Flooded neighbors: what to do

If you are a resident of an apartment building, then you are responsible not only for your own apartment, but also, in part, for the neighbors below. Our tips site will tell you what to do in such an unpleasant situation as flooding your neighbors. Find out how this can be avoided if you take the right measures.

First, let’s find out how you can prevent the risk of flooding your neighbors below:

• Install leak sensors, a whole system of protection against such troubles;
• When making major repairs, changing pipes, including heating, contact the professionals and do not forget to carry out pressure testing, having tested the systems in extreme conditions, under high pressure;
• Every time, leaving the house, turn off the water supply tap to the apartment;
• Do not leave the washing machine and dishwasher turned on when leaving the apartment. Close the water supply valve every time after washing.

If the leak could not be avoided and you still flooded the neighbors, you need to act immediately!

The first step is to fix the leak. Shut off the water supply to the apartment. If we are talking about common building communications, a riser or a heating system, urgently call the emergency service in order to eliminate the accident and not aggravate the situation. Immediately start to scoop out, soak water, so that as little time as possible has time to flow to neighbors and increase the amount of their damage.

Step two is to find out who is to blame. It may not be your fault either. For example, the roof was leaking, the pressure in the water supply or heating system was too high, the common building communications were badly worn out. In this case, the housing office, the management company, must compensate for all losses both to you and to your neighbors..

Important! If you are sure that you are not to blame for the flood, and the management company is in no hurry to do anything, you can order an independent examination. Experts will accurately determine the cause of the accident and its culprit. Yes, expertise costs money. But in the end, you will be compensated for the cost of repairs..

Step three is to record the amount of damage. Go down to the neighbors urgently and shoot all the consequences of the leak at least on a smartphone camera. This will not give an opportunity to overestimate the cost of repair..

Important! In any case, you need to negotiate and talk with your neighbors. Don’t avoid communication. If you are really guilty of the leak, the damage will have to be compensated anyway. Do not bring the case to court, because after it you will have to pay even more – just waste time and money.

If you and your neighbors have a dispute over the amount of compensation for flooding, you can also resort to an independent examination. But it is not a fact that a smaller amount will be indicated according to its results. On the contrary, the damage may turn out to be more serious than you thought, and the money for the examination itself will already be spent.

When giving money to neighbors, do not forget to take a receipt from them about this, and also about the fact that they no longer have claims to you.

The portal has already written about how to restore your house and plot after the flood..