Should the management company pay to disconnect the house from the heating network in the event of an accident?

Elimination of accidents in in-house engineering systems is the direct responsibility of the organizations managing the buildings. At the same time, to eliminate an emergency situation, it is sometimes necessary to involve the RSO. We tell you whether the management company should pay the resource supplier for services provided during the elimination of accidents in the house.

On the procedure for interaction between the MA and the RSO during the transition to direct contracts
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Hot water for the price of cold

Snow, ice and frost are constant attributes of winter in most Russian regions.
For some reason, this seemingly truism always becomes a revelation for public utilities and a difficult test for Russian consumers. Outages of water, electricity and heating in our homes occur with enviable regularity. Today we will try to understand the relationship between consumers and utility services.

The procedure for the provision of utility services is regulated by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 307 of May 23, 2006 “On the procedure for the provision of utility services to citizens.” The fundamental difference between these rules and all previous ones is that they establish basic indicators of the quality of public services, acceptable limits of deviation from these indicators, and also provide methods for recalculating utility payments in cases where public utilities were unable to cope with their responsibilities.

In accordance with the Rules for the provision of utility services to citizens, utility services include: cold water supply; hot water supply; drainage; electricity supply; gas supply; heating. The composition of services provided for a particular residential building depends on the degree of its improvement, that is, on whether there are in-house engineering systems through which it is possible to provide services.

If intra-house networks allow the provision of services, then the rules establish basic requirements for the quality of these services. Thus, cold and hot water, gas and electricity must be supplied to apartments around the clock in the required volumes (water pressure standards are specified in the appendices to the rules). In addition, the temperature in living rooms must be maintained at least 18 degrees (for corner rooms - 20 degrees).

If the house is connected to centralized heating systems, then the heating season begins if the average daily outside temperature for five days in a row does not exceed +8 degrees, and ends if during the same period the outside temperature exceeds +8 degrees.

For each type of service, so-called preventive breaks are established. Their duration is established by service organizations in agreement with local governments.

Each of us has the opportunity to control the quality of public services. Guide

If it seems to you that the water pressure in the tap or its temperature is below the established standards, then you should submit a written statement to the service organization.

By the way, you need to choose the right organization to contact. If a residential building is serviced by a management company, then all complaints should be addressed to it. If the consumer directly signed contracts with Vodokanal, Elektroseti, etc., then he will have to deal with these organizations on his own. Before writing a complaint, carefully review your contract. It may provide for some special procedure for filing a claim. For example, only by registered mail or only to the head office of the management organization, etc. Such conditions do not affect the fundamental rights of consumers and are therefore valid.

Written complaint. It is submitted in two copies, one of which is given to the performer, and the other is marked with acceptance. Make sure that the mark does not just contain the name of the secretary who accepted the claim, but contains the stamp of the organization, as well as the date and time of filing the claim. If the claim is not accepted, then it must be sent by mail with acknowledgment of receipt. If the contract provides for filing claims by telephone, then it is necessary to find out under what number in the log book the appeal was registered and who received the call. This information will be evidence of the claim and the starting point for all established deadlines.

A representative of the service organization (or commission) must appear at the apartment to check the submitted application and draw up an act of non-provision of utilities or provision of services of inadequate quality. If it is known that the cause of the interruption is an accident, then no additional verification is required. If the information contained in the claim is confirmed, then next month the service organization must recalculate utility bills. However, in any case, you should require a written response to the claim so that in the future there will be no questions about the reason for the reduction in utility bills.

If during the verification of the application the consumer and the representative of the utility services have disagreements regarding the quality of services, the verification is carried out again and a representative of the housing inspection and a representative of the consumer society are invited to it. In addition, the consumer himself can invite an independent specialist to participate in the inspection. Based on the results of the inspection, an act is drawn up, which is signed by the consumer and the contractor. The act can also be signed by all persons present during the inspection. The act is drawn up in two copies, one of which is given to the consumer, the other to the contractor.

Read more: Novozhilov made a will while in the hospital

If there is no response to the consumer’s claim or during the inspection the parties do not agree on the quality and timing of the provision of utility services, the consumer may go to court with a demand for a reduction in utility bills, compensation for losses caused by the provision of services of inadequate quality (for example, if during the cold period, heating devices were used and the electricity bill significantly exceeds the usual figures) and compensation for moral damage.

As sociological surveys show, among the housing and communal services problems, power outages are the fastest to resolve. In 88 percent of cases, power supply is restored within 24 hours. The worst situation is with the restoration of water supply; 36 percent of Russians wait several days for water supply to be restored.

If an accident occurs, the Rules establish deadlines for interruptions in the provision of utility services, after which the service organization will be obliged to recalculate the payment for utility services.

Thus, if there is no cold water for more than 8 hours in total within one month, or more than 4 hours at a time (and in the event of a pipeline accident - within 24 hours), the water fee is reduced by 0.15 percent for each hour of water absence.

Hot water supplied to apartments must be heated to a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 75 degrees. Deviations are allowed at night by no more than 5 degrees, and during the day - by no more than 3 degrees. For every three degrees of deviation of water from the standard, the fee is reduced by 0.1 percent of the cost for each hour of deviation. If the water temperature is below 40 degrees, then payment is made at the rates for cold water.

Deviation from established standards in electricity supply entails a reduction in fees by 0.15 percent for each hour of non-provision of service.

There may be no gas in apartments for no more than 4 hours in total during one month, and its pressure must meet the requirements of federal standards. A longer absence of gas entails a reduction in payment by 0.15 percent for each hour, and deviation from the requirements of the standards entails the exclusion from payment of days during which substandard gas was supplied.

In the event of an emergency shutdown, heating must be restored in no more than 16 hours - if the air temperature in the apartments is not lower than 12 degrees; 4 hours in advance if the temperature drops below 10 degrees. Exceeding the deadlines entails a reduction in fees by 0.15 percent for each hour of excess and by the same amount for each degree of deviation from the temperature regime.

Are you satisfied with the quality of housing and communal services?

Practicing lawyer and author of 242 articles on the site

Publication date: 2018-10-31 Update date: 2019-04-17

The current economic situation in the country sometimes does not allow citizens to make timely payments for the use of utility services in full. A natural question arises: can heating be turned off for non-payment during the heating season?

The organization supplying heat has the right to demand payment. But can it legally deprive citizens of a necessary resource? This issue should be studied carefully.

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The head of the legal support department, Ksenia Buslaeva, answers:

Formally, the contractor providing utility services (today, in the vast majority of cases, this is a management company, that is, a management company), has the right to suspend the provision of services (in this case, heating of an apartment building, that is, an apartment building), but only for scheduled or emergency repairs. The maximum permissible period for turning off heating in an apartment building during the heating season is 24 hours during the month or no more than 16 hours at a time, provided that the temperature in the residential premises is not lower than +12°C.

In fact, the owner of an apartment in which the heating system is planned to be repaired during the heating season applies to the management company with a request to allow work to be carried out that may entail the cessation of heat supply to all or part of the premises of the apartment building. The final decision on further actions is made by the management company independently - either to authorize and carry out repair work or not.

What does the law say?

According to the rules prescribed in Resolution 354 Chapter III, each user has the right to familiarize himself with the terms of the contract for the provision of these services by the organization. Citizens should also note the presence of such mandatory items as:

• date of conclusion of the contract;
• a list of all provided utilities and their corresponding costs;
• the period during which the provision of these utilities by the organization was agreed upon;
• information on the volume and quality of public services provided to the citizen.

The contract must also stipulate the rights of the organization and the citizen, and their joint obligations.

Arbitrage practice

In most constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the practice of collecting debts for heating and other utilities occurs through writ proceedings.

However, the new edition of Article No. 122 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Russia gives expanded powers to management companies, homeowners' associations and RSOs:

1. It is no longer necessary to send a warning about a heat outage. It is enough for the RSO or management company to wait 3 months from the date of the last payment to stop supplying the resource.
2. Debt collection is carried out in accordance with a court order. Thus, the legislator excluded the use of negative methods of influencing the defaulter.
3. The debtor has the right to appeal the decision, which makes it possible to change the subsequent rules of action.

To file a claim for non-contractual consumption of thermal energy in judicial practice, two conditions must be met:

• no payments for three consecutive months;
• the amount of debt does not exceed 500,000 rubles.

In the event that the amount of arrears is more than half a million, bankruptcy proceedings must be initiated to recover.

Examples from judicial practice are available here.

What can the consumer demand?

According to Federal law, each user has the right to demand from the utility company the following:

1. Provision of resources in the volumes specified in the contract.
2. Timely receipt of the necessary payment information.
3. Obtaining the necessary information about the quality of the services provided.

A citizen has all the rights to demand a reduction in the amount of payment for use if something is not satisfactory. For example, if the organization does not perform its responsibilities well or violates the terms of the contract.

Responsibilities of a citizen

According to the same Federal Law, the consumer also has certain responsibilities. For example, he must promptly notify the service provider of any problems if such a situation arises. The following can also be considered as consumer responsibilities:

• informing the company about how many people live in a house or apartment;
• make required payments on time;
• install all necessary metering devices and check them periodically.

Read more: Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg jurisdiction

Can the supplier turn off the heating for non-payment?

It is worth returning to the issue at hand. Legally, the supplier may temporarily suspend its activities in relation to the violator who has not made timely payment, without a court decision. This law was adopted in 2011. He lists all the reasons why a shutdown may occur. So, for example, the supplier has the right to turn off the supply for a certain time if:

1. The consumer has significant debt.
2. An emergency has occurred that has resulted in an automatic shutdown.
3. The company is carrying out repair work, and the provision of services thus becomes impossible.

What to do? If the heating was turned off due to the accumulation of debt by the consumer, then in order to connect again, he needs to repay the entire amount that the organization requires from him.

However, the company also has its own obligations. She must notify the citizen 20 days in advance that the filing is planned to be suspended in order to give him the opportunity to deposit the entire required amount and repay the debt. If, after this time, payment has not been made, then the next step for the organization is to send a registered letter to the client asking for repayment of the debt and indicating what will happen in the event of non-payment.

If the consumer ignores all messages received, then the organization can officially block access.

Private practicing lawyer Victoria Suvorova (Pyatigorsk) answers:

Of course, you cannot turn off the heating in winter. But here it should be noted that if this happened as a result of an emergency shutdown, that is, there was a pipe break, an accident, a flood, etc., then a temporary limitation of heating for the period of emergency work and elimination of the leak is acceptable. It is unclear from the question what incident happened to you. If the neighbor is changing the heating system, then this is incorrect. You can file complaints with the Criminal Code, Homeowners Association, Emergency Service, Heat Service, Housing Inspectorate, Prosecutor's Office, and file a lawsuit against your neighbor for compensation for moral damages and damage caused by the lack of heating in the apartment in winter.

What happens after the debt is paid off?

As soon as the consumer has paid the entire required amount, the supplier will reconnect the heating within two working days.

Every consumer should know that if the organization with which the contract has been signed performs its work poorly or even illegally, then he can go to court for further proceedings.

Every year, city residents experience some discomfort due to turning off or, conversely, turning on the heating system. Many questions arise about the validity and timeliness of starting or stopping the heating infrastructure. Let's look at when the heating is turned off, at what temperature and, accordingly, we will touch on the topic of turning on the system in the fall.

It is worth noting that the beginning and end of the heating season is not just the opening and closing of several large valves in the elevator. This is preceded by a whole range of preparatory measures and repair work. When starting up, many problems arise, the most common of which are the system becoming airy and leaking. During this period, emergency repair service specialists work from dusk to dawn, seven days a week. And often they cannot immediately respond to a signal of a malfunction due to the order in which a huge flow of requests is processed.

Considerations and possible consequences

Please note
: As a rule, a complaint is considered within 10 to 30 business days from the date of its receipt. Based on the results of the analysis of the application, a higher authority may oblige the responsible organization to take measures to restore the heat supply, setting an acceptable time frame.

Also, the organization, due to whose actions the heat supply was stopped, is obliged to recalculate payments. Charges for the period of absence of heating or its limited supply cannot be considered legal.

As a rule, in order to return funds misappropriated by the company, residents must independently apply for a recalculation of funds for the entire time when the premises were not heated, contrary to legal norms.

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Turning off the heating in spring

To stop the heating system, several conditions are required, the observance of which is mandatory under any circumstances:

• Compliance with the period when the state officially allows the heat to be turned off in all buildings. In the middle zone, this interval lasts from early April to mid-May. Long-term weather observations indicate that this is the most favorable time for heat supply organizations to stop equipment.
• The current temperature background exceeds the minimum value. The official basis for turning off batteries in houses is the average daily air temperature over the last 5 days. If this value is equal to or exceeds 8 degrees, then the competent authorities draw up a resolution that is sent to all thermal power plants and housing and communal services authorities. Based on this, the heating season ends.
• Turning off the heating must necessarily be agreed upon with meteorologists. Forecasters must confirm that a sharp cold snap is not expected in the next 10 days. After this, the heating systems can be stopped at any time.

All these rules are spelled out in the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, and the implementation of each of the points is controlled at the highest level. That is why decisions on stopping and starting heat supply are entrusted to local authorities. Only the municipality can approve the end dates of the heating season. Therefore, you should not blame the housing and communal services for all the troubles and problems, because they are simply executors who do not make any significant decisions.

The process of stopping heating equipment and transferring it to summer operation is carried out gradually. No one will be able to turn off the heat at one moment due to many technical issues. The first to stop receiving it are industrial facilities, administrative buildings and office areas. After this, the heat supply to residential buildings is stopped. And last but not least, social facilities are turned off - kindergartens, schools, hospitals, etc.

Read more: If a passbook is lost, can it be restored?

Turn off heat individually

The legislation contains a clause that allows you to turn off the supply of coolant to individual multi-storey buildings ahead of schedule. To do this, first of all, the consent of absolutely all residents is necessary. The decision must be made at a general meeting of members of the homeowners' association. If a specially hired management organization is engaged in servicing the house, then the decision on early shutdown of heating is its prerogative. Naturally, all residents should know about this.

An application in the prescribed form must be submitted to the energy supply organization in your region, after which the shutdown occurs.

Many will consider this decision ill-conceived and hasty, but there is one subtlety here that reflects it in a different light. If the weather is warm outside, the housing and communal services authorities reduce the temperature of the coolant. But for the entire heating period in economy mode, you will pay in full, which is extremely unfair during prolonged warming. There is only one way out of this situation - equipping houses and apartments with heat meters or turning off heating at an earlier date. This will save significant money for all residents of the house.

The director of the legal service “Unified Center for Protection” (edin.center) Konstantin Bobrov answers:

The law does not prohibit turning off heating for the purpose of repairing the heating system, since failure to repair can lead to even more negative consequences (breakdown of the entire system). Therefore, it is even necessary to implement it.

However, the owner of the apartment where the work will be carried out has the responsibility to carry out repairs in such a way that it causes as little inconvenience as possible for neighbors: it must be as efficient and silent as possible, a warm day must be chosen for the work, and so on.

What to do if this citizen does not respect the interests of his neighbors (for example, he carries out work in 30-degree frost)? You can complain about him to the prosecutor's office. It is advisable to attach written explanations from other neighbors to the application. The prosecutor's office will have to bring the violator to administrative responsibility. In addition, compensation for moral damage can be recovered from the culprit in court if the violation caused significant suffering. To do this, you need to prepare a substantiated statement of claim. But judicial practice shows that the amount of compensation will be small.

Turning on the heating in the fall

The question of at what temperature the heating is turned on in the fall is no less pressing than the question of turning it off. In this case, the following conditions must be met:

• The average daily temperature over the last 5 days should be 8 degrees or less. This value is not accidental. In addition to the cold in residential areas, there is a very high risk of freezing of the system, especially in access areas. And this involves complex emergency work, which is very expensive.
• The launch period for heating infrastructure in the middle zone is from October 1 to October 15. It is not advisable to start systems earlier, since the procedure for switching to winter operating mode is very labor-intensive and requires significant costs.
• Weather forecasters' forecasts for the near future should also be taken into account. After all, if a long warm period begins in a day or two, then supplying heat, at least, is impractical. Moreover, the end consumer will have to pay for unjustifiably early switching on.

Launching always comes with a lot of complications. The heating main reaches the required power level very quickly, but heat in the radiators does not appear immediately for a number of reasons. The air in the system blocks the flow of heat; residents can also vent it, but this is not always done. Some people find it more convenient to freeze for a couple of extra days than to unscrew several valves.

In the housing and communal services structures there is a schedule for commissioning heating in houses. This was done not due to the reluctance of utility workers to work, but to be able to troubleshoot problems that are inevitable in any case.

What should you do when the batteries are cold?

Often a situation arises when the heating season has already begun, but the radiators in the apartment are still cold. The first step is to talk to your neighbors. If their radiators are just as cold, but the house next door is warm, then your system is airy. You should call housing and communal services specialists or bleed the air yourself. After this, you need to make sure the radiators are working. If these are old cast iron batteries, then over many years of use a thick layer of plaque may form inside, and many layers of paint may accumulate on the outside. All this significantly impairs heat transfer and can cause coolness in the apartment.

If your equipment is in complete order, there is no air in the system, and all neighbors have been warm for a long time, you should call housing and communal services employees to draw up a report on the low temperature in the apartment. If representatives of the heat supply organization refuse to draw up a document, you can do it yourself in the presence of several neighbors.

The document must be submitted to the heating supply organization. It must indicate the period when the temperature did not meet the established standards, and the indicators of its value on each day of non-compliance. Based on this document, you are required to recalculate and adjust the cost of heating.

During the heating season, the room temperature must correspond to the following values:

• Rooms - from 18 to 24 degrees.
• Kitchen and bathroom - from 18 to 26 degrees.
• Bathroom - from 18 to 26 degrees.
• Staircases - from 16 to 20 degrees.

When carrying out repairs, the duration of periods without heat must also be observed. If the temperature is above 12 degrees - no more than 12 hours in a row, if it is 10-12 degrees, then the maximum without heating is 8 hours; at temperatures below 8 degrees, heating should be restored within 4 hours.

Tool preparation

Before replacing, you need to prepare a special tool:

• Adjustable wrench,

adjustable wrench

• "Bamka" key

"Bamka"

• Electric drill,
• Drill for working on concrete of the appropriate diameter,
• Angle grinder (“grinder”) with a diamond disc for processing metal surfaces,

Bulgarian

• Tape measure and folding meter,
• Construction pencil, which will be used for marking,
• Water level (“spirit level”).

Level

Important! If you are unable to reach an agreement with your neighbors above or below, you will need a tool, which is necessary for cutting threads. The external thread is cut on the pipe near the floor and under the ceiling.

The next stage is marking the position of the radiator on the wall and pre-assembling the components.