Sample statement (complaint) if dirty, bad-smelling or contaminated water flows from the tap

Initial actions

Important! Before filing a complaint, take the following steps:

• Find out who supplies water services. For example, in Moscow, MOEK OJSC is responsible for the supply of hot water, and the water utilities of each district are responsible for the supply of cold water separately;
• If the water quality forces you to file a complaint, first contact the emergency service of the HOA or housing office. You can contact the organization in person or submit a complaint in writing. If you apply in person, an emergency service employee will clarify your details, record the fact of the call, and give you its serial number. You can also find out the date of arrival of a specialist to check communications;
• You can order a free water analysis at the sanitary and epidemiological station. If the results of the inspection reveal inadequate water quality, the costs will be borne by the organization that owns the communications. It should be noted that the verification may take a long time, so at the same time you should take other measures to solve the problem;
• contact the water utility with a complaint about inadequate water quality;
• You can also highlight the problem in local media, this will help speed up the resolution process.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Where to call

Water that is yellow in color, indicating the presence of rust, cannot be used for any purpose:

1. This water is hazardous to health; it is not suitable for cooking, washing dishes, or drinking.
2. You cannot wash your face with dirty water or perform other hygiene procedures.
3. A rusty working environment quickly deteriorates pipes, even if they are made of polypropylene or other material with plastic.
4. Rust harms the quality of plumbing fixtures, causing water taps, shower heads, and other products to fail faster.

If water with rust appears in hot or cold water pipes, you must first call the emergency service and tell the dispatcher about the problem. The appeal must be registered in a special journal. The consumer must know under what number his complaint was registered and at what time.

If the dispatcher knows the reason for the malfunction of the water supply system, he will immediately provide the information to the applicant. In the absence of up-to-date information, he must find out, check it, and inform those who are responsible for the quality of water supplied to consumers.

ATTENTION! Residents of apartment buildings must be warned about planned water supply outages.

If there is information about checking the system and about a possible temporary deterioration in water quality, fewer calls will be received by emergency dispatchers. But where to turn when the quality of water in the system does not improve after the allotted time?

When can you write a complaint to the Criminal Code?

Often, after scheduled inspections of communications or work to replace them, rusty water flows from the tap for several days, which is not the norm.

In this case, call the emergency hotline number and describe the situation in as much detail as possible.

The operator will record the received request in a special registration journal, assigning it a serial number. After that, he will tell you this number, as well as the date the application was accepted.

There are often cases when the operator will immediately be able to explain to you the cause of water contamination and offer options for solving the problem.

Reasons for refusing to resolve the problem and subsequent actions

A solution to a problem may be refused due to an insufficient evidence base.
Also, a refusal may follow if you missed a visit to one authority and went to a higher one. In this case, you need to contact the authority that you have not visited before. If, after you contacted this authority, the problem of rusty water has not been resolved, move on. It is worth adding that your complaint may be refused due to repair work in the water supply system. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, statements about a short leak of rusty water are not considered.

Before supply, water undergoes water quality and safety monitoring. Readers may need information about temperature standards, analysis and control methods.

Where to go if you are not satisfied with the water quality

If you are not satisfied with the quality of the water flowing from your tap, you should not immediately file complaints with government agencies. First of all, you should try to solve the problem with the help of emergency services.

Important! You can address your complaint directly to this organization:

• Call the emergency hotline number and explain the current situation to the operator. He will record the fact of your request and give you his number. If the operator has sufficient knowledge and competence to resolve your problem, he will tell you options for solving it. If the problem cannot be resolved over the phone, the operator will transfer the request to a specialist;
• You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the organization responsible for your home's water supply. Send the document by registered mail. Once it is sent, do not lose the receipt confirming payment. A two-day period is allotted for consideration of such a complaint. As a result of the review, the management company will receive a recalculation act. If the inadequate quality of tap water is confirmed, the fee for this service will be recalculated;
• An effective way to speed up the process of considering applications and resolving a problematic situation is to submit an application to Rospotrebnadzor to schedule a water quality test. Based on the results of the inspection, a report will be issued. At the same time, Rospotrebnadzor will send to the organization that owns the communications a requirement to immediately eliminate the causes of deterioration in water quality;
• If all of the above steps are unsuccessful, you can file a lawsuit. When it is established that the water utility is at fault, all legal costs will be borne not by the applicant, but by the defendant.

Causes

ATTENTION! The supplier, Vodokanal, is responsible for the quality of tap water.

There may be several reasons why this supplier supplies low-quality water to houses and apartments:

• Temporarily, the water supply system may contain rusty water due to scheduled shutdowns and repairs. Water utility workers periodically check the condition of the pipes and clean them from rust deposits, which regularly form in metal water pipes. After such a check, the sediment comes out at first along with the running water.
• The quality may also deteriorate due to insufficient cleaning. The underground water entering the system contains not only dirt, but also metal particles.
• Also, due to a poor treatment system, outdated or faulty, water containing sediment may enter the water supply system.

If the equipment at Vodokanal is outdated, the water supply system will supply dirty water to consumers. And in this case, apartment residents may refuse to pay water supply payments. By signing an agreement with consumers, the supplier undertakes to perform his services efficiently, for which he takes payment.

According to the standard, bad water mixed with rust may flow from the tap for a short time only after a scheduled shutdown and inspection of the system.

Other reasons are not considered the norm; the consumer has every right to complain about the poor quality of services and seek a recalculation for the supplied cold and hot water of poor quality.

If, even after a planned shutdown at the beginning and end of the heating season, hot water flows yellow and dirty for a long time, you should also call the water utility and report this fact. There may be a problem with the system.

Filing a complaint to the management company

To correctly file a claim, you will need the details of a legal entity, namely the name, legal address and full name of the manager.

This information may be located on information boards at the entrances. If you didn’t find them there, use official websites and portals.

The claim is addressed to the head of the management company (this may be the general director or chairman of the board).

The document must contain the following information about the applicant:

• Full name and residential address;
• contact telephone number.

Be sure to indicate the date the claim was filed.

There is no specific form of drawing up a claim established by law; therefore, it is permissible to present the essence in free form. In this case, it is necessary to maintain a business style of speech, avoid emotional assessment of the facts indicated and adhere to the logical sequence of presentation.

The compiled text should be concise, and the information presented in it should be accurate and specific.

Claims can be divided into individual and collective. If the claim is collective (the residents of the house joined forces to obtain a positive result), then it contains information about each of the applicants.

At the end of the claim, put your signature with a transcript. If the claim is collective, then all applicants must sign.

Make a duplicate document.

You can submit a claim in person or send it by registered mail.

After receiving the document, the management company employee must put a receipt stamp on it. He puts the date of acceptance of the document, signature and seal. Keep one copy of the claim with a note indicating its acceptance for yourself.

ATTENTION! View the completed claim form to the management company:

What to do and who to contact?

Decree of the Russian Federation No. 354 of 05/06/2011 guarantees the supply of high-quality utility services. If you find that rusty water is flowing from the tap, you have every right to complain to higher authorities.

The presence of a small amount of rusty water is legitimate when scheduled work is carried out. If such situations are repeated for a long time and often, you should not endure it - contact the relevant authorities to resolve the problem.

You can complain about poor quality service delivery either orally or in writing.

Where to call?

If rusty or dirty water comes out of the tap, you should immediately contact emergency services. The dispatcher must accept your application, make an appropriate note in a special journal, and also inform you of the registration number of your application.

• If the emergency service employee is aware of the reasons for the poor quality of service, he must notify the applicant about this.
• If the reasons are unknown, the log records the fact of the presence of rusty water in the house, the date, time and location of the incident.

Drawing up an application to the management company

If the appearance of rusty water is not uncommon in your home, then you should complain to the management company. The same should be done if, after repair work on the water supply system, the water quality has noticeably deteriorated.

When filing a complaint with the Criminal Code, you must follow several basic rules for writing this application:

1. It is necessary to fully indicate the name of the organization and the full name of the director to whom the application is being sent. Also write your name and address.
2. The text of the document should indicate the reason why the user decided to file a claim.
3. It is imperative to indicate the facts of the supply of low-quality water resources. For example, if dirty or rusty water periodically comes out of the tap.
4. The consumer has the right to demand moral compensation for the harm and inconvenience caused, as well as compensation for failed equipment (for example, damaged filters, a broken washing machine or dishwasher), and a refund of the money spent on the purchase of distilled water.
   It is worth adding that since the consumer was provided with a service of inadequate quality, he may well be exempt from paying for water, on the basis of Government Resolution 354.

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 350-14-90

The period for consideration of the application by the Criminal Code should not exceed 3 days (clause 34 of Government Resolution No. 416 of May 15, 2013)

Where to complain if the problem is not solved?

The first instance is the management company, but if it refuses or ignores your request to solve the current problem, then we advise you to contact Rospotrebnadzor or ZhI. If these organizations do not respond to your complaints, then write to law enforcement agencies.

The responsibilities of the Housing Inspectorate include monitoring the work of organizations in the housing and communal services sector, and Rospotrebnadzor protects the rights of consumers. By filing a complaint with this authority or both at once, an unscheduled inspection will be carried out. Inspectors will oblige the management company to eliminate the cause of the supply of poor-quality water to residential buildings, as well as pay an administrative fine.

The prosecutor's office is a supervisory authority that monitors violations of citizens' rights and legislation, including housing and communal services. The prosecutor will consider your complaint only if you have passed all the above-described authorities. After the inspection, the prosecutor's office will issue a warning to the management company and also demand an administrative penalty.

Required documents and evidence

It's no secret that in order to substantiate his complaint, the consumer must provide evidence of a violation of the service provided to him. First of all, this is photographic or video material that clearly shows that dirty or rusty water is flowing from the tap.

If you decide to take tap water for analysis or research to a laboratory, then you must attach the results in your claim.

Moreover, we advise you to comment on what is happening while filming video material. Point out that the water flowing from the tap is rusty and has an unpleasant odor. The photos and videos you take must clearly indicate the date and time of the incident.

Drawing up a complaint

Complaints to government agencies are written in free form, but the document must contain the following points:

• The name of the organization is written in the upper right corner; it could be the Housing Inspectorate, Rospotrebnadzor. Next, indicate the applicant’s full name and address of the house where the service was provided of inadequate quality.
• In the complaint itself, describe your problem. Indicate how long and often the dirty water has been flowing, and what measures have been taken to resolve the situation. Please note that you will continue to assert your rights until the problem is completely resolved.
• Upon completion of filling out the main part of the complaint, put the date, your signature and transcript.
• Please include evidence with your complaint. Results of analyses, research and examinations, photo and video materials, as well as documents confirming the absence of rent arrears (analysis methods and quality control are described in more detail here).

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 350-14-90

Important! The complaint will have more weight for any of the authorities if it is drawn up together with the neighbors. We advise you to act together, then you will achieve the desired result.

Duration of the procedure

State bodies are obliged to consider your complaint within 30 days, this is regulated by Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 59-FZ of 02.05.06

Terms of consideration

According to the provisions of the law, a 30-day period is allotted for consideration of the application from the date of registration of the accepted document.

At the same time, certain deadlines are established by law for eliminating technical and other faults.

If you have not received a response from the management company, or the response received did not entail any measures to eliminate the problem, file a complaint about its inaction with the management company.

In this case, a copy of the claim and the management company’s response will serve as evidence of the management company’s inaction.

Watch the video. Where to go if rusty water flows from the tap:

Complaint to the Housing Inspectorate

To complain about the management company, make a written statement and submit it to the housing inspectorate.

The application must include the following information:

• Full name of the applicant, contact details;
• information about the management company;
• description of the problematic situation indicating the facts of violation of the terms of the contract for the provision of services between the management company and the consumer;
• demands put forward to eliminate violations;
• date of compilation and signature.

Do not forget that the information contained in the document must be supported by some evidence.

Remember! As evidence you can use:

• photographic materials;
• receipts that confirm payment of utilities;
• if you indicated the violated clauses of the agreement, attach a copy of such agreement to the application;
• results of an independent examination.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application to the Housing Inspectorate for the management company:

When to expect results

The period for consideration of a complaint begins to be calculated from the moment the complaint is accepted by the housing inspection staff. This moment must be recorded.

After receiving the application, the housing inspectorate employee is required to issue a receipt confirming the acceptance of the document (indicating the date of acceptance, full name, position and signature of the employee).

The housing inspector is given thirty days to consider the application. The applicant will then receive a written response.

The response must indicate specific measures to resolve the problem situation or a reasoned refusal to satisfy the complaint due to insufficient evidence of violations.

If your appeal to the housing inspectorate is unsuccessful, file an application with Rospotrebnadzor or a lawsuit in court.

Application to Rospotrebnadzor

The application to Rospotrebnadzor is submitted in writing. Make a duplicate document, keeping one for yourself and sending the second to this organization. Do not forget that your copy must contain an appropriate note indicating its acceptance by Rospotrebnadzor employees. The most effective way would be to contact the authority in person.

The application can be divided into the following components:

• document header. In the upper right corner, please indicate the following information: Full name and position of the head of the territorial department of Rospotrebnadzor to whom the complaint is addressed. After this, indicate the name and details of the applicant;
• in the middle of the document, indicate the name: “Complaint” or “Application”;
• the main part follows. Describe the current situation in detail, indicate the factual and legal circumstances, which consumer rights were violated. Do not forget that the information presented must be confirmed with the help of various evidence, in particular, photographic materials, certificates, etc.;
• Next, state the demands put forward, justifying them. For example, this may be a demand for the return of money paid for a service, since it was provided in an improper form. When drawing up a complaint, it is recommended to refer to the provisions of laws and other acts, in particular the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”;
• At the end, put the date of compilation and your signature.

A five-day period has been established for consideration of applications. If the document contains information that requires a comprehensive, lengthy analysis by Rospotrebnadzor employees, the review period is extended, of which the applicant is notified in writing.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application to Rospotrebnadzor for the management company:

Regulation by law

If it is necessary to assert their rights, users of housing and communal services can rely on Federal Law No. 416 and RF PP No. 354, which spell out all the nuances regulating the rules of hot and cold water supply.

Hot water

It follows from regulatory documents that hot water must be supplied constantly. Stopping the hot water supply is allowed only in the following cases:

• accident on the highway (outage duration no more than 24 hours);
• the need to carry out minor work (the duration of continuous shutdown is no more than 4 hours, and per day - no more than 8 hours);
• prevention or carrying out major work on utility networks (outage duration no more than 14 days).

Going to court

Article 131 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation contains requirements for the content of the statement of claim.

Important! The document must contain the following information:

• the name of the court in which the claim is filed;
• Full name of the plaintiff and his data; if a representative acts on behalf of the plaintiff, then information about him must be indicated;
• Full name of the defendant and his details;
• information about which rights were violated and how. State the requirements put forward, justifying them with references to legislative norms;
• evidence base;
• calculations of the cost of claims, which includes disputed or recovered amounts of money;
• information about the procedure for pre-trial dispute resolution;
• documents forming an annex to the application;
• date of compilation and signature.

What should the water be like?

Exactly what drinking water should be like is described in GOST R 51232-98 “Drinking water. General requirements for organization and methods of quality control."

To assess water quality, a number of indicators are considered: microbiological and parasitological indicators, hydrogen index, total mineralization (dry residue), total hardness, permanganate oxidability, petroleum products (total), anionic surfactants, phenolic index.

In the Resolution of January 28, 2021 No. 3 “On approval of sanitary rules and norms SanPiN 2.1.3684-21 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for the maintenance of territories of urban and rural settlements, water bodies, drinking water and drinking water supply, atmospheric air, soils, residential premises, operation of industrial and public premises, organization and implementation of sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures” states that drinking water is considered to be of high quality if it does NOT contain:

• Exceeding hygienic standards for microbiological, parasitological, virological indicators, intervention levels for radiological indicators.
• Exceeding the levels of hygienic standards for the total microbial number, total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli in 95% or more of samples taken at water points, with the number of samples being tested at least 100 per year.
• Exceeding the levels of hygienic standards for organoleptic, general indicators, inorganic and organic substances by more than the error of the determination method.

Naturally, these and many other indicators cannot be determined simply by “taste”. But if water quality deteriorates significantly, consumers may feel it. If the taste of the water changes, scale begins to form in the kettle faster, and suspension appears in the liquid, then this is a reason to think about an emergency check of the water quality.

In some situations, there is no doubt at all - for example, if rusty or dirty water constantly flows from the tap. This may be temporary. But if this happens regularly, you need to demand that the water be tested and the situation corrected.

Where to file a claim

The statement of claim will be considered by a magistrate or district court, the generic jurisdiction depends on the value of the claim. According to Article 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, if the price of the claim does not exceed 50,000 rubles, the case is considered by a magistrate. Accordingly, claims whose value exceeds the specified amount are referred to the district court for consideration.

As for territorial jurisdiction, according to Articles 28 and 29 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, a claim can be filed at the location of the legal entity that is the defendant, as well as at the location of its separate structural unit.

In cases related to the consumer’s protection of his violated rights, no state fee is charged from the applicant. In this case, the legal relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant falls under the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, therefore, the state duty is not paid.

Is it possible to swim in rusty water, is it dangerous?

As research results show, there is almost always rust in tap water. Therefore, everything depends on its concentration. The permissible level of impurities is no more than 0.3 mg per liter of liquid. Although this level is considered safe, experts recommend boiling water before drinking it. You can wash yourself in it without the slightest fear. Hot water destroys most microbes, but if the concentration of impurities exceeds this rule will not work...

If the rust content in water is estimated at 0.4-0.8 mg per 1 liter (it becomes bright yellow and has cloudy impurities), it should be used with caution . It is quite possible to wash in such water (you need to wash your hair with extreme caution), but under no circumstances should you use it for drinking. You also need to be careful about the possibility of washing dishes in such water.

If the rust concentration exceeds 0.8 mg, it is dangerous for use. Swimming in such water is strictly prohibited, as the presence of rust can cause dangerous diseases or allergic reactions. You can identify a dangerous liquid by its appearance. Water in which the concentration of rust exceeds 0.8 mg has a tint of orange, it can be bright red, and it also gives off an unpleasant musty smell.