts of water supply and branches from them to the first locking device (crane) located in your apartment. If problems with strut were cause of accident, it is wine of management company and to you claims should not be.
Examination
If injured neighbors invite the independent appraiser expert, it has to occur in about two weeks after accident that its damage was already completely visible. You also surely should be present when conducting examination. If you do not agree with that amount of damage which the expert will specify in the report, your right – to appeal to court that judicial expertize has been carried out. But it is the best of all to try to agree with neighbors peacefully as, in case of your fault, you should pay not only damage from flood, but also legal costs.