Apartment flooding: who is responsible for the damages and how to avoid being left alone with the repairs

Many people believe that if a pipe bursts in the basement or an emergency situation arises due to shelling, compensation is guaranteed – no, in practice this is not the case. After a pipe bursts, the first hours are crucial, and it is at this moment that most residents make mistakes that later leave them alone with all the problems.Who should pay for repairs, when can restoration begin, and how to prove your case legally, especially for LIGA.net explains housing law attorney Olesya Hrodovska.Who is responsible for the flooding?The owner is responsible for all property inside the premises: starting from the first shut-off valve (inlet valve) on the branch from the riser, valve, radiators, flexible hoses, and plumbing fixtures.The homeowners' association or property manager (housing office) is responsible for the common property of the building. This includes the building's internal systems from the exterior wall to the apartment's connection point (riser pipes and branches to the inlet valve).The HOA is responsible for what serves more than one unit. The riser serves the entire entrance – this is common property (HOA). The main shut-off valve serves only the apartment. Therefore, it is private equipment. In simple terms, every centimeter of metal or plastic that functions only within the apartment is the responsibility of the apartment owner. The homeowners' association is responsible for the pipes that deliver water to the apartment.In practice, this means:If a riser pipe bursts in the ceiling between floors, the homeowners' association/housing office is to blame.If the tap at the entrance to the apartment is cracked or the hose to the washing machine has burst, the owner is to blame.If a resident has arbitrarily interfered with the system (e.g., re-welded a riser or replaced a radiator without approval), they assume responsibility even for shared networks.First steps after a flood: what to document and who to callAfter detecting a flood, it is necessary to document the damage. Only proper documentation of the event will determine whether the owner receives compensation if the case goes to court.First of all, you need to immediately:take photos and videos;record all flooded areas;the location of the water leak and its path of spread throughout the apartment;all damaged walls, ceiling, floor, furniture, and appliances.It is important that the date and time of the recording are visible on the materials. Mistakes at this stage are often irreversible – if the fact of the accident or its cause is recorded incorrectly, it is almost impossible to correct it later.The most important document is report on the flooding of an apartment, which is determined by the HOA or management company. A representative of the management company must be called (for example, by contacting the city's contact center. For Kyiv, this is 1551). The report must clearly state where exactly the burst occurred, for what reason, and what exactly was damaged. It is important to ensure that the list of damages is as detailed as possible, because property or repair elements that are not included in the report may not be compensated later.The owner of the apartment from which the leak occurred must also be invited for an inspection. If they do not appear or refuse to sign the report, this must be explicitly stated in the document. Such a record deprives the other party of the opportunity to later claim that the report was drawn up without their knowledge or with violations, the lawyer continues.Witnesses can also be summoned, and their testimonies can serve as significant evidence in the event of a dispute.To determine the actual amount of damages, it is necessary to involve an expert. A report from the HOA or housing office confirms the fact of flooding but does not establish the cost of repairs. An expert's conclusion takes into account not only visible damage but also hidden consequences, such as structural dampness or the risk of mold formation.You should not start repairs before an expert inspection. This is one of the most common and costly mistakes after a flood. The desire to quickly clean up the aftermath of the accident often leads to the loss of all evidence, and with it, the chance of recovering any damages.How to compensate for lossesTo make the housing office or homeowners' association pay, the flood report must clearly state that the cause was a malfunction of the building's common networks, which the manager failed to oversee.The insurance company covers damages only if the victim (or the at-fault neighbor) had a valid property or civil liability insurance policy at the time of the accident. The insurance company will pay out faster than a court, but within the insurance limit, emphasizes Olesya Hrodovska.In practice, a significant portion of claims are denied not due to the absence of an insured event, but due to procedural violations: a missing report, untimely notification, or unauthorized repairs before inspection.If the actual repair costs more, the victim will still have to go to the at-fault party (often through the courts) with an expert's report to recover the difference. In addition, the insurance company may refuse to pay if the victim violated the operating rules (for example, by arbitrarily welding pipes) or failed to report the flooding within the period stipulated by the insurance contract.It is advisable and necessary to order an independent expert assessment if you plan to receive full compensation.Only this document allows the victim to claim compensation for actual damages from the perpetrator. Ordering an expert assessment is the only way to identify hidden damages that may appear later. The conclusion also becomes a strong argument for pre-trial settlement.In addition, by law, all costs of the expert examination are subsequently recovered from the at-fault party as court costs.Is it possible to not pay for heating if the system is not working?You can't just stop paying on your own initiative, even if the radiators are cold or the apartment is flooded. "From a legal standpoint, a person cannot simply complain about a cold radiator, because the law clearly establishes the quality criterion for the service – the air temperature in the living space," the lawyer explains.Read also"This causes the body to lose 30% of its heat": how to stay warm in an apartment without heating – advice from a female mountaineerThe fact of non-provision of the service or its low quality must be documented. Only a legally formalized document claim report is a reason to reduce the amount on the bill, regardless of what the building's meter shows. Only this gives the right to a recalculation or exemption from payment.The amount on the bill should be reduced if the temperature in the apartment is below +18°C.The payment is reduced by 5% for each degree of deviation (from +18°C to +12°C).No charge is applied at all if the temperature in the rooms is below +12°C (or +14°C in corner rooms).Interruption in heat supply: if the service is unavailable for more than 12 hours a day (once a month), this is also a reason for recalculation.When is it a force majeure, and when is it not?The fact of war in itself It does not mean that no one is responsible for the damages.. In each case, the decisive factor is the causal relationship, which must be properly documented.If a pipe bursts due to a direct hit or an explosive wave that damaged the structures, this is recognized as a force majeure event. In such a case, the damages are recorded to receive state compensation under the eRecovery program, the lawyer explains.Blackouts are not, in and of themselves, an automatic force majeure in cases of compensation for damages from apartment flooding. The absence of electricity does not relieve the HOA, housing office, or apartment owner of responsibility if the flooding occurred due to a technical malfunction, improper maintenance of the networks, or the actions of a specific person.Force majeure shall be deemed to have occurred only if the party proves that the accident was a consequence of insurmountable and unavoidable circumstances, and the damage could not have been avoided even with proper conduct. To do this, it is necessary to prove a direct causal link between the power outage and the accident.If, after the restoration of electricity or water supply, the flooding was caused by an open tap in the apartment or a malfunction of internal networks, the homeowner is responsible. If the cause was a worn-out riser or a lack of proper technical control, the blackout does not relieve the HOA or housing office of the obligation to compensate for damages.After an apartment is flooded, the owner's first actions are crucial. Improper documentation of the incident, premature repairs, or errors in the reports can result in the loss of the right to compensation, regardless of who is actually at fault.To preserve the chance of compensation, it is necessary to document the damage, call representatives of the HOA or the manager, draw up a detailed report, and conduct an independent expert examination before starting repairs. In flood disputes, the payout goes not to those who suffered more damage, but to those with stronger evidence.

Apartment flooding: who is responsible for the damages and how to avoid being left alone with the repairs

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