Many residents of old houses are wondering: what to do if the balcony is in disrepair? Many people living in apartments in a multi-storey building are faced with the disrepair of their own balcony. Structures that fall apart over time become dangerous and unusable. But who is responsible for the repair of this premises, the owner or the housing department?
Who should repair an emergency balcony?
Every owner of an unusable balcony should know that this part of the apartment is an indispensable part of the common property. Moreover, a fixed amount is paid to the management company (MC) monthly for its maintenance. Therefore, repair work to strengthen load-bearing walls and main structures must be carried out by representatives of the management company, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
But homeowners are required to independently monitor balcony parapets and other adjacent structures.
Repairs to the emergency condition of the balcony should be carried out by the management organization of your home
And in order to obtain the necessary repair work from representatives of the housing department or management company, the owner will have to prove that the balcony structure is in disrepair.
In order for utilities to carry out the necessary repairs, a properly completed application will be required. This document specifies the basic requirements for company representatives. It is recommended that signatures of neighbors and photographs of the property be attached to the application. All this documentation will be needed to recognize the balcony structure as emergency.
Legal side
The management company is responsible for the common property of an apartment building.
The technical parameters of balconies and loggias place them among the structures and elements classified as the common property of the owners of an apartment building. Its maintenance is carried out by a management company based on an agreement with the property owners.
She bears contractual responsibility to the property owners for maintaining the property in proper order, and in addition, administrative and criminal liability for failure to take measures and failure to fulfill her obligations if a complaint to the management company about the alarming state of structural elements was ignored.
The relationship between apartment owners and service companies is regulated by Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 170 of September 27, 2003, No. 491 of August 13, 2006 and the provisions included in the Housing Code, for example, Articles 138, 161, 162, 168. About where the border between the common building property and property of the owner, watch in this video:
Thus, the organization that ensures the operation of the house is obliged to accept the application from the resident and promptly and within the established time frame carry out measures to assess the condition of the structures indicated in it and restore normal functioning.
Legislation on the repair of emergency structures
According to the Housing Code, balcony slabs are considered common property. In Government Decree No. 491, 2006. the owner of the apartment does not own the main supporting structures. These include floor slabs, foundations or balcony slabs, as well as enclosing structures that are load-bearing and serve several premises (residential or non-residential). Such structures usually include parapets or railings.
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That is, common property in multi-storey buildings is considered to be:
- Directly balcony slabs, which are load-bearing structures (in the Rules, paragraph 2, paragraph “c”).
- Windows or balcony doors through which the room is entered. In addition, corridors or staircases can be non-load-bearing fencing.
- Balcony railings, which are necessary for general use, should also be considered common use. These non-load-bearing structures are intended to serve several residential or non-residential premises (in the Rules, paragraph 2, paragraph “d”).
Very often, when repairing an emergency balcony, the question arises: what should be repaired by the specialists of the management organization, and what should be repaired by the apartment owner himself?
When choosing the person responsible for carrying out repair work on the balcony, the decisive factor will be to determine which part of the structure is in emergency condition and who is its owner.
In the Rules pp. 13 and 14 for common property provide for consideration of the issue of reconstruction of an emergency structure on the basis of an inspection report. After which, a decision is made to carry out repair work by voting.
At whose expense should the balcony be repaired?
If a double-glazed window is leaking, finishing materials are cracked, or the flooring has become unusable, routine repairs are carried out by the owner. If it is necessary to thoroughly repair the premises in the event that a balcony slab is destroyed or leaks, the overhaul is paid for by all residents of the apartment building. Since major repairs require large financial resources, a savings system is used, to maintain which each owner must regularly allocate funds for general needs.
When the condition of the balcony is determined to be emergency
Some owners of balconies that have fallen into disrepair negotiate with utility companies so that the craftsmen make the necessary repairs. At the same time, the cost of all work and materials is included in the apartment owner’s rent.
A balcony room is considered emergency if:
- There are deep cracks located along the junction of the load-bearing wall and the slab.
- There are noticeable delaminations of concrete in the lower part of the slab, which expose areas of reinforcement.
- Due to water washout, looseness appears in the upper parts of the slab.
- When there are partial collapses of a structure.
A balcony will be considered emergency if: parts of the structure collapse, concrete peels off in the lower part of the floor covering, there are deep cracks
Another option for solving this problem would be to wait patiently for the moment when the utility company begins repair work on its own. But sometimes the wait can be very long, and owners of unsuitable structures are forced to appeal to higher authorities or even resolve this issue through the courts.
To help residents, today a special project has been created by ROSZHKH, which is fighting the inaction of utility workers.
The owner of the emergency structure will be able to submit an application describing the problem and be sure that the complaint will go to the State Housing Inspectorate. If the problem is confirmed, the management company will not be able to avoid a fine and is guaranteed to fix the problem.
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Design features
The balcony is located outside the plane of the building's façade, protruding outward at a distance of about one meter. From the point of view of fastening, it refers to cantilevering, which means rigidly fixing a beam or plate along one side. At the same time, the physical condition of the support assembly and the panel itself are critical for the perception of the standard load.
The loggia slab rests on vertical panels or masonry, which can be destroyed under the influence of unfavorable factors, such as corrosion of embedded parts or degradation of concrete as a result of ice formation in cavities and cracks.
In case of improper operation or in the process of natural wear and tear of structures, weakening of elements occurs, which can be eliminated by restoring the load-bearing capacity of the slab and assembly.
The techniques of the “home craftsman” and “jack of all trades” will not help here, since an understanding of the nature of the reinforcement of such structures and the interaction of the reinforcement and the concrete of the element is required. Only specialists with the necessary permits and experience can repair these damages.
How to write an application for balcony repair: sample document
An application is an official written document intended to be submitted to the government agency or other institution where the request will be reflected. It is important that the main objective of this document is not a complaint or a demand, but the desire to realize the interests and rights of the applicant. Thanks to a correctly drawn up application, it is often possible to eliminate shortcomings in the activities of the institution.
Applications may be oral or written. But only written ones have legal force. Any such documentation is created according to a template, although you should be aware that there is no specific standard in its writing.
When drawing up and submitting an application for repair of an emergency balcony, be sure to make a copy of it for yourself
But a person must take care to preserve the structure of the document:
- A cap . In this part, you should indicate at the top (right corner) the details of the addressee and addressee.
- Heading . In the center you need to write the word “statement” or “complaint”.
- Main text . The appeal is written on one’s own behalf (“I, full name”), then the residential address is indicated, and after that there is an exact statement of the purpose of writing the document. In this part, the applicant should indicate his requirements for carrying out repair work for an unsuitable structure.
- The final part of the application is characterized by a description of the request to recognize the structure as unsafe, which threatens people's lives. We also ask you to notify the applicant of the measures taken.
- The date and signature are the last parts of the application.
A correctly formatted letter of request for balcony repairs must be sent to the management commission. The applicant should take care to prepare two copies of the document (one remains with the owner). After submitting such a document to the director of the responsible organization, all that remains is to wait for the measures taken to carry out high-quality repairs of the facility. To resolve controversial issues, if the requirements listed by the applicant are not met, he can file a lawsuit in court.
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Is the balcony the property of the apartment owner?
The question of responsibility for repairing a balcony in an apartment building arose immediately after the start of the privatization of residential premises, since there is no uniform approach to the question of whether a balcony is the property of the apartment owner.
Over the past years, this issue not only has not lost its relevance, but has also become more acute due to the increased dilapidation of the housing stock.
Let's try to figure it out.
By right of common shared ownership, the owners of premises in an apartment building own the common property of the house, including the enclosing load-bearing and non-load-bearing structures of the house ().
such property includes enclosing load-bearing and non-load-bearing structures, but designed as common property of multi-unit apartment buildings (including foundations, load-bearing walls, floor slabs, balcony and other slabs, load-bearing columns and other enclosing load-bearing structures, gutters and overhangs on pitched roll roofs with external drainage , snow canopies on all types of roofs, snow canopies for balconies and canopies).
Based on this formulation, the common shared property of the apartment building includes the balcony slab and the wall to which it adjoins, awnings and canopies over the balconies of the upper floors; and the property of the apartment owner - the remaining structural parts of the balcony, such as:
- self-installed visors,
- glazing designs,
- doors (from the apartment to the balcony).
Repair of an emergency balcony (video)
A collapsing balcony becomes a real problem not only for the apartment owner, but also poses a danger to the lives of others. If the emergency structure is common property, the owner of the apartment has the right to submit an application to the management commission. This document must be properly formatted, with a detailed description of the problem. It is recommended that the signatures of the residents of the house be attached to the application.
In conclusion, we note that if the management company fails to carry out the necessary repair work on the balcony, the applicant has the right to demand reconstruction of the structure through the court.
Rules for maintaining common property
Common property is objects that are not included in the apartment and are not part of it. The general ones include load-bearing structures of the building, balcony slabs and floor blocks. According to Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, each apartment owner has the right to his own common area. The owner of the property should not seize this share, nor transfer it to third parties separately from the apartment. Its size, as a rule, is determined individually, depending on the total area of each owner’s apartment.
In addition to the fact that the management company is obliged to keep the common property in order, timely care for it, repair and improve it, there are general rules for its maintenance for each resident of an apartment building. This rule is regulated by Government Resolution No. 491, which was signed in August 2006. According to the excerpts indicated there, residents must:
- Comply with sanitary and epidemiological legislation. For example, apartment owners are prohibited from smoking on the staircase landings of a building based on the “tobacco” law.
- Preserve property. This recommendation obliges residents to protect property from vandalism. It is prohibited to draw or write on the walls, deform the entrance doors, damage the intercom, break or paint CCTV cameras. Residents or representatives of the management company, seeing violations, must report them to the police.
- Ensure the safety of owners. For example, you cannot set fire to garbage on your property.
- Comply with housing legislation regarding the conservation and consumption of electricity or gas.
- Provide inspection bodies with access to common property to take readings and check the condition of load-bearing slabs and balconies.
- Maintain the architectural appearance of the building taking into account the design documentation of the facility. Residents are prohibited from making changes to the façade without agreeing on a new project with the developer and management company.
- Ensure regular readiness of equipment included in common property. This obligation applies to a greater extent to the management company, which must repair the facility, replace the roof if it is leaking, and also ensure the uninterrupted operation of utility networks and metering devices.
The management company, which is chosen by the residents of the apartment building, also has responsibilities for the maintenance and repair of common property. Among the minimum set of works, the management company must perform:
- dry and wet cleaning of premises;
- wiping windows, window sills, electric meters, staircases, as well as freight and passenger elevators;
- cleaning of dirt protection systems - metal fences, ramps, gratings;
- cleaning the local area - removing ice, snow, mowing grass;
- cleaning storm drains;
- dismantling the roof of a house or balcony if the roof is leaking;
- restoration of slabs if the screed is leaking.
Please note that almost all work must be carried out by the management company. If she does not do this, avoids cleaning the area, or does not repair the leaking roof, residents have the legal right to contact the police to resolve the conflict.
