WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOUR FLAT IS FLOODED?

Flooding of a flat, regardless of the circumstances or causes, is an unpleasant experience that takes a financial and emotional toll. Quite a number of people have faced this situation; however, judging by court cases, not all owners of flooded flats have been able to secure compensation for the damage caused to them.

The reasons for this are an incorrect course of action or a breach of legal requirements on the part of the victim themselves.

Causes of flooding and possible scenarios for future developments:

1. The flooding of the flat was caused by neighbours who admit their guilt, acknowledge the damage caused and are willing to voluntarily compensate for it in full. However, in practice, such cases are quite rare. Even if the party at fault assures the victim that they will compensate for all the damage caused, this may simply be an abuse of the victim’s trust. Such promises merely serve to drag out the process.
2. The flooding occurred due to the fault of the property manager (housing maintenance organisation, housing cooperative or homeowners’ association) responsible for maintaining the building’s internal systems. In other words, as a result of inadequate maintenance.
3. When it is not possible to immediately identify the party responsible for such an incident.

There is always a possibility that the party at fault will compensate for the damage caused voluntarily; however, defending one’s rights through the courts is a more effective method.

Regardless of whose fault the flooding was, the actual circumstances of the incident must be recorded immediately and properly. This can be done by taking detailed photographs or video footage.

It is also very important to document the fact of the flooding of the flat in writing.

That is, you should contact the maintenance organisation to rectify faults in the engineering equipment or structures and to form a commission to draw up a report on the flooding or accident that occurred in the central heating system, hot water supply (or cold water supply) . To do this, you must immediately contact the control room (including by submitting a written statement) with a request to draw up the relevant report on the flooding of the flat. The submission of such requests must be recorded.

In accordance with paragraph 2.3.6 of the Rules for the Maintenance of Residential Buildings and Adjacent Areas, approved by Order No. 76 of the State Committee of Ukraine for Housing and Communal Services dated 17 May 2005, in the event of an accident or flooding of flats, a corresponding report (Appendix 4 to the Rules) in the approved form shall be drawn up. The presence of interested parties from the affected party and the party at fault is mandatory in such cases. When the report is drawn up, either party to the dispute has the opportunity to state their objections.

The report shall be signed by all members of the commission. Refusal by the aggrieved party or the party at fault to sign the drawn-up report does not affect its validity. When drawing up the report, it is advisable to invite neighbours as witnesses who can confirm the fact of the flooding and provide a description of the damage and the damaged property.

An analysis of case law shows that the aggrieved party makes numerous mistakes at this stage. The property manager ignores the formation of a commission, and the deadlines for drawing up and issuing the report are delayed. The timeframe within which representatives of the service provider must appear to draw up the report is not regulated, so the latter may refer to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Citizens’ Appeals’. This occurs when the service provider itself is responsible for the flooding, having failed to perform its duties properly.

In this case, you must submit a written request to the service provider stating that, should the service provider fail to form a commission to draw up a report on the flooding, or the accident that occurred in the central heating, hot water (or cold water) supply system, you will be forced to draw up the relevant report yourself, together with witnesses from among your neighbours.

If your flat has been flooded, it is best to contact a solicitor immediately, who will correctly draw up all the documents that will serve as proper evidence in court for compensation for the damage.

The report must include: the date of the report (day, month, year); surnames, initials and positions of the commission members; surname, first name and patronymic of the owner (tenant, lessee) of the flat that has suffered damage; address of the flat, floor, form of ownership: surname, first name and patronymic of the owner (tenant, lessee) of the flat through whose fault the flooding occurred; the address of the flat, floor, and form of ownership; the nature of the flooding and its causes: the material damage caused (the extent of repairs required to the flat, a list of items damaged as a result of the flooding and their approximate value); the commission’s conclusion regarding the determination of liability of the person responsible for the flooding.

In other words, the fact of the flooding, the nature of the flooding and its causes, the material damage caused (the extent of repairs required to the premises, a list of items damaged as a result of the flooding and their approximate value) and its consequences must be recorded in a report of the commission’s inspection of the flat, drawn up with the mandatory participation of the party at fault.

The next step will be to determine the extent of the damage caused by the flooding of the flat by means of an expert assessment carried out by a relevant expert body or a certified expert.

Of course, such expert assessments are not free of charge. However, it is worth incurring these costs, as the amount of compensation depends on the expert’s findings, and if the case is won, the costs of the expert assessments will be reimbursed by the party at fault.

Once all the findings of the expert assessments have been received, it is advisable to contact the party responsible for the incident with a written claim for compensation for the damage caused.

In the event of a refusal, partial compensation, or delay, it is advisable to file a claim with the court.

Do not forget that in all cases of flat flooding, the injured party is entitled not only to compensation for the losses incurred but also to compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage does not depend on the amount of compensation for material losses; everything is decided by the court on a case-by-case basis, depending on the mental suffering of the victim, taking into account the requirements of reasonableness and fairness.

You may bring a claim for compensation for losses and non-pecuniary damage caused by flooding within the limitation period, which is three years. However, it is not worth waiting that long, as during the court proceedings there may be a need to verify the extent of the losses or the causes of the flooding, and it will be difficult for a court expert to do so after a long period of time has elapsed.

We hope you found this article useful.