Where to go if the batteries are a little warm: ways to solve the problem and recommendations

Everyone wants their home to be warm and cozy. But if the creation of a pleasant psychological atmosphere is entirely in the hands of the residents themselves, then the microclimate of apartment buildings with centralized heating is controlled and provided by third-party organizations.

Heat is far from the cheapest expense item among other elements of the rent. It is all the more annoying when you have to allocate funds from the family budget for services that are not provided in the proper volume. What level of heat supply are utilities required to provide? How to achieve the required temperature in the apartment? Where should I go if the batteries are a little warm, and how can I do this to resolve the issue as quickly as possible?

What temperature in a living space are utilities required to provide?

The legislation has approved sanitary rules and regulations for almost all occasions. According to the developed documents, the following indicators have been established that service organizations are obliged to provide for residential premises:

for rooms with external walls on both sides - corner ones - the temperature maintained by central heating should not fall below +20 °C;
the same indicator has been approved for new buildings, no more than a year has passed since their commissioning;
in all other cases, the room temperature should not fall below +18 °C, both in living areas and in the kitchen;
for a bathroom, the lower limit of the norm will be higher - at +25 °C;
on stairs and in lobbies - minimum +16 °C.

If the above standards are observed, any claims will be illegal, and even cold radiators at high heating rates will not be considered a reason for any action on the part of the organizations serving the building.

Accident

If they tell you that there is no heating due to an accident, then you need to know the following.

Firstly, the residents of the house must be notified about the accident.

Secondly, Government Decree No. 354 dated 05/06/2011 established the maximum periods for turning off heating during the heating season. The heating should not be turned off for more than 24 hours during the month.

The temperature should not be between 12 and 18 degrees for more than 16 hours in a row.

Temperatures from 10 to 12 degrees are unacceptable for more than 8 hours in a row.

And from 8 to 10 should not be more than 4 hours in a row.

If the above standards are not met, then you need to take action.

What to do if the temperature in the apartment is below normal

Before making a claim to the management company, you need to make sure that the cause of insufficient heat in the house is a violation on the part of the utility service. It may not be the temperature of the water supplied to the radiators.

The result of such a check will determine where to apply. If the radiators in the apartment are cold through no fault of the utility services, you will have to call a specialist to carry out the work yourself, and most likely pay for his services out of your own pocket.

Causes of heating interruptions

The first thing to do is to determine the exact reason for the heating shutdown. Housing office employees or heat suppliers are required to do this. What could be the factors:

Airiness . Occurs when air was not released from the pipes and radiators when heating was started.
Impurities in water. This could be rust, plaque, sludge, etc. Most often found in houses with an old communication system, when water pipes have not been changed for more than 10 years.
Heat supply failure. Occurs when boiler houses do not control pressure. It becomes too low for the coolant to circulate quickly through the system.
Accident or water leak. A breakthrough can occur both in the pipeline and directly in the apartment.

You can try to independently determine whether the problem is local or house-wide:

In the apartment. The common riser will be warm, and the heating radiators in the rooms will be cold.
Throughout the house. There will be no heating in all pipes and in all neighbors.

What should I do if the top of the battery is hot and the bottom is cold? We determine the cause and eliminate it.

General or specific problem?

The easiest way to evaluate the performance of a heating system is to touch not only the battery itself, but the pipes and the common riser. If it is hot, it may be a blockage inside the radiator or pipes connected to it that belong to only one apartment.

You can also ask your neighbors about the microclimate situation, and not just one - you should find out this point both from those with whom you have a common pipe (for example, living above or below you), and from those whose apartments are not connected to yours way. This will help determine the scale of the problem and, in certain cases, find helpers interested in solving it, as well as understand where to complain about cold batteries.

In the apartment, there may be no heating of all elements of the system or part of the pipes due to the accumulation of air in them, then they will be stably cold immediately from the beginning of the heating season. This issue does not require the involvement of third-party organizations, a large number of people and a long process of proving one’s rightness - only the intervention of the foreman of the housing and communal services branch servicing the house.

Let's deflate

In cases where the riser corresponds to the thermal regime, but the battery does not, then the residents themselves remove the accumulation of air, for which they use a Mayevsky tap on the batteries.

Before opening the valve, you must first turn off the heat supply and place rags under the radiator, because dirty water will come out along with the air. The tap is opened using a screwdriver, which is inserted into a special recess.

When the accumulated air is released from the hole, it will come out with a certain sound. After the air leaves the battery, dirty water should appear from the hole. After this, the tap can be closed. After this procedure, heat supply is restored in full.

Please note! A tap is installed on each heating device, but you should not be zealous, so a similar procedure is carried out only with those devices that are cold. Please note that the tap may have to be opened more than once.

This procedure becomes more difficult if the air accumulation is not in indoor radiators, but in pipes located in the basement. You carry out the procedure described above, and the batteries are cold, then you should call a plumber from the management company, who will open the valve and release the air, which prevents heat from flowing through the batteries.

Probable causes of violation of heat supply standards

There are various possible reasons for the lack of heat in an apartment. Among them the most common:

excessive wear and tear of the communication system;
errors made at the design stage or during the installation of the system;
incorrect adjustment of heat supply by an incompetent or negligent employee;
unauthorized connection of neighbors to the centralized system (for example, incorrect installation of heated floors).

To identify the person responsible, you may have to use the help of lawyers, who you can contact for advice not only in person, but also on the Internet. In order to avoid unnecessary costs, it is better to do this in the event of any refusal, since reviews of those who have already encountered the problem indicate incompetence in this matter even among some representatives of the Supreme Court.

Responsibility

In the housing and communal services sector, there are heat supply organizations that are responsible for supplying heat to apartments in apartment buildings and maintaining the temperature in accordance with sanitary and hygienic standards. They receive appropriate payment for their services.

When purchasing an apartment, the owner signs an agreement through the management company with such a heat supply organization, in which both parties assert their rights and obligations.

It is the responsibility of the consumer to pay for the heat received in a timely manner and in full. But the service provider must also monitor the uninterrupted supply of heat to homes. The heat supply is turned on and off at certain times. The beginning and end of the heating season is determined by local authorities depending on the climatic characteristics of the region.

But when making its decision, the municipality must also be based on the norms of the Government of the Russian Federation, number 354.

IMPORTANT! If the supplier has violated his obligations, the heating in the apartment is weak or completely cold, you need to notify the supplier and get him to fulfill his obligations.

You cannot remain indifferent to such circumstances and wait until the problem resolves itself. The heat supply organization may not be aware of heating problems in a particular house or apartment.

Organizations responsible for the microclimate in residential premises

In the case where the temperature measurement showed a violation of the norms approved by law and there is reason to believe that the cause of this inconvenience is not of a private nature, it will be useful to know the organizations with which the issue of heat supply can be resolved.

Where to turn if the radiators in the apartment are cold? The first instance is the housing and communal services office that services the building. You can contact the management company or directly the organization that provides this service. Their representatives are obliged to respond to the complaint and analyze the situation.

To be completely sure that the problem will not be left unattended, it is better to make a written statement.

How to properly submit an application to the authorities?

There is no standard for writing a complaint, but different management companies have their own forms and samples. The main thing is that the application meets the following requirements:

the upper right corner is intended for entering data, that is, to whom the document is being sent (name of organization), full name and residential address of the applicant, contact information is required (email address, phone number);
in the central part the word - Statement;
Below is a detailed description of the problem indicating the air temperature and the duration of the absence of heating (for greater efficiency, you can operate with articles from the current legislation);
the final part is a requirement - a request to send a specialist to check and measure the temperature;
At the very bottom there is a signature and date.

Experts recommend writing all statements and complaints collectively (if the problem concerns more than one apartment), since public appeals are usually considered out of turn.

If the temperature of the heating radiators in an apartment or house does not meet the standards, the supplier is obliged to recalculate in favor of the consumer, and the service organization is obliged to correct the violation. In the absence of reactions from utility companies, residents are able to protect their rights by filing complaints to various authorities.

The heating battery (radiator) in the apartment does not heat. What to do?

How to correctly file a claim for lack of heat in an apartment

To correctly indicate the recipient in the header of the application, you should find out the full name of the organization, its exact address, and the names of responsible managers. The name, address and contact details of the applicant are also indicated there.

It is necessary to make sure that the complaint will be considered and that they will not be able to remain silent - to do this, you need to ensure that the written statement is accepted and a note is made about this on the copy that remains with the tenant - they put down the so-called incoming number and the date of receipt of the complaint.

Directly in the text of the statement it follows:

confirm your right to the service - refer to the concluded agreement with the organization, noting the conscientious fulfillment of the obligations assigned to it on your part (lack of debt);
provide information about the fact of failure to provide the service in the proper amount and the period during which this violation was observed;
indicate probable causes of system malfunction;
provide temperature measurement data in the apartment;
talk about the consequences of this incident, assess the moral and material damage caused by it.

In addition, it makes sense to determine the response time to the application (for housing and communal services representatives, a reasonable period is three days) and require notification of the actions taken in writing.

The application must be certified by the personal signature of the person making the claim.

If acceptance of the application was refused, it is necessary to send it by mail addressed to the responsible manager and always in a method of transmission that guarantees documentary information to the sender about the delivery of the document and its delivery to the addressee.

Confirmation receipts must be retained.

Do I need to sue utility companies because of poor heating?

You need to go to court when utility workers voluntarily do not comply with the requirements of the owner of the residential premises. So, in a statement of claim you can demand:

restore heating to the required volume;
compensate for damage caused to residential premises. For example, due to prolonged low temperatures, fungus appeared on the walls of the apartment, which required repairs;
a fine for failure to comply with consumer requirements in the amount of 50% of the amount satisfied by the court;
compensation for moral damage.

A statement of claim can be drawn up and filed in order to protect consumer rights. You can read about how to do this here.

Where to go if the radiators are a little warm, but there is no trust in local housing and communal services representatives

After submitting a claim, you can wait a week, unless cold weather and life circumstances (for example, the presence of small children or weak health members in the family) force you to act earlier.

If there is no proper response, such a complaint should be sent to a higher authority - the district housing inspection or Rospotrebnadzor. To the document it is necessary to add information about the actions taken previously, a copy of the first statement, reporting the lack of an appropriate response from the FSW.

In case of repeated silence, the next authority will be the prosecutor's office. The submitted complaint must be accompanied by documentary evidence of the futility of previous attempts to resolve the issue and provide information about the harm caused by the inaction of officials to residents of the apartment.

You can also go to court, but cases are not considered quickly and it is better to go there after resolving the main part of the issue, presenting a claim for compensation for material and moral damage.

Citizens faced with such difficulties often express the opinion that it is useless to contact the local housing and communal services, advising them to act immediately through higher-level authorities or send the original complaint to the management company, and at the same time copies to all other regulatory organizations.

Each case is individual, and it is impossible to make unambiguous prejudicial judgments about all organizations of this kind. The scale and intensity of action taken depends on many factors. How persistently and where to complain about cold batteries, what to do in a particular case - everyone decides for themselves.

Let's find out the reasons

If the thermal conditions in a residential area decrease, we have already found out where to turn. But you can try to figure this out on your own. If the temperature of the riser corresponds to the norm, but the battery does not, this indicates that hot water is not flowing into it.

In this case, you need to check the tap that allows access to the heating supply to the living space. Maybe they simply forgot to open the tap, or the riser was closed for technical reasons or as a result of an emergency.

How else can you fight for heat in a living space?

What to do if the radiators in the apartment are barely warm, and the responsible organizations are in no hurry to help solve the problem? You can begin to act more actively on your own, not limiting yourself to letters and waiting for a response to them.

To begin activities to solve a problem, official confirmation that it exists is necessary. For this purpose, an act is drawn up. The commission, whose presence is required to create such a document, must include representatives of the local government, civilians from other apartments, and a competent craftsman - a housing and communal services mechanic. It is better to take charge of organizing this event by sending written requests to the necessary authorities containing a request for an examination and proposing a possible date for the inspection.
If the request is ignored, the act can be drawn up without the participation of official government representatives. In this case, it is signed by residents and neighbors, and also, preferably, by a suitably qualified professional. Copies of previous unanswered requests are attached to the document, or a note about them is made in the act itself.
All requests and documents sent must be sent by mail with notification of receipt by the addressee and must be drawn up in two copies. Responsible organizations are required to respond no later than within three days. If claims are confirmed, representatives of housing and communal services must bring the indicators in the apartment to the standards established by law within a week.
Correct measurement results must be ensured. According to the rules for determining the temperature in a living room, measurements are made separately in each separate part of it at a distance of 1 meter from the internal walls and 1.5 meters above the floor.
In order to avoid claims from housing and communal services, it is necessary to take care of maximum heat preservation, which depends on the residents - make sure there are no cracks in windows and doors.

What to do

First of all, you should document the fact that there is no heat for a long time. This will be confirmed by an act drawn up in accordance with all the rules.

Such an act must be drawn up in two copies; the document must indicate the reason for the cold in the house when the heating was turned off. The timing of repair work should also be indicated. The act is signed by the tenant of the apartment who initiated the execution of this document, as well as by a representative of the Management Company.

Hotlines for heat issues in citizens' homes

In large cities it is easier to find where to go if the batteries are a little warm. This issue can be resolved through unified dispatch services that have regional offices (telephone numbers can be found through local authorities or help desks). The call must be responded to on the day it is received.

If they didn’t respond to the complaint or couldn’t help for some reason, and the radiators in the apartment are cold, where should I go and what should I do?

Residents of the capital, for example, should contact the Moscow Housing Inspectorate. The service line numbers are listed on the official website. You can call to solve urgent problems related to heating in Moscow at any time of the day.

In 2021, the Moscow United Energy Company launched its rapid response telephone line. The phone number is published on the official website of the organization. In this case we are talking about Moscow.

Where to go if the radiators are a little warm, and the housing is in another city? It makes sense to call the thematic hotline in your region, stating over the phone your complaints about the condition of your housing.

Airlock

There may be several reasons for a violation of the thermal regime in a residential area. This situation occurs every year for many residential property owners. It may be that for one owner the thermal regime in the residential premises corresponds to the norm, but for another it does not.

The main reason for this situation is airy batteries, that is, the appearance of accumulated air in the thermal system.

If you hear a gurgling sound in the battery, then this is the sound that is made by the accumulation of air that needs to be released from the battery.

The accumulation of air in the radiators does not allow hot water to move freely through the heating system, which must constantly circulate to heat the room. Air does not provide conductivity to warm water. As a result, the riser will comply with the norm, but the battery will not.

If there is airiness in the batteries, it shortens the service life of the heating system, causing rust to appear in the devices.

How should a recorded violation affect payment for the service?

If the radiators are barely warm, where should you go to avoid paying for almost no heating?

If there is a confirmed violation of the heat supply norm, the companies providing this service are obliged to recalculate the fee for it downwards.

To do this, you should send an application to the organization, attaching a copy of the report with the results of temperature measurements taken in the room.

It is lawful to refuse compensation for costs for unprovided services only in the event of force majeure reasons for violation of the terms of the contract (natural disasters).

Application for recalculation

Before drawing up an application for recalculation for heat, it is necessary to record the fact of inappropriate thermal conditions in the residential premises. The fact can be certified by an act that is drawn up when measuring the thermal conditions by employees of the housing office or management company.

Another option would be to involve two neighbors, the one who lives in the building or the one who lives in the house, when taking measurements. If these persons are present, you can draw up a report on measuring the temperature, which can subsequently be an appendix to the application for recalculation of payment for heat.

The act indicates the exact address, characteristics of the living space and current thermal conditions. The main problem is the quality of the equipment used, which must be verified. And the date of verification is indicated in the act, which will be recognized as the basis for recalculating payment for utility services.

Attention! A standard sample application for recalculation of payment for utility services should contain the following list:

name of the addressee and sender of the application;
basis for recalculating payment for the service. Usually this is a mismatch in thermal conditions. It is imperative to record the date and time at which temperature deviations were recorded. Otherwise, no recalculation will be made;
a requirement to carry out a recalculation indicating the period for which it must be carried out;
consequences in case of refusal. Indicate the consequences that may arise if the management company refuses to satisfy the applicant’s demands with reference to the law (forfeits and penalties);
a list of attachments that confirm all the circumstances specified in the application. In this case - a report on measuring the thermal regime.

Please note that the act must be drawn up correctly and without corrections or clerical errors. After all, it is the main basis for recalculation for utility services. Before drawing up an act or application for recalculation, consult with representatives of the housing office or management company, otherwise problems may arise.

A decision on such an application is made within two weeks from the date of its submission. You can attach to the application the calculations that you made, which will serve as a kind of reconciliation.

At the time of submitting the application, you must provide 2 copies so that your copy is stamped by the employee confirming the acceptance of the document by the organization with the number of incoming correspondence and the date of registration.

ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application for recalculation of utilities:

Rules for writing a complaint

In case of unlawful actions, the complaint is written in any form, but must contain the following information:

full name of the institution where she is sent;
residential address, number of residents in the apartment building;
details of the agreement with the housing department;
FULL NAME. applicant, contact details (mailing address, telephone);
description of the problem;
what rights of a citizen have been violated, references to legislation;
requirements, proposals for resolving the issue;
please provide an answer and indicate the time frame for it;
date, signature.

When writing a complaint, you must follow certain rules:

avoid spelling, stylistic and grammatical errors;
avoid excessive emotionality: rude statements, swearing, insults;
write in legible handwriting or type on a computer;
do not provide knowingly false information;
be sure to indicate the sender;
present the problem concisely and informatively;
attach evidence that there is no heating, the temperature is lower than expected.

If you do not pay attention to the listed requirements, the complaint will not be considered.

Remote heating control system

Many residents of country houses or empty apartments install a remote heating system. This makes it quite easy to monitor the temperature in the house and manage it effectively. Heating control occurs using a telephone via GSM network standards. Turning off or on the heating via SMS is a very convenient option for controlling the heating system from a distance.

GSM controllers can be connected to an electric, gas or convective heating system. The only thing is that you need an automation system and a good mobile signal. All data about changes in temperature conditions will be sent via SMS message.

Thus, the temperature in the apartment can be monitored from a distance by installing a remote system. Heating problems are not uncommon for apartment residents. The reasons for the lack of heat can be different

It is important to know what to do and where to complain about the lack of heating in the house. And the ability to competently write a complaint will increase the chances of a quick solution to the problem.

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