All apartment buildings are equipped with the necessary risers: sewer, heating and water supply. A breakthrough of one of them can lead to negative consequences affecting several apartments at once. Particularly dangerous is the rupture of the risers of heating systems. How should you react if a heating riser bursts? If you change the batteries in the apartment, find out at whose expense the repairs should be made.
First, you need to find out the reason for the breakthrough of the heating risers in an apartment building. Sometimes the residents themselves may be directly or indirectly responsible for the rupture of the pipe.
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The main reasons for the rupture of the heating riser pipe
- A sharp change in pressure in pipes, or water hammer. The presence of water hammer is signaled by the appearance of extraneous noise in the system (clicks, taps).
- Incorrectly designed heating system, poor-quality pipe installation.
- Deterioration of pipes and components, their untimely replacement.
- Mechanical damage to the pipeline or batteries.
- Defects of the used heating devices.
Lawyers divide the reasons for the rupture of risers into two groups: intra-house and intra-apartment. This makes it easier to find the responsible parties for these types of accidents. The heating system of an apartment building includes:
- piping and radiators heating more than one apartment,
- gate valves (inlet) located in the basement,
- shut-off and control valves,
- filters designed for water purification,
- instruments showing pressure in pipes (manometers),
- general house heat meters,
- pump,
- boiler (if any).
All of this applies to common property.
Important! From what time the breakthrough occurred: during the operation of the heating system or out of season, the further actions of the affected persons depend.
The main causes of pipe breakage
In fact, there are quite a few reasons why a pipe can break through. Here are just the most common ones. In the first place, of course, is corrosion. Rust is the primary enemy of any pipeline. Unpleasant brown smudges on the pipes may indicate that she has begun her work. You don't have to think that painting them will solve the problem. Redecoration in this case is far from an option. Also, the reason may be the depressurization of the pipe connections. It is also quite simple to determine this - by smudges and by how water begins to accumulate at the joints.
Improper operation of the system, improper inspection of labor can lead to a flood and cause great damage to the owners.
In third place is the phenomenon of water hammer. It can happen both through the fault of the utilities, and through the fault of the consumer himself - for example, if he arbitrarily installed some improvements in the pipeline system, not coordinating his actions with the utilities.
What to do if the accident happened during the heating season?
Who is to blame if the heating riser burst? If you find outbreaks inside the house: flooding of basements, staircases or entrances, you should immediately call the emergency service. The phone call recorded by the operator is the actual proof of a breakdown. The arrived specialists will stop the water supply. Replacing the heating risers in the apartment in this case is the responsibility of the management company (MC).
If the misfortune happened directly in the apartment, then you must:
- Find out where the water is coming from. The place of the coolant leak can be one or several floors higher.
- Report the accident to the UK.
- Disconnect electricity.
- Call a plumber and help him stop flooding (provide access to the apartment).
- Notify the insurance company (if the apartment is insured).
- Draw up, together with representatives of the Criminal Code and neighbors, an act of flooding, sign it. The act must contain detailed information about the location of the breakthrough and the extent of the damage caused. If the cause of the leak is indicated in the document incorrectly or it is difficult to establish, please note it in writing. Sometimes an independent expert opinion is required to identify the root causes of flooding.
- Capture the damage done with a camera, mobile phone or camcorder. If the case comes to trial, extra evidence will not interfere. Shooting begins from the street so that the entrance to the building is visible. The presence of witnesses is encouraged, they can be asked to be certified by the signature of the Act of filming.
- Sketch the flooded premises and the damaged section of the pipeline.
- Invite a specialist to assess the damage.
The components of an in-house heating system are:
- pipes,
- risers,
- connection points (threaded),
- radiators.
Important! Unauthorized change by the home owner of any parts of the heating structure imposes on him responsibility for their technical condition.
Before changing pipes or batteries, it is recommended to write an application for replacing the heating riser, take it to the Criminal Code and obtain written permission.
Employees of the Criminal Code must regularly conduct a technical inspection of the heating system in apartments and write out an appropriate act.
What the law says
Back in 2006, on August 13, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted Resolution No. 491 (last revised on November 23, 2019), in accordance with section 1, part 6 of which the common house property is determined in relation to heating networks, that is, the property behind which looks at the management company. In accordance with it, the common property is the entire in-house heating system, including risers, metering devices of collective and individual types, as well as shut-off valves.
In the Housing Code itself, there is no delimitation of areas of responsibility between management companies and owners of premises, so we will turn again to the above Resolution, but already to part 42. In accordance with it, the management company will be liable to the owners of premises in an apartment building for fulfilling its obligations to control the state of common property.
That is, from the point of view of the law, if a heating pipe suddenly bursts, it is the management company that bears responsibility for this.
What to do if the accident happened in the summer
In the warm season, water from heating systems is usually drained, so there is no need to wait for breaks. However, when the coolant is drained and started, in April - May or in August - September, most of the ruptures occur.
The Criminal Code is obliged to warn residents about the beginning of preventive work or hydraulic tests. Having received such news, it is advisable to ensure the presence of one of the household members in the apartment within the specified period of time.They will be able to immediately see the leak and overlap the heating riser.
To minimize the number of breakouts at this time, special valves are installed in houses to turn off the heating riser. However, leaks and breaks do occur. Then it is necessary:
- Notify the Criminal Code.
- Confirm the emergency by documenting, drawing up an appropriate act in the presence of the staff of the UO and neighbors.
- Take photos and videos of what happened.
- Tidy up the apartment.
- Change the heating riser.
Sequence of actions
Sometimes, in an extreme situation, a person is lost: if a heating pipe in an apartment has burst, what to do first - you need to give an SOS distress signal, and not try to plug the hole. It is good when several people are present and you can distribute responsibilities. One contacts the emergency service, the other tries to localize the leak, the third will notify the neighbors at this time. If you had to deal with the trouble yourself, then the sequence of measures taken is as follows:
- see the place of the breakthrough if there is an accident in your own apartment, or note that the neighbor from above is drowning;
- call the emergency service and inform your address, indicate the problem, find out the time of arrival of the brigade;
- notify neighbors, and, if a valve is available on the riser in the basement, try to block it or reduce the leak with improvised materials and tools;
- stopping the flooding, collecting water in the room, fixing the position by means of photo and video filming - this will help when applying to the court for reimbursement of costs for restoring damaged property.
A pipe burst in the apartment, who is to blame?
It is worth knowing here that on the basis of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 13.08.2006 N 491, the responsibility of the managing organization and the responsibility of the owner are delimited. The pipes belong to the common house property and the management company is responsible to the owners of the residential premises for the maintenance of the common house property in proper condition on the basis of paragraph 42 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 13.08.2006 N 491.
And so on the delineation of responsibility is stated in clause 5 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 13.08.2006 N 491 and according to this clause, in-house engineering systems of cold and hot water supply are included in the common property, which consist of risers, up to the first disconnecting device located on the branches of the risers.
What to do if the apartment is flooded due to the fault of the management company?
Guide to action when neighbors flood an apartment
It turns out that a pipe enters the apartment through which cold water is supplied and there is a tap that blocks the supply of cold water, which is also located in the apartment, the pipe to this tap (the first locking device) is within the responsibility of the management company, and the pipe after this tap is already in the area of responsibility of the owner of the apartment.
When a pipe break occurs, the responsibility is usually borne by the one in whose area of responsibility the pipe section is located.
But there are situations when just a breakthrough occurred on the locking device itself and in such a situation it turns out that the fault is both the management company and, at the same time, the owner. But here, as usual, lengthy proceedings are ahead, because it is necessary to find out who installed this crane, if it was a third-party organization, then it is necessary to find out which organization installed, whether there are documents confirming the installation of the crane, whose crane was, this company or you bought it yourself in the store, if bought in the store there must be a check confirming the fact of the purchase, then if the crane is found to be of poor quality, then the seller can be held liable, since the seller is responsible for damage caused by a low-quality product.If it turns out that the crane was installed by the organization and brought the crane itself, then the organization that installed its crane will be held liable. If there are documents confirming that the crane was installed by the management organization, then of course the management organization will be held liable for the crane breakthrough.
If you installed the crane yourself or you do not have evidence of the installation of a locking device by any organization, then I can tell you that you have practically no chances of a successful outcome of the case, the management company will deny everything and you have no evidence, and in this case for a breakthrough no one will take responsibility for the crane at the border of the parties.
But with the pipe, everything is simpler, as I told you, if a pipe breakthrough occurred in the field of a shut-off device in your apartment, then you are responsible, and if before the shut-off device, then the managing organization is responsible.
There are quite a few nuances here, and I will tell you that the most competent decision in this case is to involve a lawyer dealing with flooding, since experience in such cases is crucial, because many management companies go to the trick to evade responsibility.
It also does not matter where the pipe burst, because the phenomenon of a water hammer is the cause of errors in checking the water or heat supply systems, this phenomenon can also occur as a result of the supply of increased pressure to the system, and here the responsibility of course falls on the shoulders of the managing organization , but it is necessary to prove that there was an excess of pressure and this can be done by conducting an examination.
How to draw up an apartment flooding report correctly?
But in this case, you need to get the most important documents, this is the act of flooding, because it is he who is the most basic document confirming the fact of flooding in an apartment.
To obtain an act, you need to report the fact of flooding to the management organization and in this case you need to do this by applying in writing. Prepare two copies of the appeal, write to whom and from whom the appeal was sent, indicate your phone number. Further in the text of the appeal, indicate that the apartment was flooded at a specific address as a result of a pipe break and invite the authorized persons of the managing organization to draw up an act on flooding, also indicate that they would agree with you on the time of drawing up the act at the specified phone number. Come to your managing organization and hand over both copies of the appeal, after reading your copy, you must put a mark of acceptance and the date of acceptance, take the copy with the marks for yourself and do not lose it, this will be evidence confirming the fact of contacting the managing organization. If you have not been called back within 1-2 days, then come to your management company with a pre-drawn up complaint about the inaction of the employees of the management organization, and ask your copy of the complaint to mark the acceptance and indicate the date and time of arrival of the employees of the management organization to draw up an act.
As soon as the employees of the management organization arrive with the forms of the act, check that the forms bear the seal of the management organization and then the act should indicate at what address the flooding occurred, which caused the flooding and the mandatory transfer of the property of the victim as a result of the flooding. At the end of drawing up the act, read it and do not rush to sign, first of all, check if the reason for the flooding is indicated correctly and check if all the damaged property is indicated in the act and if you have any comments, then indicate them in the act in the comment field or on the reverse side and only after that sign the act, and your comments should be indicated on each copy of the act. After that, the signatures in the act are put by all those present, the date is also put and check the presence of the seal. You should be given your copy of the deed with signatures, dates and seals.
How to correctly assess the damage caused by flooding an apartment?
After you have the act, contact an expert who will assess the damage as a result of flooding and, when ready, will provide you with a report that will indicate all damaged property and the cost of damage, taking into account wear and tear, which the culprit of the flooding must compensate you, in this case it is the manager company. After concluding a contract with an expert, he will come to your apartment to fix all the damages and on the same day the managing organization should be invited to you in 3 working days so that in her presence the expert draws up an act that is signed by the representative of the managing organization, you and the expert, after which the expert will prepare within 3-5 days a ready-made examination on the basis of which you will be able to present a claim to the management company and if the claim does not compensate you for the damage, then we will file a lawsuit against your management company and recover the damage in court.
Where to call if a pipe burst
When a product breaks through, you should call different institutions, depending on the circumstances:
- When a pipe in an apartment has burst very seriously, and there is not enough time - or qualifications, or repair materials - to carry out self-repairs - you need to urgently call plumbers. The best way out is when one of the household members makes a phone call, and the rest at this time, as best they can, are trying to fix the problem or reduce it.
- When the incident happened on a weekday during working hours, you need to call the housing maintenance service (HES) or, if there is a phone number, the plumber who works there directly. In most cases, the telephone number of the housing department can be found on a plate near the driveway.
- When a pipe breaks at night or during the weekend, you should call the emergency service of the water utility in the area.
Of course, despite the confidence of each owner in the reliability of their pipeline, it is better to write down the necessary numbers in advance so that in the event of a sudden malfunction there is no need to hastily look for the necessary numbers.
