Recalculation – when can you request it?
The first and easiest way to reduce payments for housing and communal services is recalculation. Everyone is sent receipts requiring them to pay their bills for water supply, energy supply, gas, heat, etc. Often the numbers on the receipt have nothing to do with reality. There is no need to blindly trust the company operators who issue these payment receipts. It is necessary to check all the numbers with the indicators of your meters, do the calculations and pay only for what is used.
If any services indicated on the receipt are not provided or do not meet the requirements, be sure to request a recalculation.
Important!
If you use unmetered housing and communal services and are planning a long vacation, be sure to notify the companies providing these services. Then it will be possible to reduce the amount of payment during your absence. To confirm your absence and the need for recalculation, you will need to provide supporting documents, for example, tickets or travel sheet, as well as hotel payment. When there is no one in the apartment, you do not need to pay for services. In total, you can save up to 20% of the cost of services per month.
How to refuse service
There is only one way to disconnect from public services - contact the housing and communal services with a written request. You must proceed as follows:
- Contact the management company that maintains the house. Before doing this, consult with employees about how to fill out an application and in whose name it should be written. Usually the Criminal Code has a ready-made form that you just need to fill out. Or you can write a request yourself. The communication is written to the head of the company and drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Procedure Code. Copies of attachments confirming the applicant’s rights are attached to the application.
- After submitting the application, you must wait. The Criminal Code has a 15-day period to consider the appeal. The response is usually received by mail, or employees can call and report the results of the review.
- After receiving the answer, it is necessary to clarify the time for the reconciliation.
- On the appointed day, an employee of the organization will visit the applicant, conduct an inspection and, if there are no restrictions, set a date for a general meeting to make a decision.
- If the decision is positive, the relevant documentation is drawn up.
- As a result, the resources on which he issued a refusal will be excluded from the citizen’s receipt.
Benefits and subsidies
Another effective way to save money on housing and communal services is to apply for benefits. Some categories of citizens and their relatives receive benefits for housing and communal services. According to the law, these include pensioners, disabled people, Heroes of Labor, combatants, large families, low-income families, and single mothers.
For example, pensioners over 80 years old pay reduced rates. Under the same conditions, those who have a disabled child in their family receive a discount on utilities. The discount is calculated individually in each case. It all depends on the family income level.
To receive a subsidy, you need to contact the social security authorities and submit an application. If you are eligible for a subsidy, it will be credited to you as of the 1st day of the month following the month in which you submitted your application. As part of subsidizing the population, a discount on housing and communal services can reach half of the bill; many families save up to 30%.
Subsidies are a discount on housing and communal services. For each family they are calculated based on family income and apartment area. The subsidy is calculated individually for each applicant. Those who pay more than a certain percentage per month from the family budget are entitled to a subsidy. The interest rate for housing and communal services differs in each region and is set at the local level.
For example, residents of St. Petersburg should not pay more than 14% of their monthly earnings. Everything above 14% is subsidized by the state. In the Kemerovo region, no more than 7-15% of the subsistence level should be spent. In the Omsk region, pensioners and disabled people of groups 1 and 2 are not required to pay more than 18% of their monthly income.
Important!
One of the main factors for receiving subsidies is the absence of rent arrears. When calculating the subsidy, not only the salary, but also the pension, benefit payments, scholarships, and fees of all family members are summed up. To apply for a subsidy, you need to contact the social security authority at your place of residence.
How to force the MFC to remove unnecessary services from housing and communal services payments
Since the beginning of the year, many have seen numerous “surprises” in their utility bills - services that you have never ordered or used. And even if they had previously officially refused. For example, some people have a “Radio Point” again, others have a “Locking Device”. I got an "Antenna".
The State Budgetary Institution of the MFC, which issues payments to us, immediately told me: go to Rostelecom and sort them out. It turned out that Rostelecom sent letters to the MFC “with a list of persons who unauthorizedly connected to the antenna.” Like, we conducted an investigation, and here they are, the scoundrels. This, of course, was a complete lie: there was no investigation. Our shield is locked with a key, and access to it is also through a closed door. Neighbors said that no one was allowed in.
That is, Rostelecom just wanted money, they created this fake letter and... MFC included this in our payments! During a personal visit, they refused to delete this line: they say, we have nothing to do with it. Also a lie: they issue invoices, they are obliged to turn it off. I wrote a short one-page complaint:
I, as the owner of the apartment, did not submit any applications to the management company, the State Budgetary Institution MFC or Rostelecom for connecting the antenna and the agreed collection of fees for antenna maintenance, and did not apply for such a service. In this regard, actions are considered to violate my rights as a user of housing and communal services.
The copy of the claim at the branch of the State Budgetary Institution MFC was stamped with an acceptance stamp.
A couple of weeks later the same answer came: we forwarded your letter to Rostelecom, we have nothing to do with it. I already wanted to file a lawsuit, but... the next day they sent me adjusted bills, which no longer included the “Antenna”. This is how we live: it seems like I was sent everywhere, but in the end the law was fulfilled. And everything is very simple: they cannot officially recognize the illegality of this payment. Because actually this is pure crime, fraud. The expectation is that you will pay for an illegal service for several months, personally go to the Rostelecom office, write a statement about disconnection, and then wait and pay for another 30 days. In the same way, I think, you can get rid of other imposed services that you did not ask for.
I talk about this in more detail in my video:
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Use resources sparingly
Oddly enough, the most banal savings can reduce utility bills by several percent. For example, it is not difficult to turn off the lights when you are not in a room. Or just don’t pour water. You can save resources without compromising your comfort. If you do not have water, gas, or electricity meters, you can install them. This is especially true for those who do not use water and gas according to the established norms. Over the course of a year, with the proper approach, you can save up to 30% of the cost of housing and communal services.
Be sure to take an interest in the tariffs in your city, because it happens that at night there is a discount, for example, on electricity. Many people structure their schedules in such a way that the most energy-consuming tasks around the house can be completed as efficiently as possible. For example, start washing and drying clothes late in the evening. When choosing household appliances, give preference to A-class products; they are the most economical in terms of electricity and water consumption.
To regulate the heat supply, you can install special valves on the batteries. To save water, you can use special nozzles that will reduce water pressure.
Sort the issue with registration
Be careful about the number of residents registered in your apartment. If you do not have meters installed, average consumption standards will be calculated for each resident. The less is written down, the lower the bill for garbage removal, elevator maintenance and other services, which are calculated according to regional tariffs. It happens that the composition of the family changes, the children grow up and move away, but they remain registered in the apartment. It is imperative to ensure that the person who does not live in the apartment is discharged on time. Being residents only on paper, they contribute to increasing the cost of utilities. You should try to write out those who live in other places if this will significantly help you reduce the cost of housing and communal services.
Housing and communal services for which you don’t have to pay
There are cases when the management company providing services does not ensure their proper quality. For example, there is insufficient heating of residential premises, or the quality of water does not meet SanPiN standards, electricity and gas do not meet GOST standards.
If your apartment constantly experiences interruptions and shutdowns of housing and communal services, or they are provided of inadequate quality, you may not pay for this period, but be sure to request a recalculation and reduction of the amount. To determine how legal the management company’s actions are, you need to know the permitted interruption intervals established by law:
- Water must be supplied around the clock. If any breaks are taken, then no more than 4 hours a day.
- The same applies not only to the supply of hot and cold water, but also to drainage.
- Residents of apartments can remain without gas for no more than 4 hours a month.
- Depending on the ambient air temperature, heat supply to the home should last around the clock. But if technical interruptions occur, then the supply should be stopped for no more than 8-12 hours a day.
- Electricity can be turned off for no more than 2 hours a day if there are two power sources, and no more than a day if there is one power source.
If you open a cold water tap and rusty water flows out, you start draining the water. After draining the water for the fifth hour in a row, you need to film the violation and get an opinion from the management company commission.
If you refuse to carry out an inspection, you can order an independent examination from the State Housing Inspectorate.
Possible grounds for early termination of the contract
Upon expiration of the contract with the management company, property owners have the right to change the form of management of the apartment building or sign an agreement with another organization. If the customer does not notify the contractor in writing of the termination of the contract, then it is automatically renewed on the terms initially agreed upon.
Art. 162 of the RF Housing Code answers the question of whether it is possible to refuse the services of a management company before the termination of the contract at the end of the term.
Property owners have the right to unilaterally terminate contractual obligations:
- at the end of each subsequent year from the date of conclusion of the contract, if it was concluded as a result of an open competition (Part 8.1);
- with a management organization that provides low-quality work and services (Part 8.2), if the contract was concluded based on the decision of the majority of owners.
Therefore, to choose the basis for refusal, you need to find out how the service company received the apartment building for management. An organization receives an object for management if it wins an open competition (Article 161 of the RF Housing Code) or is selected by decision of a general meeting of property owners (Article 162 of the RF Housing Code).
According to Part 8 of Article 162 of the Housing Code, to terminate the management agreement for apartment buildings, the rules provided for by civil law are applied.
Change of company that won the competition
It is possible to refuse the services of a contractor who has won the results of an open competition only at the end of each year from the date of conclusion of the contract. Therefore, you need to take into account the date of signing the contract when starting the procedure.
The following algorithm of actions for owners is recommended:
- at least 45 calendar days before the end of the current year of the agreement, organize and hold a general meeting. On it, make a decision to change the form of management of the house or choose another executor;
- within no more than 5 working days, send to the Criminal Code and the housing authority of the municipal government a notice of the decision made, attaching a copy of the completed protocol;
- sign an agreement with a new management organization or draw up documentation to change the management method.
An agreement with the new management company is signed during a meeting in an apartment building. Since more than 50% of the owners must sign it.
Otherwise, despite the recorded decision, the management agreement will be considered not concluded (Part 1 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). Gathering all the owners separately for signing can be problematic.
Change of executor by decision of the general meeting
How to refuse the services of a management company if it fulfills its obligations poorly is indicated in Part 8.2 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. The concept of poor performance of obligations is defined by the Government Decree “On approval
Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building and the rules for changing the amount of payment for the maintenance of residential premises" (No. 491 of August 13, 2006).
Algorithm of actions of owners:
- document violations by the executor of the contract;
- hold a meeting of owners and vote on changing the company;
- properly formalize the decision;
- notify the housing authority and the management authority by sending a copy of the decision;
- conclude a new agreement with the selected management company or formalize a change in the management method of the apartment building.
It is important to comply with all of the above points. Otherwise, the management organization will have a reason to challenge the decision.
