Act on flooding (flooding) of an apartment: rules for drawing up, sample, instructions for owners affected by the flood

The apartment flood report is an important document that records the fact of flooding, describes the damage to the apartment and indicates the person at fault (if he can be identified during inspection of the premises). A properly executed act is valuable as fundamental evidence.

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Proper execution of the act for legal proceedings. The relevance of the act for the trial is obvious; it is drawn up in the presence of the interested parties, after which it is signed by them. In other words, the signatures of the parties give the act legal force.

According to its structure, the act on the bay can be divided into three parts:

• introductory;
• descriptive,
• final one.

When is the bay act drawn up?
You can find information on the Internet that this act must be drawn up by the Criminal Code within 12 hours from the date of contacting the emergency dispatch service. Moreover, this period is based on the norm of clause 152 of the Decree of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 No. 354. However, this norm regulates only cases of damage to the consumer’s property by the management organization itself. If the flood occurred due to the owners of another premises or other persons, this rule does not apply. At the same time, in Moscow there is Appendix 2 to the order of the City Order Department of the Moscow Government No. 55-48/1 and the Housing and Communal Services and Improvement Department of the Moscow Government No. 5-37/1 dated March 12, 2001), establishing the general procedure actions in case of such accidents (the period for drawing up a report in accordance with this document is 3 days).

Instructions for filling out an apartment flood report

The act of flooding an apartment is an official document that has legal force in court.

In it, in the presence of the commission, all damage and losses suffered by the victim as a result of the flooding of the residential premises are recorded. Without this paper, it will be difficult to obtain compensation for damages from the culprit, except to try to peacefully resolve this issue and find a solution that can satisfy both sides of the incident. The procedure for drawing up an act should be taken seriously and be guided by the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 345, approved in 2011. The outcome of the proceedings depends on how correctly the act of filling the apartment is drawn up and filled out. If, through the fault of neighbors or by pure chance, an apartment is flooded, it is necessary to go through all the stages of solving this problem so that everything is clear and correct from a legal point of view.

Victims need:

1. Quickly react to the situation and give an initial assessment. You may need to turn off the water supply in an emergency or turn off your neighbors' taps.
2. Call emergency services.
3. Notify those responsible about the problem and invite them to inspect it. If the perpetrators refuse or for some reason cannot be present at the inspection, you need to send them a written notification notifying them of receipt and invite several outside witnesses.
4. Notify the HOA about the incident by telephone or in person.

• According to legal norms and requirements, when inspecting an apartment and drawing up a report, the presence of three parties is mandatory - the management company, the culprit (or living in the apartment from which the flooding began) and the victim (if he is absent for some reason, an adult member may be present instead his family).
• Despite the fact that in most cases, victims, hoping for the integrity of their neighbors, ignore the legal procedure for inspecting and drawing up an act on the flooding of residential premises, this document is very important.

Flooding report:

• documents the fact of the flood, established and witnessed by three parties (the victim, the culprit (or third-party witnesses), the management company (MC) or the emergency service team);
• is an unconditional basis for filing material claims against the culprit of the incident, since it records objective losses and damages;
• is an indispensable document when going to court and for conducting an independent expert assessment of the damage caused.

Drawing up an act: main points

Today there is no standard unified sample act, so the document can be written in any form or according to a template that operates within the company. At the same time, there is a number of certain information that must be included in it:

1. Date, number and place of writing, name of organization.
2. In the main part you should indicate
   • the essence of the damage caused,

   name and quantity of damaged inventory items,

3. approximate amount of damage.

If there are several items, it is better to arrange all the data in the form of a table.

4. You also need to enter
   • information about the culprit: his position, last name, first name and patronymic

   and the reasons why property was damaged (this point is very important for determining the exact degree of guilt and imposing a fair punishment).

If the perpetrators cannot be identified (for example, in cases of damage as a result of force majeure: disasters, floods, etc.), this must be indicated.

5. Next in the act you should write conclusions about the consequences of the damage caused to the property: whether this property can be repaired or whether it needs to be written off.
6. If there are any additional supporting documents, they must be added to the act, marked as a separate item.

Sample certificate of flooding of an apartment

Below are examples describing the disadvantages and advantages of such papers.

A sample report is presented after a flood of an apartment by a neighbor, which takes into account all the rules for drawing up and execution: signatures of the commission, the victim and even the neighbor present, all damage is noted and the reasons for the flood are indicated, and all the necessary stamps and copies are also available.

This sample inspection report after filling the apartment does not include the stamp of the management company. In such cases, the owner must insist that the service organization affix stamps and make all the necessary copies and give you one of them.

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How to properly detect apartment flooding

It is not always the neighbors above who are at fault. There are situations when the riser bursts between apartments, i.e., in the ceiling. Here the management company on whose balance sheet the house is located is considered guilty. To sue her, you will need to collect as much evidence as possible. So, in addition to the drawn up act, it is recommended to take photos and videos.

The structure of the document should consist of:

• introductory part (address of the apartment, composition of the commission, time and date of inspection of the apartment);
• document's name;
• main part (detailed description of the flood and damage, identification of the culprit);
• final part (information about the owner of the property);
• certification of the document with signatures and seal.

The main thing in the drafting process is to adhere to legal requirements and norms, as well as the instructions of government Regulation No. 345, according to which the document must contain the following information:

• information about the composition of the commission (full name of each participant);
• a clear, objective description of damage resulting from water inundation;
• determining the cause of the incident;
• information about the analysis of the functioning of engineering communications to identify possible problems;
• information about the inspection of sanitary equipment;
• results of a search for factors indicating a gross violation of the rules for operating communications and plumbing;
• a logical conclusion about the relationship between the event that occurred and the problems detected in plumbing equipment and utilities;
• signatures of all those present during the inspection of the apartment (if one of the commission members refuses to sign, it is necessary to put a corresponding note in the act);
• wet seal of the management company (placed by the manager or chief engineer of the management company) and signatures of authorized persons.

It is recommended to record the fact of flooding on the same day. The maximum time you can invite the commission is the day after the flooding. Remember, the sooner this is done, the better for the injured party. But there are situations when the management company does not provide the appropriate commission. There may be several reasons for this. For example, there simply aren’t enough employees. Or this is done deliberately, because after a few days traces of flooding may be insignificant. In such a situation, it is necessary to conduct video and photo recording, and draw up a report yourself, having previously invited several witnesses.

There are situations when a neighbor admits his guilt and is ready to fully compensate for the damage. It would seem that in this case there is no need to draw up an act. But you need to understand that in a few days the neighbor may refuse his promises, but there will be no document drawn up. Lawyers recommend filing a home flood report in any case. Even if the culprit is ready to compensate for the damage, he must put his signature on the act. Now he will know that if he delays with compensation for damage, the victim may go to court.

Pre-trial proceedings often lead to a dead end, and the victim still has to contact the relevant authorities. Usually, if the amount of damage does not exceed 30 thousand rubles, the case is heard in the magistrate's court. You will have to resort to the services of a federal court in cases where damage in the amount of more than 30 thousand rubles has been caused.

If the injured party expects to receive compensation for material damage, drawing up this act is mandatory. This also applies to cases where flooding was not immediately detected. For example, the owner of the home was on vacation, returning from which he discovered signs of flooding. In this case, the damage should be immediately recorded by drawing up an appropriate report.

Claim

A claim is a document that allows for a pre-trial settlement of a controversial situation, i.e. obtain compensation for material damage without going to court. The legislation of the Russian Federation gives the injured party the right to present a claim to the culprit in the prescribed manner.

In what case is it issued?

After signing the flood report and assessing the damage caused, the person responsible for the accident must compensate for all losses from the irretrievable loss of property, expenses for property restoration and repairs of the premises, as well as other losses, for example, caused by the entrepreneur not receiving a profit as a result of forced downtime.

If the guilty party avoids settlement, then the first step should be an attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict by filing a claim.

Where to send?

The claim can be sent to any culprit - the management company, service organization, government agency-lessor, individual (neighbor). The best option is registered mail with return receipt requested. You can present the claim in person, but then the 2nd copy must have the recipient’s signature and date. When sending to an official body, it is advisable to also receive an incoming registration number.

How to write a complaint?

The claim must be made in writing in 2 copies. There is no legalized form of the document, but a recommended sample can be downloaded on the Internet. The document must contain the following points:

1. Information about the culprit and his address.
2. Information about the injured party.
3. Information about the incident (date, consequences), given on the basis of the flooding report.
4. The amount of damage based on the report of an appraiser or the amount of actual repair costs incurred.
5. The essence of the requirement.
6. Procedure for compensation of damage, method of payment.

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

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Repairs carried out at the expense of the guilty party may be counted as eliminating the consequences of a flood.

What to do if the culprit does not want to accept the demands?

If the claim is ignored, this means that the culprit does not want to end the conflict peacefully. Next, the victim must go to court at the place of registration of the plaintiff.

The following documents must be attached to the statement of claim:

• plaintiff's identity card;
• title document for the premises or lease agreement;
• act of flooding the premises;
• report of an appraiser with the amount of damage;
• photographic evidence;
• a copy of the claim sent to the culprit;
• payment document confirming payment of state duty.

The type of court depends on the amount of the claim. The magistrate considers cases where the damage does not exceed 50,000 rubles. If the amount of the claim exceeds 50,000 rubles, then the case is considered by a city or district court. Typically the review process takes from 50 to 90 days.

After the decision is made, you are given 30 days to file an appeal. Further, the implementation of the decision falls under the control of bailiffs.

To avoid conflict situations with residents of apartment buildings, as well as to exclude claims from government agencies, it is necessary to comply with the rules of ownership and use of non-residential premises in apartment buildings. Read our articles about the peculiarities of setting tariffs and calculating payments for electricity and heating, about the maintenance and resource supply of non-residential premises, about the rules for paying for utilities, the maintenance of common areas and local areas, and also find out whether owners should pay for major and current repairs , what is management of non-residential premises and how to conclude an agreement with a cleaner.

How to prove that a complaint was ignored?

The court will not consider the claim without an attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict. That is why it is necessary to prove that the culprit ignored the claim. To do this, the 2nd copy of the document must have the date and signature of the recipient. When sent by mail, a postal notification of delivery of a registered letter to the addressee is attached. If the claim was handed to the neighbor in person, it is advisable to have witnesses.

Flooding of non-residential premises can cause significant losses to its owner or tenant. The damage can be fully compensated if the culprit of the accident can be identified through legal means. To resolve the issue, a report is drawn up and a damage assessment is carried out. If the guilty party refuses to compensate for the damage caused, the final decision is made by the court.

What to pay attention to

Particular attention should be paid to the contents of the leak report in terms of the completeness of the description of the damage caused by the flood.

You should also carefully read what caused the leak. If the reason is not specified, you should write a statement in free form with a requirement to draw up an additional report with a detailed description of the circumstances of the emergency. An incomplete description of the extent of damage, as well as the absence or inaccuracy of a description of the cause of accidents, may subsequently lead to a delay in the damage compensation process and entail additional costs.

As stated above, the affected person is most interested in how to draw up an act of flooding an apartment, a sample of which is presented above. Employees of the management company, and especially the perpetrator of the flood, are not obliged to take the initiative in documenting the incident.

It’s even worse if the culprit and the management company are the same person. In this situation, utility workers will deliberately conclude that the tenant himself is to blame for the bay .

To prove otherwise, you need:

1. Leave a note in the act itself about disagreement with the conclusions of the commission members.
2. Request an independent examination.
3. Submit a claim to the management company, citing a report prepared by experts.
4. File a claim in court if the dispute cannot be resolved out of court.

Competent actions make it possible to hold the management company financially liable and force it to pay compensation for the damage caused by the flood.

Applicant requirements:

• Recognize the drafted act as invalid;
• Compensate for damage caused by the bay;
• Compensate for moral damage;
• Shift legal costs to the defendant.

The court found that the incident occurred in March 2021. Despite repeated calls from the management company employees, they accepted the application only on the fourth day after the flood. The utility workers drew up two flood reports, the last without the knowledge of the affected residents, citing in it the failure of the equipment located in the plaintiff’s apartment.

The results of an independent examination showed the opposite: the emergency situation arose as a result of water hammer and failure of equipment, for the serviceability of which the management company is responsible.

The court decision is to partially satisfy the claims, namely:

• Compensate for damage caused by the bay;
• Shift legal costs to the defendant.

The act was not declared invalid, but the greatest weight for the court is the conclusion of an independent examination.

How to assess moral damage

As a rule, the amount of moral damage is determined by the amount that was spent on calming the nerves. Often, when a person learns about flooding, his health may deteriorate. For example, money spent on treating a nervous breakdown will be considered moral damages. There are situations when the owner of a damaged apartment has a heart ache. Due to increased humidity, colds or more serious lung diseases may appear. But in court it will be necessary to prove that all this happened precisely because of the flooding. Of course, you can receive moral damage, but you should not count on large sums. Often the treatment itself costs more than the compensation awarded by the court.

Who should draw up the bay deed?

Despite the fact that the most interested parties in documenting the fact of a flood are the affected residents, employees of the management company are required to compile it. They are called for this purpose.

The document is drawn up by commission ; among those who must draw up an act on the flooding of the apartment, one must be a technical engineer. This specialist will be able to establish at an expert level:

• The cause of the leak, which unit or component failed;
• Consequences of the incident;
• The cause-and-effect relationship between the flood and the damage caused;
• The extent of damage caused by the gulf.

The absence of such a specialist in the commission gives the culprit the right to claim that:

• The damage, its size, and the damaged finish were recorded incorrectly in the document;
• Damage measurements were not taken, the commission members do not have the appropriate knowledge, skills and tools;
• The list of damaged property includes items that have nothing to do with the bay and were in a damaged state before the incident;
• His guilt in the flood has not been established.

The commission must include at least three members, preferably four:

• Two employees of the management company;
• Two neighbors who had nothing to do with the incident.

The latter are needed as witnesses. Their task includes:

1. Be present during the inspection of the apartment after the bay.
2. Record the fact that the culprit refuses to participate in the inspection.
3. Observe the actions of the management company’s employees when drawing up the act.
4. Confirm in the document with a signature, and in court with testimony, the amount of damage caused.

Residents affected by the flood and those responsible for it cannot be the ones who draw up the report on the flooding of the apartment; they cannot be part of the commission. They have a direct interest in the conclusions that are stated in the document. But both parties have the right:

• Be present during the inspection;
• Indicate additional measures necessary for the objective preparation of the act;
• Make comments in the description of the reasons and results of the flood;
• Receive a copy of the completed document.

If the person responsible for the incident refused to be present during the inspection, he may not be given a copy of the report.

The task of the injured person before inspecting the apartment and documenting the bay:

1. Find out who draws up the act of filling the apartment.
2. Check whether the requirements for the quantitative and professional composition of the commission members are met.
3. Select witnesses from among neighbors who are friendly towards him, have a good memory (not elderly people) and, if necessary, are ready to testify in court.

Who by law must draw up the act?

As a rule, the act is drawn up by an employee of the housing office or other management organization. It must also be signed by all members of the commission, the owner of the apartment, and witnesses. If possible, obtain the signature of the person responsible. It should be noted that his presence is not mandatory. He may not even sign his autograph on the document. After all, often a neighbor simply refuses contact, or is completely absent from the city. In this case, care must be taken to inform him about the preparation of this act.

How to correctly draw up an apartment flood report in 2021

There is no required form for this document. But since this document will be used in court proceedings, it is still recommended to adhere to a business style. The following points should be indicated here:

• The upper part is intended for the “hat”. The action is indicated here, namely “inspection of the premises”, its exact address is indicated. The inspection date is also stated here.
• It would be useful to indicate on what basis the home is being inspected. For example, this could be a statement from the owner of the apartment.
• The members of the commission and their positions are listed.
• Passport details of the owner of the damaged home.
• You can indicate additional details, for example, whether the apartment was remodeled, what floor it is on, how many rooms there are, etc. The description should allow you to accurately identify the home.
• The apartment from which the water came is noted.
• It is worth recording the condition of the apartment when the renovation was carried out.
• The date when the flooding occurred is indicated.
• All household appliances damaged by water are described in detail.
• If the ceiling, walls, floors and their finishes were damaged, this also needs to be described. It can be noted which material coatings were damaged.
• If the cause of the flood is known, it is also indicated in the report.
• Conclusion of the commission and signatures of all its members.

It is also recommended to immediately indicate the cost of the damage caused. If during the inspection it was discovered that the rules for operating the water supply or the apartment as a whole were violated, this should also be indicated in the act. In reaching its conclusion, the commission may indicate what needs to be done to eliminate the losses. If we are talking about repair work, it would be useful to indicate the timing of its implementation. In addition to the signatures of the commission members, the document is signed by the victim and witnesses.

( Video : “Timelines for drawing up the Gulf Act. Issue No. 4 Ask an expert.”)

When filling out the text, it is recommended to adhere to a business style. A clear and specific statement of facts gives the document greater officiality. This means that if the judge reads the document, he should not have any questions. For example, you need to indicate that the wallpaper is not just damp, but note the specific room and wall on which the wall covering has become unusable, the total area of ​​damp wallpaper. It would be useful to list the rooms that were damaged. If you are describing a specific piece of equipment that has been damaged by water, you must include its name, model, year of manufacture, and other detailed information.

Who calculates the amount of compensation?

Despite regulations obliging service organizations to assess the amount of compensation, they refuse to assume such responsibility and refer victims to appraisers who meet the following requirements:

• Are members of the SRO of appraisers
• Have a specialized higher education or professional retraining
• Insured for more than RUR 300,000
• Have a qualification certificate for the assessment of movable and immovable property

Example of an apartment inspection report

Act No.

inspection of the apartment located at:__________________________

Based on: application input. No. ___, dd.mm.yyyy, from citizen A.A. Ivanov, who is the legal owner of the apartment

Composition of the commission: chairman of the commission (head of the management company) O.F. Petrov, foreman A.N. Semenova, chief engineer

1. Inspection carried out: (facility address)
2. The apartment inspected is located: (entrance, floor, number of rooms, ownership)
3. Presence of debt for utilities: ____________
4. Availability of an insurance policy for the apartment or property located in it: _________
5. Condition of the apartment inside: (assessment of condition and date of last renovation)
6. Was there any redevelopment: _______________
7. During the inspection of the residential premises it was discovered:
8. the ceiling is suspended, completely damaged;
9. There are vinyl wallpapers on the walls, a third of them have peeled off,
10. there are large stains and stains after flooding;
11. windows – wooden, no damage found;
12. the floor is laminate, there is minor damage in the corner of the room;
13. doors - PVC, no damage found.
14. the ceiling is whitewashed, traces of flooding are visible, there are significant
15. damage in the form of whitewash detachment and yellow spots;
16. walls – tiles, no damage found;
17. floor – tiles, not damaged;
18. the doors are wooden, noticeably deformed at the bottom due to swelling
19. During the inspection, it was revealed that the washing machine of the company ____, manufacturer _____, year of manufacture ___, was out of order.
20. As a result of the flooding, the following were also damaged: a cabinet in the bathroom (the door was swollen), a closet in the hallway (the top of the product and the right side part were damaged).
21. Flood detection time: (date and time)

Measures were taken to eliminate the cause of the flooding: blocking the riser on the day of the incident and completely replacing it two days after blocking (dd.mm.yyyy replacement of the riser)

Commission conclusion: as a result of the examination, it was discovered that the cause of the flood was a malfunction of water supply communications

Act No._ was issued based on the results of the external inspection

Ivanov A.A. (victim) — __________

Nikolaenko E.V. (guilty) - __________

Petrov O.F. — _________

Semenova A.N. — _______

Fedorov I.A. — __________

Acquainted with the apartment inspection report No.: Ivanov A.A. — __________ (signature of the victim)

Who assesses the damage?

Considering the fact that the state is constantly increasing the responsibility (up to their own property) of appraisers working under Federal Law 135, the courts, both Moscow and regional, prefer to place the appraisal function in their hands. It should be noted that we have accumulated quite a lot of experience in both pre-trial and judicial settlements with the perpetrators and insurance companies.

If you want to entrust the entire process of compensation for damage to one professional team, from drawing up the act to enforcement proceedings, then call or leave your contacts.

Author of the publication: Alexander Kirikov

What evidence will be needed?

When drawing up the act, you need to prepare other evidence of damage. To do this you need:

• take photos of the affected areas of the apartment;
• conduct video shooting.

Note! There is no need to conduct video recording in the culprit’s apartment. This may be considered an invasion of privacy.

If the culprit is not allowed into the apartment and the reasons for the flooding have not been established, then an examination must be ordered. An expert will inspect the apartment and prepare a report on the causes of the accident.

Additionally, a damage assessment will be required. To do this, you need to contact an appraisal organization. Before concluding a contract, you need to check with the appraiser whether there is a license to carry out such work.

On the appointed day, the appraiser will visit the apartment and conduct an inspection. Based on the results, he will prepare an evaluation report. It will indicate the amount that can be recovered from the culprit as compensation for damage.

Causes of the accident

The reasons given in the report depend on what exactly happened. For example, the reasons for flooding of non-residential premises may be:

• Careless handling of elements of the water supply system, heating system, etc. located in the room above.
• Structural defect of the tap, battery, etc.
• Destruction of public infrastructure, for which the user of the premises where the flood began is not responsible.

Note! Regardless of what is stated in the report, the culprit can dispute the reason. Therefore, the main thing is to focus on describing the damage.

In any case, accurately determining the causes of flooding will require the involvement of a specialist who understands the communications system.

How to win a claim for damages after a flood?

Litigation always involves some risk. In some processes the risk is higher, in others it is lower, but it still exists. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to predict the actions of one’s opponent, and no one can know in advance all the documents that will be presented by the parties during the trial. You can minimize the risk of becoming a losing party in a court case by following the following basic rules:

1. identify the defendant in the case . A claim filed against an improper defendant will be denied, so the proper culprit for the flooding must be identified before the trial. The alleged culprits could be neighbors, the developer, a management company or another organization that manages the house. If the owner of the apartment is unknown, then you can find him out at the territorial office of Rosreestr;
2. prepare carefully for the trial . It is necessary to collect as much useful material as possible for the trial. The main evidence will be an assessment of the damage caused and recording the fact of flooding by a specific person;
3. comply with all procedural formalities . These include both advance payment of state fees and support of your position directly at the meeting;
4. seek help from a professional lawyer . If you doubt your success, we recommend that you seek help from a specialist in this category of cases. The assistance of a lawyer can play a key role in achieving a positive result in a case for compensation for damage caused by an apartment flood.