The legislation of the Russian Federation guarantees every citizen the right to live in an environmentally friendly and safe environment. Any actions that violate this right will entail inevitable punishment. However, the problem of neighbors leaving trash in the entrance of an apartment building is extremely common. How to act in this case legally and effectively?
Garbage in public places - what does the law say?
Waste disposal is regulated by several regulatory documents.
Clause 3.7.2. Resolution of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation No. 170 clearly states that waste should be collected only in places specially designated for this:
- garbage cans and containers;
- urns;
- waste bins or storage bins;
- at specialized sites.
IMPORTANT! According to the same article, the place for waste disposal should be no closer than 20 meters from the doors and windows of the house and no closer than 100 meters from the entrance.
Disposing of waste in any other place is prohibited and may result in various types of liability:
- disciplinary;
- administrative;
- and even criminal (if this violation led to dangerous consequences for human life or the environment).
Article 8.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for unauthorized dumping of garbage in the wrong place (at the entrance, under windows and doors, in corridors) provides for a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 rubles (for citizens). For legal entities and officials, such a violation will cost much more – up to 250 thousand rubles.
The amount of the fine varies depending on the specific region of the country and the circumstances of the violation. If the culprit has not been prosecuted for such actions before, or has not caused significant damage, he may get off with a warning. If its unauthorized dumping led to infection of neighbors and serious damage to the ecology of the home, the punishment could reach 8 years in prison.
Victims of the actions of unscrupulous neighbors, in accordance with Chapter 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, can apply for compensation for moral and material damage.
IMPORTANT! According to the law, the citizen himself is responsible for his waste until it is taken to a landfill. Therefore, it is he who will have to answer for non-compliance with fire safety rules and sanitary standards.
What is the danger of litter on the landing?
If the entrance is cluttered, the fire will spread much faster.
An unpleasant smell and appearance are not the worst things that bags of garbage in the entrance can bring to a residential apartment building. In addition to them, unscrupulous neighbors exhibit:
- Bags with food and other municipal solid waste (MSW);
- Unsuitable for use building materials (with expired shelf life) or their remains;
- Old furniture;
- Inoperative household appliances.
The main danger from this behavior is the increased risk of involuntary ignition and fire. And this can lead not only to damage to the property of other residents, but also to their death.
Other problems that may arise due to garbage left in the entrance:
- It causes the appearance and spread of insects and rodents in the house, which are difficult to get rid of;
- Due to the long-term presence of garbage in unidentified places, it becomes a source of pathogenic bacteria that reach people through the air. The result is serious illness.
Any of these reasons is enough to reprimand unscrupulous neighbors. Their totality is the basis for active action.
Neighbors leave trash in the hallway - what to do?
The implementation of these laws is complicated by the fact that in Russia there is no legally defined body that would monitor the observance of cleanliness in public places. Therefore, the fight against unscrupulous residents of apartment buildings largely falls on the shoulders of their neighbors.
However, when defending their right to a comfortable life in cleanliness and safety, citizens need to remember that all their actions must not contradict the law.
You need to work thoughtfully and systematically with neighbors who regularly leave their trash in common corridors or stairwells. Noisy scandals, created from time to time and not supported by clear arguments, often only further aggravate the problem.
Verbal remark
The first step in the fight against uncultured neighbors may be the adoption at a general meeting of residents of a certain set of rules regulating the use of common premises (corridors, landings, elevators) and maintaining order in them.
Every resident must be made aware of the rules. In the future, this will avoid many common misconceptions:
- garbage collection must be carried out by a paid cleaner (in accordance with GOST R 51617-2000, cleaning of residents' waste bags is not included in utilities);
- garbage can be left anywhere if it does not bother anyone (this does not meet the requirements of sanitary standards, fire safety and is strictly prohibited by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 25, 2012);
These counterarguments can be used in a personal conversation with an unscrupulous neighbor. Before embarking on serious actions, it is recommended to express your position in a reasoned and calm manner and give a final warning to the opposing party. Perhaps, realizing that their actions are disturbing other residents and causing serious sanitary problems, the neighbors will improve.
Collection of evidence – photos and videos
To figure out which apartment the “scavengers” live in and collect the evidence necessary for further action, you can install a small video camera in the entrance. It would also be useful to have several photographs of the garbage left behind, indicating the date and time.
IMPORTANT! In such cases, you do not need to ask for permission to film. Entrances, corridors and staircases are part of the common property of all owners of an apartment building.
Finding out the owner's name
Homeowners are responsible for maintaining common property in order.
Therefore, the next step will be to find out the status of unscrupulous neighbors - whether they are owners or renters. You can clarify this information with the management company, TSN or HOA.
In some cases, by contacting the owner of the apartment, you can force him to take action against untidy tenants (up to and including terminating the lease and eviction).
Complaint to Roskomnadzor
Often one of the most effective ways to solve a problem is to contact Roskomnadzor. It is this body that controls the implementation of Article 6.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which strictly prohibits leaving waste in public places.
A complaint can be sent to the territorial body of Roskomnadzor by mail, on the official website or in person.
The document must indicate:
- the exact address of the violators;
- Full name of the violators;
- Full name of the owner of the apartment in which they live;
- indicate how often they throw garbage in inappropriate places;
- ask for an inspection and punish violators of sanitary and hygienic standards.
It would be useful to attach existing photo and video evidence to the letter.
Roskomnadzor is obliged to respond to the complaint within 30 days, conduct an investigation and provide a reasoned response. To increase the effectiveness of the complaint, you can involve other residents and make the complaint collective.
IMPORTANT! An unsatisfactory decision of Roskomnadzor can be appealed in court.
Statement to the police
If the previous actions did not produce the desired effect on the “garbage” neighbors, you can contact the police.
To do this, a statement is written addressed to the district police officer, indicating the full names of the residents who litter, their address and a clear description of the problem. The application must be accompanied by video and photographic evidence collected in advance (it is advisable that the violators are captured at the moment of throwing garbage in the wrong place).
It is also worth agreeing with other neighbors in advance - their evidence will serve as excellent reinforcement for the application.
The district police officer is obliged to understand the involvement of unscrupulous residents in the offense and draw up a protocol that will be sent to the court to bring unscrupulous citizens to justice. Very often this process ends with a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 rubles, and in any case, it affects even the most inappropriate neighbors.
Neighbors throw construction and other rubbish out of windows and balconies - where can I complain?
Throwing garbage out of windows is subject to all of the listed articles and regulations.
In some regions of the country, such actions are punished even more severely (fine up to 4,000 rubles). Therefore, in general, the methods of combating this offense will be similar to those already listed.
Having previously recorded the fact of a violation using video or photography and realizing the pointlessness of peaceful negotiations with neighbors, you can submit statements to the following authorities:
- Management company (its employees will draw up a corresponding act and call the violator to order);
- Rospotrebnadzor and Roskomnadzor (will conduct an inspection of the activities of the littering resident and apply penalties);
- Ministry of Emergency Situations and Fire Supervision (after inspection, they issue several warnings to the violator, and then may impose a fine);
- Police (a statement is written to the district police officer, who can then send the case to court);
- District administration at the offender’s place of residence . In this case, an administrative commission is created that can call the “garbage man” to order. However, to submit an application you must have testimony from at least two witnesses.
How else can you force them to remove the trash that is being thrown out the door?
Often, creative residents use original methods of dealing with neighbor’s garbage that clutters the entrance:
- Moving abandoned trash under the door of a careless neighbor. For many “scavengers”, one such “magic move” is enough; for others, they will have to work long and hard. Eventually, the offender gets tired of having to wade through piles of waste to get to his home, and he stops littering.
- Placing motivating and ironic pictures on the walls on the topic of maintaining cleanliness in the entrance. In some cases, appeals obtained from the Internet and printed on a home printer in the spirit of “When you leave your trash here, don’t forget to grunt!” turn out to be very effective.
- The collected video and photographic evidence exposing littering residents can also be printed and posted for public viewing. For greater effect, it is recommended to indicate which articles and penalties their actions fall under.
- If neighbors have a habit of placing large construction debris or old furniture in common corridors and stairwells, you can post a notice nearby about the free distribution of these items. In this case, either the “scavengers” will be forced to take urgent measures to move their property to another place, or the trash will be sorted by those who need it.
- In places converted by violators into landfills, a notice is often posted saying “You are being filmed by a hidden camera!” Even in the absence of such, unauthorized waste disposal often stops.
An attempt to solve the problem diplomatically
Of course, you shouldn’t quarrel with your neighbors right away, because you still have to live with them for more than one year; initially it’s better to try to come to an agreement.
Approach them with a request to remove things from the site or offer options for storing them in a more compact form so that you can safely walk past them.
A peaceful path to an agreement with neighbors.
If neighbors do not hear the requests of one person, try to collectively influence them, based on the fact that they are cluttering the common area.
How to evict antisocial neighbors. See here.
What other peaceful ways can you solve the problem?
If direct verbal appeal does not have positive consequences, you should use other options for influencing neighbors:
- Send an official collective letter, making references to legislative acts;
- Post on the information stand the rules and regulations for the use of common areas, referring to the penalties for their violation;
- Convene a general meeting and try to influence negligent neighbors with arguments.
Important: all written requests, especially if they are collective, must be copied and kept for evidence in case of litigation.
