How to survive a flood in an apartment and eliminate the consequences or learn from my mistakes

In the previous article, I talked about an unpleasant situation that happened six months ago in my apartment. I've outlined the main points to look out for in post-flood repairs, and also offered some tips on how to avoid this.

In this article I want to share how my relationship with the management company serving my house, and what I did (read - I didn’t do it, but it was necessary) to get warranty repairs and compensation for damage furniture.

On the morning after the flood, representatives of the Criminal Code, the guarantee department, and a lawyer came. They drew up an act in which they indicated the main points of the flood: place, date, possible causes, damaged property.

Tip # 1:

Be sure to take photographs and even video recordings of the effects of the flood. Examine all furniture carefully for swelling. Check if all representatives of the Criminal Code have entered into the act?

For some reason, they did not want to give me a copy of the act, referring to the fact that it was an internal document of the Criminal Code, but I demanded it anyway (it’s in the act about my apartment!)

Tip # 2:

It is advisable to immediately contact an independent expert to assess the damage. For this, it is good to have receipts for furniture. The expert report is what you can rely on in court. In addition, the losing party pays the cost of the assessment.

Let me remind you that at the time of the flood, the decoration of the apartment was under warranty (as well as engineering systems, doors, windows). Thus, I did not have to "knock out" the repair of the apartment from the warranty department - replacing the laminate, doors, mold treatment, wallpapering. However, if you have an independent expert's report on hand, it may turn out that the developer is obliged to produce much more. repair work (for example, to replace a concrete screed - not every owner will determine whether it requires replacement or not) than was going to. If the developer refuses, you have reason to go to court. If in your case the developer refuses to eliminate the consequences of the flood at all, you need to study directly your contract with him and the terms of the guarantee.

If you have a guarantee for finishing, then with furniture it is a little more difficult - who should compensate for the damage? The pipe supplier was identified as the guilty party; accordingly, he is responsible for compensation for damage to the owner and the developer (for repair work). Now I want to explain why the developer is not particularly interested in suing the supplier and claiming compensation for damage to himself and to the owner: concluding a contract during the construction process, the customer always prescribes the so-called "guarantee retention" for contractor. That is, the customer, after the contractor has completed the work, does not pay him a certain amount, and in the event of any. marriage within the agreed period - the amount is not paid to the contractor. In other words, the developer will receive money from the supplier without a trial, so why bother with the owner's furniture ???

Tip # 3:

Take care of the damaged furniture yourself. Don't expect the developer to kindly share with you the guarantee lien or sue the supplier because of you. But since you have a contract with the developer, you will have to make a claim to him.

Unfortunately, I trusted the developer and hoped that everything would be resolved without my intervention. a lawyer for a long time created the appearance of a stormy activity on my issue, and the repair was done without problems. However, the miracle did not happen, and now we are drawing up an act with our lawyer to file a claim.

Tip # 4

Do not delay this kind of dispute, because any legal event (in our case, a flood) has an "expiration date", after which you can no longer reimburse anything.

I hope it won't come to court. Have you sued a developer / management company? What is the likelihood that the court will side with the owner?

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