Application to the management company - samples of applications, claims for 2021

It is the responsibility of every citizen who uses housing and communal services to pay for them. Most citizens do not pay due attention to incoming payments and pay the receipt without checking them, and housing and communal services employees very often provide incorrect data and demand payment for services in a larger volume than they were provided. If you notice errors in the calculations, then you need to contact the housing and communal services representative with a request to recalculate, and if a refusal is received, you can complain to the prosecutor's office.

In this article we will tell you how to complain to the prosecutor’s office about housing and communal services, but before that you need to consider a sample complaint and in what cases you can send a complaint.

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The legislative framework

The utility services sector is regulated by many legal acts, from federal laws to sanitary and technical standards that contain requirements for individual services. General issues of housing and communal services are regulated by the following regulations:

Housing Code of the Russian Federation;
Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 “On the protection of consumer rights”;
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354 “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” dated May 6, 2011 No. 354 (hereinafter referred to as RF PP No. 354);
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 15, 2013 No. 416 “On the procedure for carrying out activities for managing apartment buildings” (hereinafter referred to as RF PP No. 416);
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006 No. 491 “On approval of the rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building and the rules for changing the amount of fees for the maintenance and repair of residential premises in the case of the provision of services and performance of work on the management, maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building of improper quality” quality and (or) with interruptions exceeding the established duration.”

Types of violations

In relation to organizations and entrepreneurs, errors are associated with the illegal imposition of fines, violation of legislation on the procurement and supply of goods for state and municipal needs, abuse of authority, incorrect interpretation of laws and regulations, and restrictions on economic rights.

In relation to individuals, the administration often delays the consideration of requests and letters, violates the order of distribution of housing stock, illegally excludes people from the social queue, takes illegal actions and covers up for officials.

What questions can you contact the Criminal Code?

To understand whether the management company can resolve a specific issue, you should find out whether it falls within the competence of the management company. According to Part 2 of Art. 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the management company undertakes:

perform work and (or) provide services for managing an apartment building;
provide services and perform work on proper maintenance, current and major repairs of common property;
provide utility services: for example, cleaning entrances and local areas, carrying out landscaping work;
ensure the readiness of engineering systems: carry out scheduled inspections and, if necessary, repair them, install meters;
carry out other activities aimed at achieving the goals of managing an apartment building: carry out insulation of walls, control over the process of capital renovation and other responsibilities that may be established by an agreement for the management of an apartment building (MKD).

Accordingly, you can write a complaint to the management company in the following cases:

incorrect calculation of utility bills was made;
the services provided for in the MKD agreement were provided improperly or were not provided at all. For example, the entrance is not washed according to schedule, burnt-out lamps are not replaced;
poor quality of utility services: low hot water temperature, power outages, untimely heating connection, etc. For example, you can write a heating complaint to the management company.
no current or major repairs are carried out;
the condition of engineering systems and house communications is not monitored;
the maintenance of common property does not meet sanitary standards: there are cockroaches or rodents, it is too dirty, etc. In these cases, a complaint is filed regarding the maintenance of the entrance.

Important! The management company does not have the right to unilaterally increase tariffs for house maintenance, introduce additional fees, reduce the scope of services provided, or otherwise change the terms of the apartment management agreement. All these issues should be submitted to the general meeting of owners of apartment buildings.

In addition to appeals arising from the management agreement for apartment buildings, residents can submit the following appeals to the management company:

complaints about the actions or inaction of management company employees: cleaners, janitors, engineers, electricians, etc.;
complaints about harm to the life or health of residents, property damage in common areas or in the local area: snow and icicles falling on cars, injuries resulting from a fall on a slippery porch, etc.;
requests for information. The list of information that the management company is obliged to provide upon request is contained in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2010 No. 731 “On approval of the standard for information disclosure by organizations operating in the field of management of apartment buildings.” In particular, this is information about the income received by the company, work plans, as well as compliance of the quality of services provided with state or other standards;
application for commissioning of individual metering devices.

How to correctly write a claim for a defective product and a refund?

How and where to complain about the management company or housing and communal services? Step-by-step instruction

Preparation of evidence

Particular attention should be paid to the preparation of evidence confirming the fact of violation of rights by the property owner. A list of violations by housing and communal services should be compiled in advance, and the violation should be supported by a reference to the violated legal norms. It would be a good idea to contact a lawyer who will help identify violations and indicate which documents will be evidence of violations.

Not only witness statements, but also other documents can be used as evidence. An agreement with housing and communal services and receipts with incorrect calculations will be enough to bring violators to justice. The prosecutor's office will check the data in the receipts for compliance with the internal documentation of the organization, and if violations are identified, they will demand that they be eliminated.

If the basis for the appeal is repairs and overestimation of its cost, then an estimate should be provided as evidence, which can be requested from the company that carried out the repairs. Identification of inconsistencies in the estimate and inflated cost of repairs will be grounds for initiating a criminal case.

Terms of consideration

Depending on the subject of the appeal, the legislation establishes different deadlines for the Criminal Code to make a decision on the application.
These deadlines can be found in Government Decree No. 354. If these deadlines are violated, you can complain to higher authorities. Applications are considered immediately or within 24 hours (clause 31 of the RF PP No. 354):

on recalculation of utility bills;
on obtaining readings from public meters;
about violation of the quality of provision of public services;
on drawing up a report on the damage caused;
requests for information about the organization.

Within 2 working days, an application to change the amount of payment for the maintenance of residential premises is considered when providing services and performing work on the management, maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building of inadequate quality and (or) with interruptions exceeding the established duration (clauses 8, 9 of the PP RF No. 491).

Within 3 working days (clause 31 of RF PP No. 354):

application for information on the volume of consumed utilities;
application for putting an individual metering device into operation;
request to receive a copy of the acts drawn up in relation to the applicant.

Within 5 working days (clause 91 of the RF PP No. 354), the application is considered:

on recalculation of the amount of payment for utility services during the period of temporary absence of the consumer;
on providing information on the list and frequency of work and services.

Within 10 working days (clause 31 of RF PP No. 354, clause 36 RF PP No. 416):

application for verification of the condition of individual, common (apartment) metering devices, distributors;
requests for other information.

Within 30 calendar days the following will be considered:

individual or collective request (appeal) of persons who are not the owners or users of premises in the apartment building.

Grounds for refusal

There is a list of grounds for refusing to consider a complaint about housing and communal services to the prosecutor's office. The complaint will remain unanswered if:

The applicant did not disclose his identity;
Consideration of the submitted appeal is not the responsibility of the prosecutor's office;
Use of obscene language;
The demands have no basis.

Do not confuse refusal to consider a complaint with cases when the application is returned to the applicant. Sometimes the prosecutor requires additional information and the application is returned to ensure that all necessary information is provided.

The application is sent to the applicant if:

It does not reflect all the necessary information;
There is not enough evidence to confirm the violation of citizens' rights;
It is impossible to make out the essence of the statement due to illegible handwriting;
There are marks on the paper or it has been damaged.

Where to appeal?

If the management company acts unlawfully, violates the terms of the apartment management agreement, ignores claims or refuses demands, it is necessary to write a complaint to the regulatory government authorities. This document is drawn up similarly to an application to the Criminal Code, but additionally contains information about violations committed by the Criminal Code. For complaints to government bodies, a single review period has been established: 30 calendar days.

You can read more about a complaint against a management company or housing and communal services in our article.

Rospotrebnadzor

The provision of housing and communal services is subject to legislation on the protection of consumer rights. Therefore, you can file a complaint against the Criminal Code with Rospotrebnadzor. This body verifies the circumstances stated in the complaint. If violations are detected, he can issue an order to the organization to eliminate them.

Examples of circumstances that give rise to contacting Rospotrebnadzor:

the MKD management agreement contains conditions that violate consumer protection laws;
The management company provides false information about the services provided;
unjustified changes in tariffs by the management company.

You can call the department, come to a personal appointment, or send a complaint to the Criminal Code by mail. The telephone number and address of the regional office of Rospotrebnadzor can be found on the website ХХ.rospotrebnadzor.ru, where ХХ is the region number, for example, 22.rospotrebnadzor.ru. On the same website you can leave a request electronically (authorization through State Services will be required).

Sample complaint:

Sample complaint

State Housing Inspectorate (GZHI)

The responsibilities of the GZHI include monitoring compliance with housing legislation, in particular ensuring the rights of citizens when providing them with housing and utility services. Therefore, it is advisable for GZHI to file a claim with the management company for maintaining the house. This body is unlikely to help in financial disputes with the management company.

Contacts of the regional inspection can be found on the official website of the head of the region. For example, contacts of the State Property Committee of Moscow can be found here. You can submit a complaint in person, through an electronic reception, by mail or through the GIS Housing and Communal Services service.

Sample complaint:

Sample application

Prosecutor's office

It is most advisable to contact this authority in case of controversial financial issues (illegal charges, etc.) and in other cases of gross violation of current Russian legislation (refusal to issue documentation or failure to provide information, etc.).

You should write a written appeal to the prosecutor's office and send it by mail or take it personally to the prosecutor at your place of residence. You can find the nearest prosecutor's office using the Prosecutor General's Office website.

If the water utility’s offense is not criminal in nature, you can write to the online reception of the prosecutor’s office.

Sample application:

Sample application

Court

As a rule, control authorities, if necessary, initiate recourse to court. However, if this does not happen, the violated rights are not restored, and the losses are not compensated, you can go to court yourself. To do this, you need to draw up a statement of claim based on a previously drawn up appeal.

It should be noted that, depending on the situation, the following requirements arising from the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” can be additionally included in the claim:

on the payment of a penalty in the amount of three percent of the price of the service for each day of delay and its calculation (Article 28 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”);
on the payment of interest for the use of other people's funds in accordance with Art. 395 Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
on reimbursement of legal expenses if the plaintiff applied for paid legal assistance;
on compensation for moral damage. The court may award monetary damages to compensate the plaintiff for his emotional distress.

Important! These requirements can only be presented if there is a pre-trial claim to the management company.

In addition, when satisfying the plaintiff’s property claims, the court also orders a fine from the executor in the amount of 50% of the claim price for untimely fulfillment of the consumer’s requirements.

The state fee for going to court in cases of consumer rights protection is not paid. If an application of a non-property nature is submitted (for example, about providing false information), a state fee of 300 rubles is paid.

The statement of claim can be submitted to the court in person or sent by mail.

Sample claim:

Sample claim

Who has the right to file a complaint against housing and communal services?

In order to consider an application to the prosecutor's office, you must adhere to certain requirements. It is worth understanding that the circle of people who have the right to file a complaint has some restrictions. All home owners whose rights have been violated can complain to housing and communal services. This right also

Persons living in the house on a permanent basis;
Citizens registered in the house, but temporarily residing elsewhere;
Apartment owners living elsewhere;
Organizations and individual entrepreneurs who own residential space.

It is worth recalling that citizens living in an apartment under a lease agreement do not have the right to file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office regarding housing and communal services, since they are not the owners of the living space.