Where to complain about illegal redevelopment of an apartment (sample complaint)

A complaint to the housing inspectorate about neighbors' redevelopment is a written request that indicates specific violations with a request to check the legality of the renovation. It is prohibited to unauthorizedly violate load-bearing structures or carry out work that threatens the life and safety of residents of the entire building.

Apartment buildings are the result of the realized work of architects and builders. Each house project is calculated and designed taking into account the developed norms and rules. The most important component of such a project is safety.

If the residents of the house violate the integrity of the building: break through load-bearing walls, erect unplanned heavy interior partitions, carry out other manipulations - this threatens the lives of other residents. Because such actions were not included in the calculation of the safety of the building.

When to complain

It is dangerous to change load-bearing structures in an apartment building. This leads to a violation of the stability inherent in construction, and cracks begin to creep along the walls. Weakening of stability can lead to the collapse of the building. Redevelopment is called:

moving walls and doors;
door demolition;
construction of new openings;
introducing additional partitions, doors, and other structures into the layout;
transfer of sewerage, utility networks, gas equipment to another location.

To understand whether to file a complaint or put up with restless neighbors, it’s worth figuring out whether their redevelopment is legal. During legal redevelopment, all work in the apartment is subject to agreement and the availability of permits.

Options for finding out whether your neighbors’ redevelopment is legal (recommendations from life experience):

The simplest way is to ask what your neighbors are doing in their apartment and whether they have permission to do so;
if the neighbors remain silent, monitor how loud the noise is, what tools they use and what garbage they take out of the apartment;
If you find that they are taking out part of the broken walls, or vice versa, they are bringing in bricks and bags of cement, and the owner of the apartment does not confirm that he is carrying out legal repairs - write a complaint.

Before writing a complaint, let's decide where to report it.

What not to do

The law prohibits any actions that could lead to a deterioration in the quality of housing of neighbors. For example: cracks appeared in the walls, dampness and mold appeared on the floor and ceiling.

Free HOTLINE:

Moscow 7 (499) 938 5119

St. Petersburg 7 (812) 467 3091

Fed 8 (800) 350 8363

the time of their implementation;
procedure for removing construction waste;
describes materials that can be used.

In the apartment

Some types of apartment renovation may be permitted by regulatory authorities after completion. However, there are changes that will not be considered legal:

Conversion of housing into shops, offices, warehouses, saunas - in this case, a preliminary assessment of the condition of the building and its systems is required. It is done by organizations - the authors of the house project. Most often these are research institutes.
Destruction of walls that provide strength and stability of the structure, including additional entrances and exits, window extensions.
Removal of ventilation ducts and shafts.
Placing equipment whose weight increases the load on the floor, water supply, and power supply. For example, installing industrial washing machines, replacing gas stoves with electric ones.
Moving the heating system to the balcony.
Use for heating floors of central water supply.
Violations of sanitary, fire, and construction regulations.
Combining the kitchen and rooms if a gas stove is installed. In this case, a partition between them is required.
Placement of electrical wiring in the joints of the building.
Swap kitchens, bathrooms and rooms.
Make openings and niches in the walls of neighboring apartments, if they are not intended to be combined.

Also, you cannot enter the toilet through the kitchen or room. Such a change is allowed if a wheelchair user lives in the apartment. Residents of the first and last floors can occupy part of the attic and basement, but only if all the neighbors do not object. It is allowed to make a larger bathroom at the expense of a corridor or storage room, provided that high-quality waterproofing is carried out.

In non-residential premises

Redevelopment of non-residential premises of an apartment building requires mandatory permission from regulatory authorities. The main evaluation criterion is the safety of residents. Prohibited:

Equipping entrances from the street through widened window openings.
Actions that destroy the foundation.
Placement of saunas and swimming pools in residential buildings.
Reducing the distance between external and internal entrance doors.
Restricting access to taps, valves, pipes that allow you to shut off water and gas during emergencies.

If the changes do not pose a threat to residents, they are recognized as legal subject to the necessary conditions.

In this case, the management company and homeowners association will help. Internal changes to the apartment must not violate the rights of other residents. It will not be possible to enter your neighbor’s apartment without his consent; only the court can give permission for such actions.

The organization’s specialists can visit apartments during scheduled events: when checking water meters, electricity, gas equipment. A neighbor's complaint will serve as a basis for checking the apartment, but will not allow entry without the owner's permission.

If supervisory agencies are inactive, you need to contact higher authorities. Copies of all requests and responses to them should be kept. This rule applies to all departments, organizations, and courts.

Utility services are supervised by housing inspectorates, administrations, and Rospotrebnadzor. Housing Housing Inspectors are controlled by the Chief Housing Inspector. The prosecutor's office checks for any violations of people's rights. District prosecutors report to city, regional, and federal officials. The courts also have supervisory authorities - regional, regional, republican, and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Where to complain

In a situation where the organizers of the redevelopment do not negotiate and continue the renovation without presenting documents proving that it is legal, the help of official authorities is needed.

Organizations where to contact if neighbors are doing illegal redevelopment and are not making contact with the other residents:

management company, housing office, chairman of the apartment building;
state housing inspection;
prosecutor's office;
court.

These organizations are presented in order of priority of requests. You shouldn’t jump over the steps and write straight to the court or prosecutor’s office. Start in order, with the management company. If your question is not resolved or they refuse to help you, go further down the list.

When neighbors do illegal redevelopment, what to do and who to contact:

complain to the management company or the chairman of the apartment building;
complain to the State Housing Inspectorate;
complain to the prosecutor's office;
go to court.

How to properly file a complaint

The complaint is drawn up in free form, written by hand or filled out on a computer and printed.

What is stated in the document:

in the upper right corner enter the first name, patronymic and last name of the official being addressed;
Below are the applicant's first, middle and last names, his residential address, and contact phone number;
step back from the header of the document, write “Complaint” in the middle of the sheet;
describe the essence of the problem in detail (not necessarily in official words, the main thing is that the seriousness of the problem reaches the addressee);
enter a phrase about the request to consider the appeal and take action on it.

Sample complaint about illegal redevelopment of neighbors' apartment

The current legislation does not set out any requirements regarding the procedure for preparing such complaints. However, when writing such a document, the following generally accepted rules must be taken into account:

drawn up on A4 paper;
you can write by hand or print (it is better to give preference to the second option);
The use of obscene expressions in the text is unacceptable;
the writing style should be formal;
keep the content short but succinct.

Overall a single

(⇐ at the link - one of the examples) there is no illegal redevelopment. However, its content includes the following main sections:

The introductory part is a standard element of any business letter. The details of the addressee and the applicant are reflected here (name of the regulatory authority, full name of the resident(s) of the apartment building, address of the location of the house).
Content part - here you need to consistently explain under what circumstances the violations were committed and how they were expressed. For example, a message that a neighbor is demolishing a supporting structure, breaking the threshold in the bathroom, etc.

To be more convincing, you can include in the text of your complaint references to specific norms of current legislation that were violated by an irresponsible neighbor.

The requirements put forward - usually a standard request to conduct an inspection and apply punishment to the violator is indicated here.

At the end of the document there must be the signature of the applicant and the date of preparation of the complaint. If the letter is of a collective nature, then all residents of the apartment building must put their signatures.

Complaint to the management company

If your neighbors are remodeling, where should you complain about them first: to the management company.

What to include in your application:

that you are the owner or tenant of an apartment (indicate apartment number) located in a building (indicate house number) on the street (indicate street);
describe what your neighbor (indicate, if you know, his last name, first name, patronymic) is doing in his apartment;
if you know what specific work he does, please indicate;
if you don’t know, indicate concerns that illegal redevelopment is being carried out and ask to check the legality of such work.

Draw up a document according to the following example:

The paper is drawn up in two copies: one is handed over to the management company, and the second is kept at home. On the applicant’s copy, the secretary of the receiving management company puts a stamp with the date the application was accepted and the number assigned to it. You will need the document if your request has not been answered. It will prove the fact of your appeal and the inaction of the company’s employees.

The management company is obliged to respond to the appeal. If your paper remains unanswered and the company employees do not want to solve the problem, contact the housing inspection.

Complaint to the housing inspection

The appeal is drawn up similarly to the sample for the management company. If possible, make a collective complaint: it will be responded to faster. The inspectorate conducts an investigation based on the complaint. The violator has the right to apply administrative sanctions: oblige him to legalize the redevelopment or return the apartment to its original condition if the repair process threatens the safety of the remaining residents.

If the housing inspection did not react or did not see anything illegal in the actions of the owner of the renovation, where to complain about the neighbors’ illegal redevelopment: to the district prosecutor’s office.

Complaint to the prosecutor's office

You can file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office directly, without first contacting the housing inspectorate. In this case, there is a possibility that your application will be denied (they will initially recommend contacting the housing inspectorate). This option is also practiced: write a paper to the housing inspectorate and indicate in the text of the appeal that a copy of the complaint has been sent to the prosecutor’s office. With this approach, you don’t even jump over steps, and you give greater respectability to your address.

When the prosecutor's office is contacted after contact with the housing inspectorate, the organization's official response is attached to the complaint. If an apartment with illegal renovations was inspected by housing inspectors, attach an official inspection report.

Documents are submitted personally to the secretary, at a reception with the prosecutor, or sent by registered mail (the shipping receipt is kept).

The prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation into the complaint. If illegal actions are discovered, a criminal case will be opened or the case will be referred to the court so that it will be obliged to eliminate the identified violations.

In what cases can an uncoordinated redevelopment be legalized?

If it is discovered that illegal redevelopment has been carried out, the following may file a complaint:

neighbors (for example, if construction noise can be heard from the neighbors’ apartment for a long time);
employees of the utility service provider (illegal changes can be detected, for example, when checking the sewage system in an apartment);
BTI employees in the case when the owner decided to sell the illegally altered residential premises.

What is the price

order a house remodeling project

Is it possible to get help in remodeling an apartment for free? Find out here.

Let's consider the situation from a different angle, what to do in case of illegal redevelopment, where to complain if there are suspicions of redevelopment in a neighbor's apartment? You don’t need to immediately contact the housing inspector; first of all, talk to your neighbor; as a rule, if he has the appropriate permission, he will show it to you.

We suggest you read: Divorce during pregnancy of wife: nuances of the process

There are cases when neighbors fundamentally do not want to show documentation (by the way, they have the right to do this, since you are not a housing inspector), then you need to contact the inspection of your area with a request for permission to redevelop your neighbor’s residential premises. If the relevant documentation is missing, then you can file a complaint about the redevelopment of the apartment.

Important! Unauthorized redevelopment of a neighbor is not always the case when you need to take care of maintaining friendship with neighbors, since redevelopment carried out in violation, without approval, especially if it affected the supporting structure, can cause an emergency situation that poses a threat to the lives of all residents of the house .

ATTENTION! Due to recent changes in legislation, the information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer will advise you free of charge - write in the form below.

You can complain to government authorities, for example, to the Housing Inspectorate at the location of the property, the prosecutor's office, or the court.

The owner against whom the complaint was received is sent a notice of the date and time of arrival of the inspection commission.

Once the letter is received, the homeowner can respond in two ways.

Let representatives of the management company into the apartment and show permits for the work performed or demonstrate that no redevelopment was carried out.
Don't let the commission into the apartment. In this case, the Criminal Code sends a complaint on its own behalf to the Housing Inspectorate.

Any neighbor can complain to the Housing Authority.

The complaint must indicate:

who complains;
address of the property where illegal redevelopment is allegedly made;
list the grounds for the complaint;
What are the losses?

In response, the housing estate sends a notice to the owner of the disputed apartment indicating the date and time of the inspection.

Where can

order home remodeling

What are the possible risks when buying an apartment with illegal redevelopment? Find out here.

If the home owner commission is not present at the first visit, the notification is sent again.

Response options:

not allowing the commission into the apartment, which will serve as a basis for the housing estate to take the case to court;
send a commission to inspect the home. If an illegal redevelopment is detected, the inspector will draw up a report and issue a fine in the amount of 2.5 thousand rubles. After paying it, the owner of the property is obliged to legalize the changes made within six months.

If the commission did not find anything illegal, but cracks appeared on the wall separating the apartments, then subsequent actions may be more stringent. For example, contacting the prosecutor's office.

To the prosecutor's office

Otherwise, you may receive a reply that such questions must first be addressed to the Housing Authority. It is also necessary to provide evidence of the information presented (otherwise the prosecutor’s office may regard the appeal as slander).

There are several ways to send a complaint to the prosecutor's office:

bring it to the secretariat in person;
submit at an appointment with the prosecutor;
send by registered mail with notification and a list of enclosed documents (the delivery receipt must be kept in case of trial).

After receiving the complaint, a prosecutor's investigation will be carried out based on what is stated in it.

After this, the papers are most often sent to the court, which then orders that the violations be eliminated within a certain period.

Sometimes, during the proceedings in the authorities, the owner manages to sell the apartment, but the court does not recognize the new owner as a defendant.

Most often, if neighbors have made illegal redevelopment, it is the affected residents of the house who go to court.

At the same time, responses to complaints to housing and the prosecutor's office are attached to the claim. The statement of claim is also accompanied by documents informing about the condition of the apartment before and after renovation. This allows you to confirm the presence of violations of building codes and regulations.

As a result of housing reconstruction, emergency situations may arise.

For example, a burst gas pipe or sewer, flooding, clogged ventilation. In this case, for each fact, an inspection report and an expert opinion are drawn up, which indicates the cost of eliminating the consequences. The claim must set out demands for elimination of violations and compensation for damage.

Lawsuit

The housing inspectorate, the prosecutor's office, or directly the citizens themselves, who suffer from the illegal renovation of their neighbors, file lawsuits against illegal redevelopment.

If the problem of the residents has not been resolved by either the housing inspection or the prosecutor’s office, where should citizens report the illegal redevelopment of the apartment: to the court. This is a condition for compliance with the pre-trial settlement procedure. In other words, the court is the last resort. Before turning to him for help, you will have to try all other available means of influence.

Documents describing the housing before and after the start of redevelopment are attached to the application to the court. If possible, attach the results of an examination confirming the damage caused to neighbors’ apartments (or indicate the possibility of causing damage during illegal repairs).

When and how will the application be responded to?

A written appeal to the housing inspectorate is considered within 45 days from the date of submission. During this time, a commission visits the apartment, checks the applicant’s words, and clarifies the features and technical side of the redevelopment.

The prosecutor's office has 30 calendar days from the date of application to consider the complaint:

the prosecutor's office conducts an investigation into the complaint;
rejects the appeal if it is found to be unfounded;
rejects the complaint with instructions to address this issue to the housing inspectorate (if the citizen did not initially contact it for help).

The court considers the complaint within 30 calendar days from the date of application.
The court is the last authority where it is recommended to complain about the redevelopment of your neighbors’ apartment. They go to court only after they have failed to resolve the issue through the housing inspection or the prosecutor's office. comments powered by HyperComments

How to find out if work has been approved or not

Carrying out illegal repairs, in addition to negative consequences for the owner himself, also poses a danger to other residents of the building, since it can provoke:

deterioration of the building structure (cracks in the walls, decreased sound insulation, poor ventilation);
emergency condition of sewerage or water supply and heating systems.

Not all work needs to be coordinated, but some, in an effort to make living in an apartment more comfortable, demolish load-bearing walls or combine a living room with a kitchen.

Consequences of illegal redevelopment:

collapse of the house as a result of the demolition of a load-bearing wall;
the affected ventilation system will worsen the living conditions of all residents in the entrance;
moving heating radiators to the balcony will cause neighbors to freeze, as the efficiency of the heating system will decrease;
connecting and moving a gas stove can only be carried out by specialists from the relevant service; doing this on your own is dangerous;
combining a kitchen with a gas stove and a living room will create a direct threat to people’s lives;

We invite you to read: Unemployment benefits for orphans in 2020

Before you complain, you need to find out for sure that the apartment next door is undergoing illegal redevelopment, and not cosmetic repairs. You can make sure by asking your neighbor to show permission for the work being done. Having received a refusal, it is advisable to go to the Housing Inspectorate, where there will certainly be copies of such documents. If they are not there, the redevelopment is being done illegally.

Having realized that this is an illegal redevelopment of the apartment, where should I complain?

You must decide whether to contact the Housing Inspectorate, the Criminal Code, the prosecutor's office or the court after carefully considering your own actions.

To legalize the redevelopment, you must submit an application to the architectural department of the local municipal authority indicating the date and scope of work performed.

The application is reviewed within 45 days. At this time, technicians from the BTI will come and inspect the redevelopment. If there are no violations, the BTI will issue a new registration certificate for the apartment with the changes made.

In this case, the owner acts as the plaintiff, and the BTI representative acts as the defendant.

If you lose the trial, you will have to pay a fine and return the apartment to its original appearance.