In Mykolaiv, the housing maintenance service attempted to prove in court that the leaking roof was caused by Russian shelling.

photo from the internet

A resident of Mykolaiv has filed a lawsuit against the utility company "Zabota" due to severe roof damage in his apartment building, which resulted in flooding of his apartment. The utility company attempted to prove in court that the building had sustained damage from shelling.

This information was reported by the press service of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv, and the decision was also published in the Unified Register of Court Decisions.

The court considered the claim of a city resident against the management company LLC "Zhek Zabota" for compensation of material and moral damages due to failure to fulfill the service contract for managing the building.

In support of his claim, the man stated that due to the improper execution of duties by the management company, the roof had damages that allowed precipitation to enter, resulting in his apartment being flooded with rainwater.

The case materials also included witness testimonies from individuals who inspected the apartment:

“The witness personally visited the plaintiff’s apartment and observed a wet ceiling, felt damp walls, saw a light fixture filled with water, a wet carpet, and buckled seams of the laminate. On 28.11.2023, there was precipitation in Mykolaiv, including both snow and rain. It was noted that no repair work had been conducted by the defendant, and others could not access the roof as the entrance was locked, with the key held by her and another resident of the building. She believes the apartment was flooded due to the defendant's improper fulfillment of their duties,” the materials state.

The cost of restoration works amounts to 80,800 hryvnias. Additionally, the plaintiff suffered moral damages due to stress from property damage and the lack of appropriate response from LLC "Zhek Zabota".

It was also noted that the utility company conducted a technical inspection of the roof on 03.11.23 and did not notice that the roof covering required repairs or was in an emergency state. However, the defendant did not provide any documents confirming that roof repairs had been conducted. On 27.11.23, rainwater leaked into the plaintiff's apartment through the damaged roof, causing damage to his property.

The case materials also state that the defendant attempted to prove that the roof of this apartment building was damaged during shelling. However, these claims were not substantiated with documentation.

“Although the Technical Report indicated the presence of shrapnel damage marks on the entire surface of the roof due to an explosion, with an approximate total area of 500 sq. m, no evidence of such marks was presented. Moreover, the photographs contained in the technical report materials, which were examined by the court, contradict this, as they show no traces of shrapnel damage to the roof as a result of an explosion,” the court's decision stated.

After reviewing the case materials, the court concluded that the defendant had improperly fulfilled their obligations in managing the apartment building.

As a result of the proceedings, the court ruled to satisfy the claim, ordering the specified management company to pay the plaintiff 80,800 UAH as compensation for material damages, 8,000 UAH for moral damages. The court also ordered LLC "Zhek Z." to pay the plaintiff over 25,000 hryvnias to cover legal expenses.