Who is required to change batteries in a privatized apartment by law?

The issue of replacing batteries after the start of the heating season sometimes arises very acutely. Radiators in old houses are often in poor condition, and local services are in no hurry to carry out major repairs to the heating system. We will try to give answers to the most common questions and find out who should change old batteries in a privatized apartment.

1. If the radiator leaks, who is legally required to replace it? At whose expense is the installation and purchase of new equipment carried out?
2. If you want to install a more modern heating system in an apartment after privatization, who should do this? Do I need special permission for this?
3. Who is responsible for a leak if the neighbors are flooded with water?

To answer these questions, you need to study Russian legislation and understand the legal aspects.

Heating radiators - public or private property?

It is possible to understand who should be responsible for replacing faulty heating devices in a privatized apartment only by establishing whose ownership they are. By Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 491 in August 2006, rules were adopted regulating the composition of common property in an apartment building. According to paragraph 6 of these rules, such property includes a heating system located inside the house. It includes:

• risers;
• valves (regulating and shut-off);
• heating elements (radiators);
• general house heat energy meters;
• other types of equipment that are part of heating networks.

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Unfortunately, when situations arise regarding the replacement of heating devices in apartments, both parties interpret these rules in their own interests. Homeowners believe that since the heating system belongs to common property, then the replacement of faulty equipment should be handled by the house management organization. Housing office workers, in turn, argue that common property includes only risers and radiators that pass through several residential premises, for example those installed on staircases. When contacting utility services, residents often hear that malfunctions of all pipes and radiators located within their apartment are the problem of its owners.

Heating system MKD

At first glance, the heating system of an apartment building is not much different from the method of heating other types of housing. However, it has its own nuances. It starts with inlet valves that cut off the house from the heating main. Along the flange closest to the external wall, there is a division of the areas of responsibility of the management company and the service provider. This important point helps in due course to determine who should replace the heating in an apartment building.

In addition to batteries, bottlings and risers, the system includes:

• hot water taps on the supply and return pipelines (one or two);
• a heating elevator that supplies hotter water through a nozzle into the socket, and through a suction, takes part of the water from the return pipeline into a repeated cycle into the heating circuit. The diameter of the nozzle regulates the temperature of the mixture and radiators;
• house valves that cut off the heating circuit. In summer they are closed, in winter they are open;
• vents - valves for bypassing or draining the system and other elements.

Find out in more detail how the heating system of an apartment building functions.

Who is right: the residents or the housing office?

Due to frequent appeals to the court and the Housing and Communal Services Department, in 2007 the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation clarified the situation and reported that heating elements located in private apartments are part of the common property of the house.

It follows from this that if, due to a high degree of wear and tear or as a result of an accident, the battery leaks, it must be replaced by an organization that receives monthly money from residents in the form of contributions for major repairs and is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of home property.

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Management organizations are not interested in bringing this information to the attention of apartment owners, so residents are still forced to pay for the dismantling and installation of a new heating device, which, among other things, must be purchased independently.

Which batteries should I replace the old ones with?

In the modern heating equipment market, the most common types of radiators are:

• cast iron;
• steel;
• aluminum;
• bimetallic.

Each of these types has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

Cast iron

Who should change batteries in a privatized apartment according to Russian law?

Made from gray and durable cast iron, such radiators are still installed in many high-rise buildings as standard heating devices.

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Social tenancy agreement

Residents are not owners; replacement must be made by the Management Company at its own expense. But the management company will not change the equipment that is working. Residents also cannot do this on their own according to the law. Batteries are common property, and they can only be changed with the consent of all residents of the house.

Precautions in this matter are justified, since incorrect connection or installation of poor equipment can lead to a network accident that will affect the entire house:

• If you want to change the radiator to a new one with an improved design and high heat transfer, first of all you need to talk with representatives of the management company and coordinate your actions with them.
• There will be no obstacles if you replace old batteries with new ones of a similar design. This will not lead to any changes in the operation of the overall system.
• When installing radiators with other technical characteristics or a different configuration, expert advice is needed. It is possible that batteries of a different model may negatively affect the heating of other apartments, change the pressure in the pipes, and change the heat balance of the entire building.
• The owner of the apartment can plan not only to replace the radiators, but also to move them to another location. This is an even more global problem, the solution of which also cannot be done without examination and discussion of the issue with representatives of the Management Company.

Only an experienced and qualified specialist will be able to assess the risks and evaluate the planned work. Such an examination should be carried out at the initiative of the homeowner and at his expense.

The process of installing new batteries should be trusted to specialists from the management company or housing office; they know the system well, where it is necessary to block the work flow, and other issues. These craftsmen will be able to do the work better and more quickly than representatives of private firms and companies. Besides, there will always be someone to ask for poor quality.

Council tenants will pay for radiator repairs if there is a valve on the riser.

ATTENTION! In this case, the replacement will be classified as current repairs and, according to the social rental agreement (clause 4), it is carried out at the expense of the residents. After all, they must monitor the condition and serviceability of the equipment located inside the residential premises, and carry out ongoing repairs.

Repair and replacement of a leaking battery

We found out that the heating system is part of the common property of an apartment building and also includes radiators located in the apartments. It follows from this that, regardless of whether the area is privatized or is municipal property, the management organization, HOA or housing cooperative is obliged to repair or replace the battery, which is in disrepair . In this case, no additional payment is taken from the homeowner.

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In other words, if the battery is leaking, you need to call a house service technician, and he will replace the failed heating device free of charge.

In practice, things are not so simple. Housing office workers may claim that they do not have a replacement battery, so they will repair the old one or, even worse, remove the radiator, install plugs and ask you to wait. Since this wait can last for months, the apartment owner is simply forced to buy new equipment on his own, because no one wants to freeze in winter without heating.

There are cases when residents, without waiting for a replacement, purchase a radiator at their own expense and hope that DUK will pay them compensation. You definitely shouldn’t count on this, since even judicial practice says that the house management organization is not obliged to do this.

What to do if the management company refuses to change the batteries in the housing

Employees of the management company are required to replace batteries that have become unusable at their own expense. It is the responsibility of the management company to maintain and properly maintain the common property.

It includes:

• risers, as well as heating pipes in the entrance;
• heating elements in the apartment;
• other common property.

The work and replacement of the radiator itself are carried out exclusively at the expense of the management company. The owner is not required to pay for anything. However, if the heating system is equipped with a special tap designed to shut off, the apartment owner will have to pay for the replacement of the batteries.

However, in practice, it is very common that management company employees repair access pipes and risers, but refuse to replace batteries free of charge.

Attention! To receive a free radiator replacement service, you should write an application addressed to the head of the management company, then have it certified by a notary and submit it as soon as possible.

If the management of the management company refuses to carry out the work, a sample application certified by a notary serves as evidence in a case of negligence of management company employees.

Replacement approval

The first thing you need to do to avoid unpleasant consequences in the future is to coordinate your actions.

• When replacing radiators with similar ones, it is enough to simply notify the management organization about the upcoming work.
• When replacing batteries with a different type, which includes the possibility of different configuration and increasing the heating area, you need to contact a specialist to conduct an examination to determine the possibility of installing new batteries. This is necessary because sometimes installing other radiators has a negative impact on the heat balance of the house. The examination is paid and is carried out at the expense of the apartment owner.
• When moving heating equipment, an examination is also required.

Important! Sometimes changing the configuration of heating devices and increasing their number is perceived as re-equipping the premises with amendments to the apartment’s registration certificate. In fact, replacing the battery is not reflected in any way in the technical data sheet, since it only indicates the type of heat source without specifying specific heating devices.

Expert opinion

Anton Tsugunov

Construction expert. Entrepreneur. 17 years of experience. More than 100 completed objects.

The procedure for approving the replacement of heating radiators:

• Contacting the management company (MC, HOA, etc.) with a notification that it is planned to replace the batteries. In response to such an appeal, the management company is obliged to issue technical specifications (TS) with a detailed description of the requirements for radiators and the method of their installation.
• Contact a design organization, which, based on the specifications, will make a design with calculations of the sections of radiators to be installed.
• With the received project, you can contact the management company again. It is necessary to write a free-form application for replacement of batteries, attach to it: documents on ownership of the apartment, a copy of the technical passport for the apartment with a note on the replacement of radiators, a prepared project and a technical passport for the new radiator (if it has already been purchased).
• If it is planned to replace the radiators by a third-party organization (not the management company), then a copy of the registration certificate of this organization in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, as well as a copy of the certificate of membership in the SRO should also be attached to the application.
• Such an application will be considered within 30 days. After which the management company must issue written approval for the replacement of heating radiators.
• After receiving the approval document, you can schedule the date for replacing the batteries. To do this, you will have to contact the management company again with an application to turn off the risers and water discharge for a specific day of work.

How to file an application to the court if the management company refuses to replace radiators

If it was not possible to reach an agreement with the housing company at whose expense to replace the battery in the MKD apartment, write a statement to the court.

The law here is strict. The statement of claim is drawn up in the prescribed form, indicated in Article 131 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. A properly drafted claim will increase your chances of success.

The application is addressed to the magistrate of your district. You can find out all the information on the department’s website, you can contact the office in person or call.

The header of the application states:

• name of the judicial authority;
• information about the judge, if available;
• information about the applicant: his full name, registration address, residence, as well as contact telephone number;
• information about the defendant, in our case this is the management company (its name, full name of the director, legal address and location of the organization).

And then describe your problem. In this part, you can not skimp on color and more fully reveal the essence of the issue with which you addressed the judicial authority:

1. what do you see as a violation of your rights;
2. describe the essence of the claims;
3. how the owner tried to resolve the conflict and what he achieved;
4. responses and actions of management company employees;
5. where the owner turned for help;
6. list of requirements.

And then you need to set out the requirements that you place on the service organization: pay a bill to a third-party organization or replace the battery in the apartment. The application also records which and on how many sheets of the application you are attaching:

• photographs and video footage confirming the violation of your rights;
• examination results, invoice for expert services;
• receipts, bills for the apartment;
• other documents that, in your opinion, serve as evidence in this case.

Next is the signature and date of the document.

And together with a receipt for payment of the state duty, the entire package is sent to the court to resolve the issue at whose expense to replace the battery in the apartment.

If the amount of the claim does not exceed 50,000 rubles, then send the documents to the magistrate’s court. If its cost is higher, then go to arbitration. Similar rules are established by Article 35 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The legislation allows 30 days from the moment of registration of your application for the consideration of the case by the magistrate court and 2 months by the district court.

If the conflicting parties managed to reach an agreement before the start of the case in court, then the applicant has the right to waive the claims.

Who should be responsible for replacing heating equipment?

The apartment owner can choose one of three options.

1. Independent replacement of radiators (everywhere batteries are changed by hand, but membership in an SRO is required by law).
2. Contacting third-party specialists (must be members of the SRO).
3. Call a technician from a service organization.

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Despite the fact that employees of a private company can perform better installation of new equipment, knowledgeable people recommend calling a local specialist. This is so that in case of possible problems in the future, you will know who to contact. If an accident occurs, you will not be held responsible for poor installation of equipment that caused damage to the property of other residents.

The procedure for replacing emergency radiators through the housing office or management company

If an accident occurs in an apartment due to a leak in the heating radiators, or a pre-emergency situation occurs with a minor leak in the radiators, the homeowner must immediately notify the service company about this. This step is a mandatory component of how to replace heating batteries in an apartment through the housing office in 2021.

According to the law, in this case, the management company, housing office or homeowners association must deal with the elimination of the emergency situation with the subsequent replacement of heating devices installed in the apartment in the apartment building.

Moreover, service organizations are obliged to carry out all necessary work free of charge. This is one of the cases when free replacement of heating batteries in an apartment through the housing office is quite possible. After receiving information from the owner about the accident, in order to prevent more serious consequences, the damage should be immediately eliminated at the expense of the forces and means of the management company.

After the management company accepts the claim to replace the radiators, we can assume that the owner of the home with an emergency radiator has resolved the issue of how to change the batteries through the housing office for free.

Responsibility in an emergency

If a leaking radiator or heating pipe in an apartment floods the residents from below, the authorized organization must be responsible for the consequences if it is determined that the owner is not at fault.

Real proceedings await those who unauthorizedly changed the radiators in their apartment without approval from the relevant organization. Even if the leak was not the fault of the tenant and is not related to the installation of new equipment, utility services can make the apartment owner guilty of what happened.

In addition, even if the installation of new batteries was agreed upon, but was carried out by craftsmen not from the management company, the owner will also have to be responsible for the consequences.

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The legislative framework

Issues related to the operation and maintenance of common property, as well as the list of equipment and systems included in its composition, are regulated by and.

In view of the constant disputes about who should replace faulty radiators and other elements of the heating system in apartment buildings, the Ministry of Construction of Russia sent out a document in which it clarified whether apartment heating radiators are the common or personal property of the owners and, therefore, how heating radiators are replaced.

According to this letter and the provisions of legislative acts, the in-house heating system includes:

• risers;
• heating elements;
• shut-off and control valves;
• ODPU heat energy;
• other equipment located on these networks.

Cast iron

Good old cast iron radiators continue to be popular. If such batteries were installed in the house and it was decided to replace them with new devices made of the same material, then you will not have to spend money and time on conducting an examination before installation.

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Advantages of cast iron batteries:

• durability and reliability;
• resistance to corrosion;
• resistance to hydraulic shocks.

Flaws:

• heavy weight;
• limited design.

Cost of work

The cost of battery replacement services varies from 2 to 5 thousand rubles. The price does not include the cost of the radiators themselves, but additional services are included, such as garbage removal. Some individuals are eligible to take advantage of benefits.

These include:

• families with three or more children;
• disabled people of the second and first groups, persons raising disabled children;
• pensioners, labor veterans, WWII, home front workers.

Please note! It is difficult to obtain benefits for such services. There is a lot of paperwork to collect. In addition, contractors do not want to perform work at a reduced cost, so they do not comply with laws regarding the provision of benefits.

If the replacement is made by an employee of the management company, then the owner who falls under the category of beneficiaries has the right to receive a discount in any case. Failure to provide it is a violation.

Steel

Batteries made of steel can be of two types:

• sectional;
• panel.

Advantages of such radiators:

• long service life;
• ability to withstand high operating pressure - 16 atmospheres.

Flaws:

• low resistance to hydraulic shocks or mechanical stress.

Anton Tsugunov , I have been doing repairs and finishing since 2003.

I buy steel radiators online from Leroy Merlin. I also take all the necessary fittings and pipes. I order delivery to the address where I will perform the installation. I don’t waste time and energy standing in traffic jams and queues.

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Main features of the process

During operation, batteries wear out and require replacement for better operation of the heating system.
But radiators, as common property, are to be replaced in the apartment at whose expense. The management company may not consider such work necessary, and by law, the ability to independently repair common property is limited. How to change the heating in this case?

ATTENTION! If you need to change the heating elements in your apartment yourself or equip it with improved batteries, this can only be done with the consent of all owners of the apartment building.

Now apartment owners are carrying out large-scale work to improve their homes, changing the layout, location of the plumbing and heating systems in the room.

Installation of new radiators without the consent of the remaining residents of a multi-story building is considered arbitrariness. The violator may even be held accountable, especially if the heating operation is disrupted or its quality has decreased.

In the event of a leak in a pipe or battery, the replacement is mandatory by the management company . Also, at the expense of the management company, the heating system is modernized if its service life has expired.

Aluminum

Devices of this type may vary in functionality and form.

Advantages of aluminum batteries:

• variety of product options;
• light weight, allowing installation of radiators alone;
• quick response to changes in coolant temperature.

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Flaws:

• the need for air removal;
• inadmissibility of contact with other metals due to the threat of destruction due to a chemical reaction.

Anton Tsugunov , I have been doing repairs and finishing since 2003.

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Replacing a radiator in a council house

the owner of the premises must replace the batteries due to leakage, poor heat transfer or wear .
Residents should know who owns the house and who maintains it. The tenant, who is living in a municipal apartment, should not spend his savings on repair work, this is established by law.

If craftsmen from the housing office demand money for installing new batteries, this may be considered extortion , a violation of Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006.

Another document is the Housing Code of the Russian Federation . According to Article 65, the landlord of residential premises providing apartments under a social tenancy agreement must ensure proper maintenance and repair of common property.

Answers to questions on the topic

Where to turn if a new battery bursts due to improper installation?

First you need to remember who installed the radiator . If the installation of the heating device was carried out by a specialist from a service company, then you need to contact them there.

If this was done by a master from a third-party organization, then you should file a complaint with this authority. If justice or truth cannot be achieved, then you can go to court.

Do I need to change the technical data sheet when replacing the battery in an apartment?

According to Art.
25 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, replacement, transfer or installation of utility networks, sanitary equipment requires amendments to the technical passport. But when replacing batteries, this is not necessary, since according to Instructions on housing inventory registration No. 37 dated 08/04/98, the data sheet does not include data on the presence of heating appliances.

Therefore, even when moving the heating device, the technical data sheet does not need to be changed.

Who can you trust to install new batteries?

It is best to use the services of a management company, but if the owner does not want to go there, then he can find a third-party company whose employees will quickly and correctly do this work.

But when choosing a particular company, it is important to check if the organization has the appropriate licenses and certificates to carry out such work.

If there are no documents, then it is better to continue the search than to later sue the company because of which the battery burst, burst, fell, caused damage to the owner, neighbors, etc.

At whose expense is the replacement of batteries in a municipal apartment carried out?

In municipal housing, replacement of batteries is always carried out at the expense of the administration, since the owner of the housing in this case is the municipality. Therefore, residents’ expenses for replacing the radiator are subject to reimbursement by the administration.

At whose expense are heating radiators replaced in an apartment that has been privatized?

If there is a need to replace the battery as a result of wear or an accident (a pipe has leaked), then the organization servicing the house must replace it.
Moreover, it is she who must bear the financial costs associated with replacing the radiator.

However, the situation in 2021 is such that management companies are not interested in people knowing about their rights, that they can install and dismantle worn-out pipes at the expense of the service organization, and not pay money from their own pockets.

If the owner of the apartment wants to replace the battery for the reason that the old radiator does not fit into his new interior, while the heating device has not yet worn out, then he will have to carry out the replacement from his own pocket.

Who is responsible for a battery failure and flooding of neighbors?

If, as a result of a battery break, the neighbors in the apartment were flooded, then the management company will have to be responsible for the consequences and compensate for losses, but on the condition that the owner is not to blame for what happened.

If the owner independently changed the battery without approval, and it burst over time, then the responsibility will lie entirely with him.

But even if the installation was agreed upon with the management company, and the dismantling of the old battery and installation of a new one was carried out by a master from a private company, then the owner will also be responsible for the consequences of what happened.

If you know how to replace heating batteries in an apartment, then you should not rush and install new radiators . If the shelf life of the heating device has come to an end, then you have every right to submit an application to the service organization and request that they replace the batteries at the expense of this organization.

If the owner wants to change the battery because it does not suit him for some characteristics or external parameters, then in this case he must understand that all costs associated with the purchase of new batteries and their installation will fall on his shoulders.