Many people dream of living in an apartment, because housing and communal services take on many worries, unlike a private house or cottage. However, everything has a flip side. There are many owners in the house, each is responsible for only one apartment, and if pipes in the basement burst or the roof leaked? Well, in the first case, too, everything is clear, nobody wants to sit without water, so they will hand over the money, the craftsmen will hire, and everything will be settled. And if the roof leaks in an apartment building? What to do in this case? It is clear that in addition to the owner, on whose head water flows, nobody is interested in this problem. And while you put the pots and are on duty at the source of leakage, no one even thinks to raise money for such a massive repair. Or maybe there is another way? Let's try to find out.
Old building - get ready for renovation
With the onset of spring, the tenants of old houses should be vigilant in the first place. However, this is not the only reason that can lead to leakage of the roof. Sometimes this is due to condensate, which is collected due to a violation of heat transfer. But most often, microcracks appear in old rolled materials and in the roof itself from old age. Further it will only get worse, because water acts destructively on any materials, which means that the gaps will only increase. As a result, we are faced with the fact that the roof is leaking in an apartment building. What to do in this situation, we will analyze in sufficient detail, but for now, let's allow ourselves another digression.
An unpleasant surprise
If the residents of old high-rise buildings are mentally prepared for the fact that the roof is worn out and can not stand it, then for a resident of a new building this is, to put it mildly, a surprise. And the reason is the same - a violation of the tightness of the roof. Most likely, in this case, poor-quality material was used to cover the roof or errors were made during the installation process. In any case, the tenant is not to blame and has every right to seek repair. However, most of us will be confused by the situation when a roof leaks in an apartment building. What to do, whom to turn to, how to protect their rights? Let's go directly to this issue.
Where to call
First you need to try to eliminate the consequences, that is, substitute buckets and basins for the resulting leakage. Of course, it’s very unpleasant that it affected you, but nevertheless it’s worth trying to save the property, both your own and the neighbors below that are innocent of what is happening. And now you need to take a phone and call the communal service to which your house is attached. You are not the only ones with them, and for sure no one will rush to respond to the call. However, you can not hesitate when the roof leaks in an apartment building. What to do? Submitting a written statement is a much faster way to get things done.
Official appeal
It must be written in duplicate. In the statement, tell in detail when the roof leaked, under what circumstances did you notice this. Do not forget to indicate how things are now, whether water continues to run from the ceiling, and the measures taken to eliminate the consequences.
While you are going to go to communal services, we will slightly touch on the legal side of the issue. So, the roof is leaking in an apartment building. What to do? Belarus, like most of the former Soviet republics, offers residents several options for resolving such issues:
- Contact the communal service to which the house is attached in the district.
- Call the private housing company that the tenants themselves have chosen.
- Contact the city authorities for subsidizing roof repairs.
- Collect money from residents and hire a team of workers.
As you can see, there are many options, but material means are the key. If the utility will solve the problem, then it will definitely check whether there are debtor residents in the house. Until full repayment of the declared amounts, no one will undertake to carry out repairs. If you do not want to contact the utilities, then there will be even more ambitious walks around the residents in order to prove how much and what is needed, and to encourage people to pay it.
Justification of the application
However, we were a little distracted. Let's get back to the main problem: the roof is leaking in an apartment building. What to do and to whom to contact? The main thing now is to make a statement correctly. To do this, it is imperative to capture the occurrence of the flow of the roof. Take pictures from different angles so that all the details are clearly visible. In the application, indicate your details, phone number and full address. In the main part, tell about the place of leakage, time, date and the damage caused. It is very good if a number is printed on the pictures. All of them will become evidence in the case.
In the final part, ask to repair the leak and start repair work. Be sure all photographs and the statement must be in duplicate. One package is handed over to the public service, the second remains with you. On it, the receiving controller must sign.
Finding out the reasons
Now it’s time to operate the communal service. They already have a statement that the roof is leaking in an apartment building. What to do? The reasons should be clarified on the first day. To do this, they will send you a locksmith or plumbing. However, he will not do anything, but only record the incident. It is advisable to invite additionally one of the neighbors. There is a possibility that the locksmith will consider the leak to be insignificant and ask you to wait. If you agree, then you will still take basins for a very long time during rains. It does not triple - you need to move on.
Second statement
In principle, you can immediately prepare and write three letter options. It is filed in the name of the head of the public service. Now a whole commission will come to consider how exactly the roof leaks in an apartment building, what to do. The main causes of this phenomenon are commonplace wear and tear on buildings. However, it remains to be seen. Examination of the roof outside can confirm the following reasons:
- Breakdowns or cracks formed during snow removal.
- Wear coating.
- Violation of the technology of laying roofing material.
- The use of low-quality coating. This is often the sin of new buildings.
Complaint to the prosecutor
Based on the foregoing, it is already becoming clear why the roof is leaking in an apartment building. What to do? The causes of the leak are known, but all the services responsible for the repair are still rejecting you. Then the last resort remains - write a letter to the prosecutor. Take a copy from your copy of the application, attach a photo with the date of sending the letter, so that the competent authorities see that the problem has not yet been resolved.
List of documents for the court
This is the last resort that you can go through if a roof leaks in an apartment building. What to do and where to contact, we phasedly examined. For the court, it will be necessary to collect the leakage act, which was drawn up by the commission. Attach a copy of the application to the housing and communal services, photographs and damage assessment documents to it.
Additionally explain the reason for the appeal. That is, indicate how much time has passed since the leak, which organs you have already contacted. Do not forget to mention the names of employees who could not or did not want to help you. There is another document that is very useful to submit to the court. This is an official act with budgeting for funds, materials that will be needed for repair and restoration work. This is done by an independent appraisal company. Later, the court will decide who should pay this amount, and you can hire workers to carry out repairs.
In the home
It happens this way: after traveling for several months at authorities, a person realizes that nobody is interested in his problems. Week after week, and the roof is still leaking in the apartment building. What to do and how to solve the problem? Take an official estimate with the amounts necessary for the repair, divide by the number of apartments and go to the neighbors. To make the process of collecting money easier, you can promise to transfer all the papers to court so that the management company will recover the costs.
In this case, the collection of money is done so that you do not have to save the property all the time during the proceedings. If it’s difficult to organize the neighbors, stop blocking the leakage of water on your floor. The sooner people feel uncomfortable, the more associates you will have. At the same time, be sure to assert your rights in court. Even after a while you can return the money spent.
To summarize
Any problem is solved, the most important thing is to know your rights. If you carefully pay for utilities, you can count on the response "courtesy" in the form of an operational response. There are many problems in this sector. If half of the residents have payment debts, then the management company will have nothing to make repairs on. Housing and communal services employees themselves also do not want to make a grand repair of the roof, attributing this to a lack of funds and the need for support from the state. It turns out that in each case it is necessary to solve the problem individually.