Fines and Prison for Icicles on Your Balcony
In some cases, the apartment owner is liable for icicles on self-installed balcony structures.
With the onset of cold weather, the question becomes acute: who should ensure that dangerous ice blocks and sharp icicles do not hang from balconies and canopies? At first glance, the answer is obvious — the management company. However, lawyers explain: everything depends on which structures are in question. Let«s figure out when the upravlyayushchaya kompaniya (UK, management company) bears responsibility and when the apartment owner does, and what carelessness in winter can lead to.
According to Evgeny Zharov, managing partner of Zharov Group, the UK is obliged to clear snow and ice from elements that belong to the common property of the building. This includes, in particular, the roof, balcony slabs, and canopies provided in the initial design of the building.
However, the situation changes if the apartment owner has independently installed additional structures on the balcony — for example, an external canopy, awning, or an outdoor air conditioner unit. In this case, all responsibility for their safe condition and timely cleaning falls exclusively on the homeowner.
Lawyer Ekaterina Tyutyunnikova, in a conversation with RIA Nedvizhimost, noted that there are no special fines in the legislation for the presence of icicles or ice on the balcony. But if falling snow or ice damages someone else«s property (for example, a car parked in the courtyard) or causes harm to people»s health, the owner is obliged to compensate for the damage caused.
At the same time, as Maria Spiridonova, managing partner of Leges Bureau, explains, courts often apply the principle of joint liability. This means that not only the apartment owner but also the management company can be punished — provided that it did not take necessary measures: did not cordon off the dangerous area or did not issue a cleaning order to the owner.
In particularly serious cases, the consequences can be much more severe. If the fall of icicles leads to grievous bodily harm or the death of a person, criminal liability arises, warned Maria Spiridonova. The owner of the apartment from whose balcony the ice fell may face restriction of freedom for up to three years.
The most dangerous months for the formation of snow and ice are February and March, noted Dmitry Churkin, general director of the management company of the municipal district «Sokolinaya Gora». During this period, frequent temperature fluctuations — from above zero to below zero — contribute to the rapid formation of large ice blocks on roof canopies and balconies.
Thus, for design structures, the management company is responsible, and for self-installed elements, only the apartment owner. Neglect of cleaning duties can lead to both material and criminal liability.
