Hot and cold water risers. Replacing water supply risers in an apartment: rights and obligations, procedure

Hello, friends! Let's talk today about utility matters. Let's imagine a situation (it's better to imagine than to experience it in reality) that a riser of cold or hot water is dripping in your apartment. Or we will slightly change the conditions, for example, water supply risers in an apartment building flowed. Question: who and at whose expense should carry out repairs or change them?

As it was before

In recent Soviet times the question, whose property is the apartment, was rather idle. Apartments were provided by the state, and systems such as risers - heating, sewerage, water supply - were also repaired at the expense of the state. But times have changed. Most of us have privatized housing and become owners. This gives both rights and responsibilities.

From the water intake to the apartment

We will return to the question of who should carry out the replacement of pipes. To begin with, let's decide how the water supply scheme of an apartment building is arranged, according to what principles it operates. Simply put, this is an engineering system that includes pipes laid out in a certain way, devices that allow you to regulate water pressure, meters, filters, etc.

Before getting into the house, water goes through several stages. From the water intake unit, it enters the water treatment station, the water tank, the water pumping station, the water supply network, and only then is it supplied to the consumer. In an apartment building, there is also a special system for water to reach the consumer. She does this along the risers - vertically located pipes.

Norms and rules

The arrangement of the system that provides the consumer with water is carried out in accordance with the building rules reflected in the SNiP, adopted in 1997. The name SNiPa is the internal water supply and sewerage of buildings. The document clearly states which pipes, fittings, equipment, materials should be used. It reflects all technological processes which must be strictly followed.

Cast iron, steel or propylene?

What materials are most often used in the water supply system. More recently, in Soviet times, these were metal - cast iron, copper or steel - pipes. Their main disadvantage is susceptibility to corrosion. Despite the fact that the shelf life of such pipes is quite high - according to the norms of 25 years, in fact it is much longer, up to 40 years. However, everything has its end, these pipes also need to be replaced.

Pipes of a new generation have appeared on the modern market of equipment and materials. Most often, cast iron, copper and zinc are replaced with polypropylene pipes. These are durable pipes with a good shelf life, smooth inside, which prevents the formation of limescale, and therefore increases this period. They also meet environmental requirements, and most importantly, they are resistant to corrosion.

controversial issue

And yet, returning to the question at the beginning of the article, let's find out who should change the water supply risers in an apartment building. To have a clear understanding of the situation, one must refer to the documents. Chief among them is government decree number 491, as well as one of the articles of the Housing Code. These documents establish the area of ​​responsibility between the owner and the company chosen by the residents.

According to the documents, water supply risers are common property. Who is responsible for maintaining this property? If the residents have entered into an agreement with the management company, then it must definitely do this. The risers of cold and hot water supply and branches from them to the first valve are her area of ​​​​responsibility.

The owner of the apartment is obliged to change the plumbing at his own expense, until recently to install meters (now they should do it for free), repair pipes after the stop valves. Otherwise, he does not have to pay money. What about common property? someone will ask. The UK will repair, but pay?

Owners also pay for these services, only they do it not at the time of replacing pipes, but, so to speak, in advance. In the receipts that each of us receives every month, there is a line "maintenance and repairs." The price of these services is quite high in the context of all payments for housing and communal services. It is from these funds that the management company should pay for the repair and replacement of risers and water supply pipes.

Action algorithm

Let's briefly go through the scheme of your actions, if you suddenly need to replace the riser and you want to do it yourself. First, you need to get permission to do so in management company. Only this organization can turn off the riser, which is used not only by you, but also by other residents.

Then, if you are going to cut new pipes not only in your premises - from floor to ceiling, but also in ceilings, affecting the neighbors' premises, you must obtain their consent. With a positive decision, purchase pipes of the desired diameter, draw up a water supply scheme and get to work.

There are many companies operating in the market for these services today. If you are not ready for independent work, you can use the services of one whose prices, as well as professionalism, suit you. Replacing the water supply riser is, of course, troublesome, but often necessary. Following the algorithm specified in this article, we hope, will help you cope with the task.

Don't wait for an accident

If an accident occurs, then the riser will have to be changed in any case. Although management companies often delay this work in every possible way, limiting themselves to the elimination of fistulas. But it is desirable to replace the risers without bringing the matter to an accident. It is best to do this during a major overhaul.

Today, by the way, there are such water supply schemes when pipes are removed from sight, hidden different ways. It looks much more aesthetically pleasing than when they are located in plain sight. The main thing is that the materials and work are of proper quality.

If this article was useful to you, we would be happy to receive feedback on our site. Leave your comments, remarks, additions. We look forward to further communication.

1. How is it legal to replace the riser so that I am not responsible for the consequences of poor quality work or materials?

It is necessary to replace it under a contract for the performance of work with the subsequent signing of an act of work performed. Such an agreement can be concluded both with the Criminal Code and with a third company. The main thing is that this company should be active, i.e. not one day. Best of all, of course, an agreement with the Criminal Code.

As you were correctly told in the Criminal Code, they are only responsible for welds and threaded connections, i.e. for the work performed (its quality). The supplier or seller from whom the materials (pipes) will be purchased is responsible for the materials. Subsequently, you can make claims about their quality.

In general, your colleagues correctly told you that a riser with water is the common property of an apartment building and you pay a monthly fee for its maintenance and repair. Therefore, the repair should be carried out by the Criminal Code in accordance with the regulatory deadlines. If the riser breaks, then this headache UK, because they must keep the property in good repair.

2. How to draw up a contract correctly so that the Criminal Code is responsible for the condition of the riser, accidents and the quality of plumbing work to the extent required by law?

As you yourself write, the Criminal Code is responsible for the state of the riser according to the law. You just need to conclude an agreement on the performance of work on the replacement of the riser and heated towel rail. Upon completion of the work, it is imperative to draw up and sign the Acceptance Certificate for the work performed. Those. document everything.

3. How to get the management company to sign such an agreement if they refuse?

Write to them written statement with a request to conclude such an agreement and perform work.

4. Are there standards for the cost of work? It seems to me that 3000 for the installation of a heated towel rail is too much.

No. The price is negotiable.

5. Is it possible to involve third-party plumbers, but draw up an act on the completion and acceptance of work so that the management company checks the quality and is further responsible for the new riser?

As I wrote above, this is possible, but not just plumbers, but a company that can later be held accountable. But no matter how plumbers, which then you will not be able to find. There is still the question of whether the Criminal Code will agree to this. Because the common property is in her charge. But they can be motivated to do so by the fact that they are relieved of responsibility.

5. If I replace the riser through third-party plumbers (illegally), and then insure civil liability to neighbors and third parties in the insurance company, will it refuse to pay out in case of a leak, citing that the riser was replaced illegally?

Don't replace. It is necessary to turn off the riser, do not turn it off without the UK. Even if you replace it, you need to find out from the insurance company whether it will agree to such conditions. Insurance payments are made on the basis of the contract and insurance rules, if such a condition as the performance of unqualified repairs is the basis for non-payment in the specified documents, then they will not be paid. In general, here you have no liability to third parties. I emphasize once again that you are not responsible for the common property, the Criminal Code is responsible.

Not all residents of the Russian Federation live in new houses, therefore communication wear problem familiar to many.

Sewer pipes are no exception, damage and rupture of which can lead to flooding and damage to property.

About the procedure sewer line replacement in the apartment we will talk in this article.

Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.

If you want to know how to solve exactly your problem - contact the online consultant form on the right or call free consultation:

What are the temperature standards in the apartment during the heating season according to SanPin? Learn about it from ours.

general information

In old houses, sewer risers and pipes in bathrooms are made of cast iron - reliable, but not the most durable material.

Sooner or later, such pipes begin to fail, after which there is a danger of leakage, pipe splitting, damage to property and liability.

In order to prevent sad consequences, the riser and sewer branches should be replaced. In such situation often the owners manage on their own and change the riser in the apartment on their own.

Not everyone knows that it is possible to replace sewer and other risers at the expense of the management company.

Regulations

Replacement and repair of sewer, water pipes and heating pipes regulated:

• rules for the maintenance of common property in the MKD;
• rules and regulations technical operation housing stock;
• methodological guide for the maintenance and repair of the housing stock MDK 2-04.2004.

Personal or public property?

According to the rules, the obligation to maintain and repair communications lies with the owners.

Water pipes, which are branches from riser pipes, are maintained, repaired and changed by the owners independently and at their own expense.

Riser pipes that are used by several apartments, are public property in accordance with the rules for the maintenance of common property in the MKD.

The common property also includes branches from the riser to the first docking connection.

Who should change?

The replacement of sewer and water risers is carried out by the Housing and Public Utilities Management Company, HOA or other companies. The decision to repair is made by the management company at the request of homeowners.

What are the rules for the use of residential premises and common property in apartment buildings? you will find on our website.

At whose expense?

By law, homeowners are responsible for the content common property.

If the sewer riser is out of order and needs to be repaired or replaced, then the management company must perform and pay for these works from the funds contributed by the owners.

Homeowners pay these costs in their own under the item "maintenance and repair of housing."

If a major replacement risers on all floors, then funds can be taken from payments on.

A completely different situation arises when the homeowner wants to replace a serviceable riser for some personal reason, for example, when redeveloping a bathroom.

In this case, all costs for the replacement of the riser are borne by the owner, work is also carried out independently.

Replacement of risers in municipal housing is carried out at the expense of the landlord, that is, the municipal authorities.

In this case, replacement is free at the request of the employer to the municipal authorities responsible for citywide housing and communal services.

How to change?

To replace a failed or in need of replacement riser you should contact the management company with a statement in the name of its head.

Before you write an application to the Criminal Code, you can call a plumber to the house, who will draw up an inspection report sewer riser, will fix the damage and the need to replace the riser.

At the end of the application, write a specific request for the replacement or repair of the sewer riser. Next is the date and signature of the owner. The application is drawn up in two copies, one of which remains with the owner, the other is given to the Criminal Code.

Applications for the replacement of the sewer riser.

The homeowner submitting the application must be a bona fide utility bill payer in order for their application to was accepted and considered.

After consideration of the application, a convenient time for the work is agreed with the owner. The replacement of the riser is carried out by employees of the management company or contractors involved by the management company.

The owner must provide free access to the bathroom, in order to replace pipes. How much does it cost to replace a sewer line in an apartment?

additional funds when replacing a riser or branches from it to the first docking connection, the owner is not obliged to pay.

The approximate cost of replacing a sewer riser in one apartment is from 4 to 7 thousand rubles.

Quite often, homeowners are faced with the fact that they demand to pay for the replacement of the riser, motivating this by the fact that the riser pipes are located in the owner’s premises and the landlord is responsible for them.

In such cases, employees of the management company should be reminded that sewer, water and battery risers serving more than one apartment are common property, and the management company is responsible for their replacement and repair.

Moreover, the replacement of risers in any case will be paid by the homeowners from the funds, paid by them in utility bills.

You can learn about what to do if one of the residents of the house is against replacing the common sewer riser in the video:

Housing and communal services / Management companies and HOA

Situation: in all apartments of a high-rise building, located one on top of the other, the water pressure has fallen. To get really hot water from a hot tap, you have to keep the tap open for a long time. For the time being, the water will get hotter ... And the meter is spinning in the meantime, and you have to pay for the counted water at the rate, as for hot water.

Residents are unhappy. They write letters to the management company (well, or to the HOA, for some). The public utilities are beginning to check the risers of hot and cold water in all apartments located below those where problems were discovered. Sooner or later, but the "culprit" is found.

Most often, this is the owner of one of the apartments, who replaced the riser during the repair (or made serious changes to it). What happens next? The answer is in the history of the trial in the case of converted water risers, which took place in one of the district courts of the city of Orenburg.

Unauthorized replacement of cold and hot water risers?

As follows from the materials of the case, for some time now residents have begun to turn to the management company of an apartment building with complaints about the quality of water supply. The Criminal Code conducted a tour of the apartments to find out the cause of the problem.

In one of the apartments, it was discovered that the owner had replaced the metal riser pipes with polypropylene ones. However, at the junctions plastic pipes with metal pipes, the diameter was narrowed.

In addition, new polypropylene pipes were laid with numerous turns. In the bends formed in this way, the diameter of the pipes was also narrowed.

Finally, a faucet was installed on the hot water riser. In the closed position, it completely blocked the direct flow of water through the hot water riser, directing it through the heated towel rail in the bathroom.

The management company demanded all these "reconstruction» dismantle and return the risers to their original position, about which the owner, as well as the person living in the apartment, were officially notified. However, neither of them took any action. In response, the management company went to court.

Court in the case of the replacement of water risers

AT litigation The representative of the owner of the apartment made the following arguments:

1. The replacement of risers was made with the knowledge of the management company. In particular, in the course of work, its employees blocked the risers and drained water from them. After the work, the risers were "accepted" by the representative of the Criminal Code. There have been no complaints from public utilities for nine years.
2. Replacing metal pipes with plastic ones is not in itself a serious reorganization and does not require changes to the registration certificate of the apartment. At the same time, the inner diameter of plastic pipes turned out to be even slightly larger than that of metal pipes. The walls of plastic pipes themselves are smoother than those of metal pipes. This facilitates the flow of water.
3. The narrowing available on the new risers does not affect the throughput of the pipes. While maintaining the pressure, the smaller diameter of the pipe is compensated by a local increase in the water flow velocity
4. In confirmation of his calculations regarding the fact that the water inflow does not depend on the internal diameters of the pipe at the narrowing points, the owner provided an expert opinion from one of the industry research institutes and a design organization.
5. And in general, according to building codes, metal hot water risers require replacement every twenty years. The house was built in 1997 and the risers had to be changed anyway
6. As for the tap that shuts off the hot water riser, the water, when it is closed, continues to flow through the heated towel rail and the apartments from above should not feel any difference from whether it is closed or open.

What the court decided:

• Pipes in their original state (i.e. put metal back) allowed not to bring (i.e. you can leave polypropylene)
• The court decided to remove the constrictions on the risers of hot (seven places) and cold (eight places) water. The court did not take into account the expert opinion that the pressure was not affected due to bottlenecks, deciding that they dealt with the problem “as a whole”, and there were no results of practical measurements of water flow in the risers above the defendant’s apartment.
• The court allowed not to dismantle the tap on the hot water riser. The judge motivated his position by the fact that the Criminal Code did not provide evidence that by letting hot water through the heated towel rail, the owner of the apartment reduced, thus, its pressure when it was supplied to the apartments was higher.

What to think about when deciding to replace the water risers in the apartment

What is the result? Of all the claims of public utilities, the court upheld only the requirement to remove the narrowing points on the risers of cold and hot water. As far as can be understood from the text of the court decision, we are talking about metal fittings that were used at the corners. Probably, it will not be so difficult to do this if there is access to the pipes.

Will the situation with hot water in the apartments above improve as a result? Unfortunately, this is not clear from the court's decision. It is quite possible that it is not. The problem may be somewhere else, where precipitation has accumulated in the turn of the water pipe over the past twenty years after the construction of the house.

But, unfortunately for the owner of the apartment, which in question, a kind of “presumption of guilt” applies to him. Did you make changes to the common house plumbing system? Didn't fix them with an act, signed by a representative of the management company? So, be prepared for demands to return everything to its previous state. And then it depends on the owner of the apartment - he will immediately agree to the demands of the public utilities or fight them, including in court.

And what to do, you ask? An unambiguously reliable solution to the problem is to do all the work on the riser, involving the managing organization. This, by the way, is their responsibility, and in this case they do not have the right to demand payment from the owner of the utility company.

Of course, all sorts of little "tricks" in the form, for example, of a faucet on a hot water riser that directs the flow of water through a heated towel rail, you thus cannot carry out. But you will not receive claims for unauthorized reconstruction of the riser from public utilities.

The full text of the decision in the case of unauthorized reconstruction of cold and hot water risers in an apartment is available