How to correctly write an application to the Criminal Code to replace risers in an apartment

Replacing a sewer system in an apartment building is a complex process that cannot be accomplished on your own. At the same time, the complexity comes down not only to technical issues, but also to legal ones, since the sewerage and water supply elements of apartments are not the personal property of the resident. According to the rules, in order to carry out a replacement, you must submit an application to replace the risers in the apartment. A faulty apartment water supply system can cause constant water dripping and even flooding of neighbors. In addition, old pipes rust and have a dilapidated appearance. The question of replacement is most pressing for residents of old houses where no repairs have been made for several decades.

When should you change?

Common reasons, other than major repairs, are:

• water leaks through fistulas as a result of severe corrosion of the pipe;
• the welding seam of the pipe has broken;
• there is no pressure, the pipes are clogged with deposits and rust;
• The apartment is being renovated and the pipes are being changed at the same time, so as not to return to this issue later.

Who should pay?

Who should maintain and repair the common property and networks of an apartment building depends on the chosen method of managing the building.

In case of direct management, which is allowed for houses with up to 30 apartments, repairs are carried out at the expense of the owner or an organization hired under a contract, within the framework of the terms of the contract.

Such an organization can be a management company (MC) or a network company that provides a utility service, in our case Vodokanal. A simple contract for house maintenance (not to be confused with a management contract), or only water supply networks, is concluded with them.

When managing the house of a management company or a homeowners association (hereinafter referred to as the management company), the responsibility to maintain and repair the water supply networks lies with them .

If the riser can be restored, for example, by welding the fistulas and seams, or cleaning the pipes with a cable, then the management company will do exactly that, and it will be right.

But in the case when the riser requires replacement and does not meet the requirements for safe operation, and the water pressure, even after cleaning the pipes, does not meet the requirements of the Rules for the provision of public utilities (Appendix 1, clause 3 of the RF Government Regulation No. 354 of 05/06/2011 .), the management company is obliged to carry out and pay for the work to replace the riser.

It is the owner's responsibility to provide access to the riser. Therefore, when repairing walls in bathrooms, it is worth thinking in advance about how to get to them.

If the required water supply parameters are provided, and the apartment owner still wants to change the riser, then in this case he will have to carry out the replacement himself, at his own expense.

What must be indicated in the application

You can submit an application for replacement or repair of the riser in free form. The text must contain a clearly formulated reason for the decision to file an appeal. If there was an accident, it is necessary to report the date when it occurred, as well as the numbers of the apartments that were affected. In addition, you need to indicate the amount of damage, if any. As a document indicating the fact of the accident, you can attach a copy of the leak report.

The text must contain information about the nature of the damage in the riser, the materials from which it is made, as well as a list of work required for its normal functioning.

It is important to mention that the author of the application is a conscientious payer and pays money on utility bills on time. According to the law, the management company has obligations to the owner of the residential premises to carry out timely repair work with communications.

You should not forget to indicate the sender’s passport details, as well as contacts through which the recipient will be able to send a response. The completed application must be sent by registered mail to the address of the management company or delivered in person. In the second case, when delivering the message, you must require official confirmation of acceptance and registration. As a rule, the signature of the responsible person on a copy of the application is sufficient for this.

Who can carry out the work?

With the direct management method, the owners themselves determine who can be allowed to carry out work.

Most often, this decision is made by the apartment owner alone. In the future, all responsibility for the defect and damage caused will lie with him or with the organization that performed the work under the contract.

In a house with a management company, work to replace risers is carried out with the consent of the management company, since it is responsible for their safe operation.

Depending on the position of the head of the management company, the following may be allowed to work:

• qualified employees of the management company itself;
• specialized organizations or individual entrepreneurs;
• a private person with the appropriate qualifications.

The responsibility to check the specialization of the organization and the qualifications of its employees lies with the management company.

But the apartment owner should not neglect this either. Especially in terms of control during the execution of work.

The following documents or their copies certified by the head of the organization can serve as confirmation of specialization:

• extended extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities indicating the types of activities;
• documents on certification of responsible persons issued by Gostekhnadzor, the qualification commission of the organization itself;
• information on the official website of the organization;
• order for the enterprise on assigning qualifications to an employee.

Attention! Often, owners themselves carry out work to replace the riser, and even without the consent of the management company. In this case, in addition to compensation for damage, there may be administrative liability for damage to water supply networks, and in case of significant damage, even criminal liability.

Do you have rusty pipes? No money for a replacement?

How to correctly write an application to housing and communal services to replace rusty pipes for free.

Today, all plumbing systems and appliances located inside our homes are not subject to maintenance by such an organization as housing and communal services, despite the fact that it can be called REU, DEZ, housing and communal services, and the like.

This happened somehow smoothly, imperceptibly, during perestroika, and I think the privatization of housing also pursued this goal. After all, we remember that in “Soviet” times the called mechanic did not reason: “this is your concern, and this is ours.” When a problem related to this type of work arose, the plumber, although not zealously, eliminated pipe leaks and corrected malfunctions of plumbing fixtures. I agree, he did not shy away from earning extra money, and was content with what the tenant offered him.

Now such a young man comes, inspects it, and if a leak is detected in the wiring around the apartment, he turns off the taps at the inlet and good-bye. Explaining this is “not our problem.” After all, privatization of housing implies full responsibility for the working condition and serviceability of plumbing systems (water, sewer and heating pipes) and equipment (toilet, mixer, drain and others).

Let us consider in this article, Dear Readers, the issue regarding water supply leaks.

How to cope with this problem yourself, read the article leaking pipes, here I looked at three options for possible elimination of an emergency situation with your own hands. Which are guaranteed to provide time for preparation and scheduled repairs of the necessary plumbing unit, or replacement of the system completely. If you haven’t read it, then you’re in vain; I highly recommend it.

I fixed the leak myself - well done, and now you need to think through further actions, as mentioned above, all the wiring in the apartment is the owner’s (tenant’s) problem, but in addition to it, there are also risers, they also have the disadvantage of the possibility of an accident. And not everyone knows that here, the responsibility lies entirely on the shoulders of the service organization; naturally, it is again the responsibility of the home owner to monitor the condition and notify in advance of an impending problem. Keep in mind that a mechanic called for such a reason (an impending or emerging leak in the riser) will definitely offer to fix the problem at your expense, and there is no point in blaming him for this; with a small salary, a way out for a hard worker is to earn money in this way, namely by what he knows and can do. You will be asked to purchase the material, and upon completion of the installation, pay the agreed amount with the manufacturer, or issue an advance for the purchase of the necessary material and then make a full payment upon completion.

This option involves replacing the unit or system with a new one, otherwise, for example, a clamp will be installed, for those who do not know what it is, for the second time I am forced to send the pipes to the article, there is a photo and the principle of its operation. This is all that involves maintenance for which we pay utilities monthly, well, they can also fix it with welding. You will say - in the repair column the cost is not a small amount, alas... Before replacing the pipe with a new one, it is allowed to install seven clamps (on one pipe, not in general), in one specific apartment. This can be explained simply - lack of financial opportunities. I will not go into the jungle of machinations, but will continue to the point.

What to do if your pipes (I mean risers) are in disrepair, and there is no money to replace them? After all, an emergency condition may look like a pipe that is extremely corroded by rust, but does not necessarily have leaks, for example, as in the photo.

How to get housing and communal services to replace the pipeline free of charge?

I’ll say right away that shouting and impudence will not help matters here; the personnel in these organizations are selected with “iron nerves”, sometimes simply “unbreakable”. You need to write a statement, below is a sample:

To the director of the State Unitary Enterprise DEZ of the district ……… from the owner of the apartment ……… in the house … on the street ………….. …………………………. Full name

STATEMENT. I ask you to take measures to replace the riser in my apartment, which is common property, on account of the maintenance fee (without additional payment) in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006 N491. The riser in question began to show signs and leakage some time ago, and the DEZ specialist I called gave recommendations on installing a clamp in place of the leak. The situation continues to develop, threatening to become an emergency. Payment for the maintenance and repair of residential premises in an apartment building is paid on time and in full, according to the Unified Payment Document. I ask you to carry out the work as soon as possible (within) a week, since the failure of part of the riser can most likely lead to the need for emergency work and significant material damage to both my property and the property of the apartments located below. In case of refusal or unreasonable delay in the work, a copy of the application and the complaint will be sent to the District Administration ......, the Prefecture ...... and the State Housing Inspectorate of the city.

Sincerely……….. (full name, day, month, year.)

This statement should help with your problem. It must reach its intended destination, and when submitted to the secretary, ensure that it is registered.

If there is no action, you can go to court with a civil claim, adding a demand for compensation for moral damage caused.

Perhaps you will choose to replace the water supply at your own expense; the article on the advantages and disadvantages of materials for water supply will help you make the right choice.

I wish you, Dear Readers, to always achieve your goals, and here I will end my article. If you have anything to add to it, or have any questions, please feel free to post in the comments section, this helps determine what is interesting to the reader, and accordingly, to me in choosing the topic of the next article.

I recommend that guests subscribe to receive new blog articles by email; the form will open by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

That's all, good luck in your work. With all respect, Andrew.

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approximate price

The average cost of replacing 1 riser in central Russia ranges from 2,500 rubles for plastic pipes without passing through the ceiling , to 5,000 rubles with passing through the ceiling.

Replacing with any metal ones will cost 2,000 - 3,000 rubles more. In Moscow the price is 1.5 - 2 times higher. The approximate cost of work in a simplified form is shown in the table:

When discussing the final price, you should focus on market prices in the region, and not on the estimate provided by the contractor. The estimate can easily justify a cost that is many times higher than current prices.

Repair of pipes throughout the entire entrance

The most correct and least expensive way is to replace the riser in all apartments connected to it.

This will provide the following benefits:

• 
  avoid repeated work in the apartment, with damage to the finishing, when replacing risers from neighbors;

• achieve a larger discount, since the contractor will be more interested in receiving a large volume of work;
• obtain a higher-quality pipe connection, without additional elements of transition from plastic pipes to steel ones;
• it is easier to resolve all organizational issues regarding disconnecting the riser;
• involve the management company as an organizer and supervisor of the work if the work will be carried out by a third-party organization;
• responsibility, in case of damage, will no longer lie with one owner, it can be assigned to the management company;
• you will not have to pay for disconnecting and connecting the riser.

Legal regulation

One of the reasons why you cannot replace pipes in an apartment yourself is that the water supply system is classified as common property. According to Art. 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, engineering communications necessary for servicing several apartments at once relate to common property, rights and obligations in relation to which each owner of a residential premises has an apartment building.

For this reason, the owner of the apartment does not have the right to independently carry out any work without notifying other residents.

Repair and replacement of riser pipes is included in the program of current and major repairs. Current repairs involve the constant elimination of minor faults, while major repairs are carried out rarely and affect a large volume of work at once.

All apartment building residents pay for repairs to their home, and the cost of these services is already included in the total payment for housing and communal services. Repair of risers is usually carried out after a serious malfunction occurs using funds collected for the repair and maintenance of common property.

If the owner of the apartment wants to carry out independent repairs, he needs to coordinate this issue with all neighbors and then submit a written application to the management company (ZhEK).

Repair through the management company

The most correct option in any case is to contact the Criminal Code in writing, which must conduct an examination and issue a verdict. If she agrees to a replacement, preferably in writing, all that remains is to wait for the actual completion of the work.

Reference! In case of refusal, it can be appealed to the State Housing Inspectorate.

To replace the riser through the management company, but at the expense of the owner, you also need to write to the management company and indicate in the application that you are ready to pay for this work.

In this case, the management company cannot refuse to perform the work, since it is obliged to provide paid services to the owners related to its type of activity. Replacing a riser is just such a service.

Application to the Criminal Code

To replace the riser, you must write an application. The application is written to the manager in free form.

It states:

1. Last name, first name, patronymic of the applicant.
2. Apartment address and phone number.
3. The request itself to replace the riser.
4. If it is assumed that the replacement should be made by the management company itself, then it is necessary to indicate the reasons for the malfunction of the water supply riser and the dangerous consequences that may occur due to the malfunction of the riser.
5. If the replacement is planned on your own, then the date and time of replacement is indicated to turn off the riser, as well as the possible dismantling of the water meter, and therefore the seals.

Who is responsible for malfunction and damage

Often flooded residents go to court to oblige the culprit to pay compensation. But not everyone knows that if an incident occurs due to a malfunction in the riser, then it is not the owner of the apartment where the leak occurred, but the management company that is responsible for the maintenance of common building communications.

This is written in more detail in Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. According to this regulatory act, risers are classified as communications, the responsibility for which lies with the utility service servicing the house. In addition, in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2021, the sewer system was added to the list of common property.

These legal provisions should be referred to when writing an application. Then the repair of the riser and problems with neighbors will be transferred to the responsibility of the management company.

Through a third party or individual

You can easily find dozens of offers for riser replacement services on the Internet.

It’s better to choose an organization; it will be easier to ask for quality.

To do this, it is worth concluding an agreement, otherwise you will have to prove the fact that the work was performed by this organization.

But a private owner can do it no less efficiently and cheaper. Here the choice depends on the caution of the owner and the amount of savings.

The management company also needs to write a statement about disconnecting the riser and agree on a replacement. Often the contractor himself does this for the owner. Payment for work should be made after the water supply has been restored and the tightness of the entire riser has been checked.

How does it change on its own?

This is the least desirable option. All responsibility in case of flooding of neighbors will be borne by the owner of the apartment. And perhaps the person who performed the work, if the owner proves that he did not know about the work, or was misled about the qualifications of the contractor.

Attention! If you do not agree on the replacement of the riser, much less notify the management company about this, then administrative liability for interfering with the operation of utility networks is possible.

But there is no direct legislative ban on carrying out work . You have to start the same way, with an application to the Criminal Code. In which it is requested to turn off the riser and it is mandatory, for safety reasons, to carry out pressure testing of the riser by the employees of the management company upon completion of the work.

In this case, there is a chance to share responsibility with the management company. In addition, it is worth pointing out the need to remove the seal from the meter and reseal it. It may be possible without unsealing, but it’s better to warn the Criminal Code.

If you can come to an agreement with the neighbors below and above, then it is better to connect to the old pipe from them.

Procedure

Remember! The rules for maintaining common property in apartment buildings, which are in force from August 13, 2006 to the present, establish that owners can, on their own or with the involvement of specialists, carry out actions related to the maintenance and repair of public utilities. Although in some situations the housing office or management company is simply obliged to replace the sewer riser.

To do this, it is necessary to draw up an action algorithm that will be correct and effective in the matter of replacing sewer risers in an apartment building:

• in case of need for major repairs of sewer risers, a protocol of the general meeting of homeowners is required, which is duly drawn up. And each owner of an apartment building must be properly notified in advance;
• if it was not possible to hold a meeting of all owners of residential premises in the house, or it is possible to do without a meeting, it is necessary to write a collective message, which is signed by all interested;
• after which we go with him to the management company or housing office, because sewer risers are part of common property, and their maintenance is paid for monthly in utility bills.

Materials and tools

The easiest way is to replace any pipes with polypropylene ones, especially since you can even purchase pipes with a pressure of 25 bar for high-rise buildings. Most often this is what they do.

Tools for dismantling will be needed:

• angle grinder (grinder) with a cutting wheel for metal;
• small sledgehammer 3-5 kg;
• locksmith's key number 2-3;
• hammer drill or electric hammer.

For installation you need to prepare the following tools and materials:

• soldering kit for plastic pipes with scissors;
• tee for connecting an apartment;
• faucet for soldering to plastic, with the transition to residential wiring, taking into account the material of the internal water supply pipes;
• 2 transition elements for connecting a plastic pipe to a steel pipe (more about them below);
• 4 meters of pipe (2x2), taking into account the thickness of the ceiling and the approach to neighbors of 20 cm;
• wall mounting clamps;
• die for cutting threads on an old steel pipe
• 2 bends complete with couplings and locknuts if the threaded option is selected.

We recommend an article on the topic

Details about cold water pipes - what material to choose, how to determine the diameter and when is replacement needed?

Before purchasing materials, you need to think about how plastic pipes will be connected to steel ones, as well as how to connect the apartment. These are the most crucial and difficult moments in replacing the riser.

If the metal of the pipe is in good condition, then the best way is to cut a thread, then install the pipe on a coupling with a lock nut and connect it to the pipe with an adapter plastic coupling with an internal thread.

Such a connection can be serviced, and in the event of a leak, disassembled and repacked. Some contractors immediately screw the coupling onto the threads, guaranteeing that there will be no leaks. As a result, you still have to redo it, and relations with neighbors will be ruined.

Advice! You can cut threads on a pipe using grapple. You can do without a special key by turning it with a plumbing (gas) wrench. The Krupp has a guide skirt, so a reliable thread is obtained.

If the metal is severely corroded and there is doubt about the quality of the thread, then GEBO fittings are installed, specially designed for such a connection.

The pipes should be approximately equal in diameter . It is possible to use crimp clamps consisting of two halves with 4 bolts.

In this case, it is also important that both pipes are approximately the same diameter, and a rubber band is applied at the crimping point, which should compress the clamp. This method is the least reliable of all three.

When choosing a tee and a tap, you should think carefully, or better yet, pre-assemble a sequential chain: tee, tap, suitable threaded connection to the outlet to the apartment.

Step-by-step instructions for changing

Replacement of the riser is carried out in the following order:

1. 
   Open and do not close any water tap to drain. Make sure the riser is turned off and there is no water in it.

2. Disassemble the cold water supply unit into the apartment from the tap to the coarse filter following it, if possible without removing the meter. Secure the disconnected water supply so as not to damage its elements.
3. Cut out the old riser inside your apartment, leaving 15-20 cm of pipe at the top and bottom to knock the pipe out of the ceiling.
4. Cut out 15 cm of old pipe from the neighbors below near the ceiling, and from the neighbors above near the floor, so that you can remove the rest of the pipe from the ceiling.
5. In your apartment, use a sledgehammer to knock out an old pipe from the ceiling. If it is not possible to knock it out, then use a hammer drill to hollow out the concrete around the pipe until it becomes mobile, and then knock it out again. There should be a second partner below who controls the exit of the pipe so that if it falls, it does not cause damage to the property of neighbors.
6. Install fasteners for new plastic pipes in increments of no more than 40-50 cm, otherwise the pipes may bend and a leak will appear at the soldering site. This is typical for hot water, but it is also possible with cold water.
7. Solder a tap into the tee to connect the apartment. You will need a piece of pipe for the transition of a smaller diameter. A tap with a tee is connected to the apartment water supply. This will allow you to accurately determine the location of the tee.
8. Cut threads on the remaining old steel pipes using grapple. If this is not possible, move on to the second option, with GEBO fittings.
9. Assemble the unit : screw the drive with a steel coupling and lock nut into a plastic coupling with an internal metal thread. Attach the squeegee to the old riser with a cut thread and connect them with a coupling. This is necessary to accurately measure the length of the plastic pipe and determine where to cut it.
10. Insert new pipes into the holes in the ceiling and solder them into the tee. Fasten to the wall with clamps.
11. Cut plastic pipes at the top and bottom at the level of the edge of the plastic coupling, taking into account the length of the inserted end of the pipe into the coupling when soldering.
12. Remove the squeegee and the plastic coupling from the squeegee and solder the coupling to the plastic pipe. Then screw the squeegee into the plastic coupling. Screw a locknut and a steel coupling onto the drive. All threaded connections are sealed using sealant or fum tape.
13. Attach the squeegee to the old threaded riser and connect them with a steel coupling. Lock the coupling with a locknut or install GEBO fittings. These operations are performed for both connections.
14. Connect the internal water supply to the tap soldered into the tee. To eliminate the gap, you can use steel inserts from a bend or double-sided thread.
15. Invite management company employees to accept work and supply water to the riser.
16. Turn on the riser to pressurize the mounted section of the riser with operating pressure. Why does one person open the tap at the bottom of the riser, and the second must monitor the presence of leaks. If a leak appears, give a signal to close the riser, then repack the current connections.

Attention! If there are no leaks, the work is considered completed.