The balcony pipe leaked, and the downstairs was damaged, and the responsibility attributed
Jing'an Court: Water leakage upstairs, property shirk responsibility, homeowners have no choice but to defend their rights The house is a warm harbor, but Mr. Zhu's family has suffered from water leakage upstairs.
The ceiling, walls, floors, and door frames of his house were flooded, and the house was in shambles. Later, Mr. Zhu found that the public pipe upstairs was not draining well and overflowed to the balcony and then leaked into his home.
However, when Mr. Zhu tried to find the upstairs neighbor and the property management company to compensate for the loss, he was met with a situation of passing the buck. Mr. Zhu lives in Jing'an District, Shanghai, and is an upstairs neighbor with Ms. Wang's family, who live in Room 401.
One afternoon in July 2022, Mr. Zhu noticed that there was dripping water on the ceiling of his living room against the balcony, and he asked the property management company and her upstairs neighbor, Ms. Wang, to investigate the cause of the leak.
The property personnel of the community suspected that the public drainage pipe on the balcony of room 401 was leaking, but the cabinets around the public pipe on the balcony of room 401 were wrapped around the cabinets, and no maintenance openings were reserved, which hindered the property from investigating the cause.
The next morning, the property management company asked Ms. Wang to open the cabinet to further confirm the leakage, but Ms. Wang refused the property company's request for maintenance on the grounds that she still had to discuss with her family.
In the afternoon of the same day, the public pipe on the balcony of room 401 overflowed to the balcony and living room floor due to poor drainage, and then leaked into Mr. Zhu's house in room 301 downstairs, resulting in the living room, master bedroom, second bedroom and other parts of Mr. Zhu's home were all soaked in water and damaged.
Seeing that his home had become a "water curtain hole", Mr. Zhu was furious and approached Ms. Wang and the property management company to demand compensation for property losses, but the three parties negotiated to no avail. In desperation, Mr. Zhu sued the Jing'an Court, hoping to get a fair ruling and protect his legitimate rights and interests.
1.The plaintiff, Mr. Zhu, took the defendant, Ms. Wang, and the property management company to court, demanding that they remove the cabinets wrapped in the common pipes on the balcony of room 401 and jointly bear the repair costs3More than 90,000 yuan.
Ms. Wang argued that the public drainage pipe on the balcony had wrapped the cabinet when she purchased the house, and the cause of the water leakage was poor drainage caused by heavy rain, and the property management company had never maintained and repaired the pipes, and did not agree to bear the liability for compensation.
The property management company argued that after receiving Mr. Zhu's repair report, it had conducted an investigation and fulfilled its maintenance responsibilities. Later, the court commissioned an appraisal company to evaluate the loss, repair plan and repair cost of room 301, and the repair cost in room 301 was identified as 3More than 90,000 yuan.
2.The court held that if the perpetrator infringes on the civil rights and interests of others due to his fault and causes damages, he shall be liable for compensation. On the day of the incident, although the property company went to the site to investigate, it did not timely request Room 401 to rectify the public drainage pipes of the package and continue to investigate the cause of water leakage; Moreover, since Room 401 had wrapped the public pipeline involved in the case for a long time, it can be inferred that the property management company had never managed and maintained the public pipeline, so the property management company should bear 50% of the plaintiff's liability for damages.
The defendant room 401 used the cabinet wrapped in the public pipe on the balcony for a long time, which objectively hindered the maintenance and repair of the public pipeline by the property management company, and still refused the property management company's request to repair the cabinet when the property management company requested to open the cabinet, and the owner of room 401 violated its obligation to assist in the maintenance of the public pipeline, so the defendant room 401 was also liable for 50% of the plaintiff's loss of room 301.
In the end, the Jing'an Court ordered the defendant Ms. Wang's family to dismantle the cabinet wrapped outside the public pipe on the balcony of Room 401. The defendant property management company and Ms. Wang's family each compensated the plaintiff 1More than 90,000 yuan.
The litigation costs and appraisal fees are also borne by the two defendants in half. The court of second instance upheld the original judgment, and after the judgment came into effect, the two defendants took the initiative to pay compensation.
1.If there is a water leak on a rainy day, why should the roof water pipe be repaired? In order to reduce property damage, water leaks need to be repaired in time when it rains. The law stipulates that the property is liable for repairs, and if it fails to exercise due diligence, it will be liable for compensation.
At the same time, in order to facilitate the maintenance of the property, the owner should provide necessary assistance and convenience. If the water pipe is damaged due to the owner's private modification, it is also liable for compensation.
2.If there is a water leak on a rainy day, why should the roof water pipe be repaired? In order to effectively deal with water leakage in rainy days, we should report to the property for repair as soon as possible and keep relevant evidence.
This evidence includes on-site **, witness testimony, proof of the maintenance unit and invoices for maintenance costs. We should negotiate with the relevant owners and properties, and seek the help of the neighborhood committee or the people's mediation committee for mediation.
If there is a dispute about the value of the loss or the cause of the water leakage, you can seek advice from a professional body or file a lawsuit with the court and apply for an appraisal and appraisal. Legal basis: Articles 179, 238 and 1165 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.
3.If there is a water leak on a rainy day, why should the roof water pipe be repaired? In case of water leakage in rainy days, we should promptly report for repair and provide convenience to assist the property in maintenance. If the property is damaged due to the property's failure to perform due diligence, the property shall be liable for compensation.
If the water pipe is damaged due to the owner's unauthorized modification, the owner shall also be liable for compensation. At the same time, retaining relevant evidence can help to deal with the problem smoothly. If there is still a dispute, you can seek the help of the neighborhood committee or the people's mediation committee, or file a lawsuit with the court and apply for assessment and appraisal.
Legal basis: Articles 179, 238 and 1165 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.
The water leakage is troublesome, who is responsible for the public plumbing of the upstairs balcony? 》