How to reduce rent: ways to save on housing and communal services (housing and communal services)

General Tips

Installing lever faucets can save water because it takes longer and uses more water to set the temperature with a two-valve system.
Due to faucet leaks, several hundred liters of water can be lost per month, so it is worth taking care of the condition of the plumbing and calling a specialist if any faults are detected.
Owners of cast iron batteries can call a plumber for free to clean them in the summer.
The batteries can be equipped with control valves to control the amount of heat energy supplied, thereby saving it whenever possible.
Due to poor insulation of pipes in boiler rooms and basements of houses, a lot of heat energy is lost. Having secured the consent of all residents of the house, you can contact the management company and the contractor to install a common house meter, which can save up to 30% of heat energy.
When purchasing new household appliances, you should choose economical class “A” models, as they consume less electricity.
Maintaining your refrigerator is also a way to save money, since a freezer with ice frozen on it uses more electricity.
To save up to 30% of electricity in the apartment, you can install automated motion control sensors that control electric lighting.
When going on vacation, to avoid wasting resources, you should unplug all electrical appliances. For more efficient savings, you can turn off water and electricity.
When paying for housing and communal services, you should carefully check receipts to avoid unnecessary expenses.

If an error is discovered, you need to contact the appropriate organization that issues the receipt, and, if necessary, the state housing inspectorate, which checks the correctness of the calculation of the amount of payment for housing and communal services.

Subsidies

Benefited categories of the population may end up receiving a reduced amount on their pay stub, but with a subsidy the approach is completely different. If a family spends more than a specific percentage of total income on bills, it is entitled to financial support from the state. In this case, the required amount is received directly into your hands, and not through the provision of a discount. At the same time, the purpose of the money is not indicated: you can spend it on housing and communal services payments or other needs.

The right to apply for financial support from the state is fixed in Article 159 of the Housing Code. In this case, you should make an appointment with the authorities that accept housing and communal services payments.

Attention! Not only homeowners, but also tenants can apply for a subsidy.

The specific conditions for providing financial assistance depend on local authorities. Factors that influence the allocation of subsidies: regional standards for living space, local standards for utility bills, the specified share of expenses from the total family income.

Counters

Individual meters are devices that measure and take into account the amount of resources supplied to the apartment (water, electricity, gas). By installing them, the consumer will be able to pay for housing and communal services at reduced rates, without overpaying for what he does not use.

To install a water meter you should:

Contact the management company at your place of residence to obtain the necessary documents (technical installation conditions, water supply diagrams).
Purchase meters depending on how many risers (stop taps) are in the apartment.
Install meters by contacting specialists.
Draw up a tripartite act for putting meters into operation (the document is signed by the installer, the owner of the living space and a representative of the management company).
Conclude an agreement with the management company to pay for water according to meters.

To install an electricity meter you should:

Contact any organization that installs electricity meters.
Purchase and install a multi-tariff meter (unlike a regular one, it takes into account the time of day).
Contact the energy supply or energy sales organization that services the house to seal the meter (you can determine the required organization from the management company).
Conclude an agreement with the management company to pay for electricity by meters.

To install a gas meter you should:

Submit an application to an organization that has a license to install gas meters (in Moscow - Mosgaz).
Pay for the installation of the meter by a specialist (during installation, it may be necessary to rearrange gas appliances or change the intra-apartment gas distribution).
Contact a representative of the gas supplier to seal the meter and take readings.

Recalculation

You can submit papers to adjust the amount of utility bills if the provision of services is poor. The legal basis is significant interruptions, systematic breakdowns and poor quality of services. For example, if there is no debt, houses should have constant hot and cold water.

According to accepted standards of water supply, it must be uninterrupted, regular and around the clock. At the same time, there are acceptable breaks - approximately 8 hours in total for 1 month, but no more than 4 hours in one day. For example, if the population is left without water longer than expected, the payment to housing and communal services should be significantly less. Deviations in the pressure standards inside the pipes, water quality and temperature are also unacceptable (water should “run” no colder than 50°C along the hot branches of the pipes).

Attention! If any discrepancy is detected, the emergency control service should be immediately reported.

In this case, an employee of the organization must put a special mark to take into account the application from the consumer. In the future, such a designation may be the basis for confirming the fact of improper provision of services.

In practice, achieving success and proving your case in such situations can be difficult, but possible. For a positive outcome of the situation, problems should be reported as quickly as possible; it is better if several residents of the same high-rise building call.

You can also recalculate if you were away from the apartment for more than 5 days. To do this, you must have a number of documents to confirm your departure. Having the papers, you can submit an application and recalculate payments for basic and additional housing and communal services payments. Such actions must be taken no later than 30 days from the date of departure. If the trip from home is planned, you can prepare in advance and notify the utility company.

List of documents that can confirm the right to recalculation upon departure:

travel tickets and accommodation/hotel reservations;
a certificate from the medical institution where inpatient treatment was carried out;
business trip certificate;
a note about registration at another place of residence and others.

Copies of available documents must be attached to the completed application. After an official review of the papers, the government agency is obliged to communicate its decision.

What should be

To determine the amount of reduction in fees for the maintenance and repair of residential premises, it is necessary that tabs with a list of works and services, planning and recording of works and services be filled out.

Let's consider an algorithm for reducing the amount of fees for the maintenance and repair of residential premises using the example of the work “Washing staircases and flights”. Let’s imagine that the cost of cleaning one square meter is 12.4 rubles, the cleaning area is 320 m2, cleaning is performed weekly, a total of 52 times a year. The cost of the service per year is 206,336 rubles.

Uploading payment documents to GIS Housing and Communal Services in five steps
27588
0

Radio point and antenna

Many citizens still spend money on housing and communal services that they have not used for a long time.

The radio station, which is equipped in every house (except for new buildings), is designed to notify residents of emergency situations. Today, SMS alerts are in effect, but they are still found on many utility receipts. Consumers have the right to turn it off by contacting the management company, the district office of the engineering services department or the city radio broadcast center.

Cable and satellite television have long replaced the need for a communal television antenna, which some residents still pay for. To disconnect the antenna, you need to write a statement and contact the management company.

Privileges

If payments for housing and communal services have increased, you need to find out about possible benefits that apply to your family. If they meet a certain category, people will receive a discount on housing and communal services (utility bills). Not every beneficiary can find out about reduced housing and communal services payments and exercise their rights, which are defined by law, due to a lack of information.

Important! The difficulty is that there is no single document indicating the complete list of beneficiaries. The very concept of benefits under the Housing Code is also blurred, so many continue to use installment payments for housing and communal services.

However, in practice, there are existing discounts for certain categories of the population. Benefits for housing and communal services payments should be accrued for:

disabled people of various groups and parents with children who have disabilities;
orphans under 18 years of age;
large families (3 or more children).

Detailed information about preferential opportunities can be found in individual laws on social protection of certain categories of the population. Also, notes on discounts on payments for housing and communal services are presented in federal and regional regulations. For example, for Muscovites there is a certain act on social support for city residents.

Important! With the help of a discounted price for paying online or on site for housing and communal services payments, you can save up to 30–50% of the total amount. At the same time, late payments for housing and communal services are not allowed, as one of the important conditions for using preferential conditions.

At special rates, the state can provide discounts only for one apartment/house and for one category. If citizens fall into several categories at once, they should choose only one, the most beneficial for them.

Energy-saving lamps

Using energy-saving lamps you can save up to 75% of electricity. They shine the same way as incandescent lamps, but consume several times less energy and last much longer. For example, a 20-watt energy-saving lamp shines the same way as a regular 100-watt lamp. There are two types of energy-saving lamps - fluorescent and LED, which can work properly for up to six years. There are several light temperatures of lamps:

from 2700 to 3500 Kelvin - warm yellow light;
from 4000 to 5000 Kelvin - cool white light;
from 6000 Kelvin - daylight.