Is it possible to refuse to replace the riser by the management company of a residential building?
Good day!
Our house has 14 floors and I live just on the last. Above me is still the technical floor. In our house we wanted to change the risers to plastic, but the management company is in no hurry. Currently flowing in the ceiling between the 13th and 12th floor. They want to change the riser in these two apartments and at the same time in mine.
When they will change the riser on the lower floors is unknown, maybe in a year, or maybe in 2 years. The management company claims that without my apartment it is impossible to replace the riser on the 13th and 12th floor, that my riser will fall somewhere. I think they just want to make their job easier. I agree to a replacement if they change from the 1st to the 14th floor.
Please tell me, can I refuse to replace the riser at the moment? Is there a technical opportunity to change only the 12th and 13th floor? And is there any sense in changing only in a few apartments?
Hello! As far as I know, there is a technical possibility to change the riser on two or three floors in an apartment building, since a sleeve (a piece of steel pipe whose diameter exceeds the diameter of the riser) is inserted in the floor on each floor at the construction stage. That is, a newly installed plastic pipe can only be brought to the sleeve and connected to the riser (steel or plastic) located above it by means of a sleeve.
You have every right to refuse a replacement, because it is supposed to carry out work to eliminate the accident, and not a major overhaul, when you are obliged to provide access to the apartment or write a refusal, which the Criminal Code can challenge in court.
It is easy to prove that work is planned that is not part of the overhaul, because before the start of the overhaul, the Criminal Code must receive written consent for its implementation from 2/3 of the residents living in the house. As for the meaning of replacing a small section of the riser, it is probably justified by a leak between the 12th and 13th floors.
There is another option that is sometimes used: to offer the management company to change the riser in your apartment, but only after signing an agreement between the management company and you that any negative consequences of replacing the pipes will be eliminated by the management company or a contractor hired by it at the expense of the management company.
Hello. Bad advice.If the Criminal Code requires an admission through the court, then court costs will also have to be paid, examination and other expenses. Thousands of 10 can easily fly. And if the Criminal Code has reasonable doubts that the emergency situation cannot be eliminated without your apartment, you will also have to bear responsibility for common house property and the deterioration of the leakage situation.
Article 1064. General grounds for liability for harm: “Damage caused to the person or property of a citizen, as well as damage caused to the property of a legal entity, shall be fully compensated by the person who caused the harm“.
PP No. 354, “The consumer is obliged to allow representatives of the contractor (including emergency service workers), representatives of state control and supervision bodies in the occupied living room to inspect the technical and sanitary condition of the in-house equipment at a time previously agreed with the contractor in the manner specified in paragraph 85 of these Rules, but no more than 1 time in 3 months, to verify the elimination of deficiencies in the provision of utilities and to carry out the necessary repairs - as necessary, and for liquids accident alerts - anytime“.
At the same time, you can take advantage of the same article of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation 1064 and, as advised above, conclude an agreement on damages.
If you still stand your ground and firmly believe that it is quite possible to solve the problem without your apartment, we advise you to take a written justification from the representatives of the Criminal Code for what reason they want to invade your possessions with a detailed engineering description.