Can the chairman of SNT turn off electricity for non-payment of utility bills and fees in 2021 - legality of actions, procedure for appealing illegal power outages

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Does the SNT board have the right to turn off electricity to members for debts?

Since 2021, amendments to the “Rules for complete or partial restrictions on the consumption of electrical energy” have come into force. This regulatory act establishes the basis for the relationship between the management organization and the consumer related to power outages.

Important! According to the new rules, SNT has the right to cut off power to a garden plot if the subscriber has not only arrears in paying for electricity, but also in arrears in paying membership fees. This is possible if the contribution includes payment for electricity for the general needs of the community and compensation for energy losses.

How to register country houses in SNT?

What will happen to an illegal connection to electricity, read here.

How to arrange an individual payment for electricity in SNT, read the link:

What is considered debt?

The law contains the concept of “incomplete payment for services”. They talk about it when the consumer has a debt of two months' rent (the average monthly fee is calculated from the consumption standard, installed meters do not affect it).

If the consumer pays for the services provided (this means all services: for example, one receipt may include a bill for heat and electricity) partially, then the amount received is distributed among all categories of services in proportion to the cost of each. The unpaid portion is counted as debt.

Once the amount owed exceeds two months' average payments, the utility provider may impose certain “sanctions,” including limiting the supply of electricity.

Procedure for turning off electricity for non-payment

SNT has the right to disconnect the consumer from electricity if there is a debt in the amount of two standards. Please note that regulations vary by region. Their size needs to be clarified.

After the formation of a debt, SNT is obliged to notify the consumer of the need to pay a fee, otherwise the garden plot will be de-energized.

In 2021, new notification rules came into effect, making the procedure for management organizations and SNTs easier. There is no longer a need to obtain the consumer's personal signature on the notice. It can be sent via email or through your personal account in a special GIS housing and communal services system.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

When can you protest

If the power is turned off without notice, what should you do? Under what circumstances would an energy company's actions be considered illegal? There is a strict procedure for the supplier to act in a situation where a consumer is disconnected from the network.

The actions of an energy sales company may be recognized as illegal under the following conditions:

1. If the electricity was turned off when there were no debts.
2. If the shutdown is made without notification of upcoming work.

How should the subscriber be notified?

The main factor for the correct implementation of the de-energization procedure is sending a notification. Changes to the law in 2021 have expanded the options for proper notice.

SNT can send a letter of claim in the following ways:

• personal transfer of the subscriber with receipt of a receipt;
• mailing by registered mail with notification;
• placing a notice on the payment receipt form;
• telephone conversation with a subscriber recorded on electronic media;
• sending a letter by email;
• sending a notification through the consumer’s personal account in the GIS housing and communal services system;
• others.

From the moment the claim is received, the payer is given a twenty-day period to repay the debt.

Electric power industry

At the same time, SNT members (ideally) should be billed two amounts for electricity. The first is calculated based on the current electricity tariff in the region and the volume of its consumption according to the meter. The second is a special contribution to cover losses in the partnership’s networks and consumption for general needs (from it, in fact, the unaccounted consumption of electricity by unscrupulous members of the partnership is also paid for).

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Electricity in SNT: how should the payment system be structured?

Members of SNT, as well as owners of plots on the territory of SNT who conduct individual farming, but are not members of the partnership (we will henceforth call them “individuals”) usually, if they were disconnected from electricity, wrote statements to the prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor's office, seeing an obvious violation of the law in the form of that very “arbitrariness” on the part of the chairman (board) of SNT, quickly responded. The result was an order to the chairman to restore power supply.

Conclusion: debt on contributions, if the gardener has one, SNT can be recovered in court. Along with the amount of the principal debt, interest for the use of other people's funds and legal expenses are subject to collection. Therefore, SNT should not turn off electricity for non-payment, especially since such actions can be challenged. It is better for SNT to solve the problem in a legal way.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that in accordance with paragraphs. 1 item 2 art. 19 of the Federal Law of July 29, 2017 No. 217-FZ “On the conduct of gardening and vegetable gardening by citizens for their own needs and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation”, a member of a gardening, gardening or dacha non-profit association is obliged to bear the burden of maintaining the land plot and the burden of responsibility for violation of the law.

According to para. 4 p. 2 tbsp. 8 of the Federal Law of July 29, 2017 No. 217-FZ “On the conduct of gardening and vegetable gardening by citizens for their own needs and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” the amount of fees for the use of infrastructure facilities and other common property of a horticultural, gardening or dacha non-profit association for citizens engaged in gardening, vegetable gardening or dacha farming on an individual basis, provided that they make contributions for the acquisition (creation) of the specified property, it cannot exceed the amount of payment for the use of the specified property for members of such an association.

Before taking decisive action, the chairman must notify the defaulter of the existing debt. To do this, you will need to send a pre-trial claim to the gardener. You can do this in two ways:

• hand it over personally and take a receipt from the gardener;
• send by registered mail with notification.

What penalties can be imposed on violators?

The new rules do not establish a specific amount of debt, after the accumulation of which it is possible to limit and suspend the supply of the resource. The legislator is limited to only two standards.

Please note! If SNT commits violations in the disconnection procedure, then it is subject to administrative punishment in the form of a fine:

• for officials – from 10,000 to 100,000 rubles;
• for legal entities – from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles.

Going to court

Before going to court, you must first go through other authorities. A consumer who is disconnected from light must first send a request to SNT management to restore the power supply. If this guide does not solve the problem, you should collect the necessary documents, evidence of illegal termination of supplies, and only then go to court.

How is a lawsuit filed? The SNT participant must indicate certain data in the document:

1. Full name of SNT, registration address, details of the defendant, plaintiff.
2. The title of this document.
3. The problem is described.
4. The legal norms that were violated by the defendant are indicated.
5. A request or demand is made to restore the electricity supply to the house.
6. A list of documents that are attached to the claim is given.
7. The claim must be signed and numbered.

What to do if your garden house is illegally cut off from electricity

If you find that your gardening area is without power, you must take the following steps:

• find out the reasons for the shutdown. This can be done by contacting neighbors, watchmen, or the SNT board;
• complain about illegal restrictions on the supply of electricity to the police department serving the area. In the application, indicate all SNT data and facts confirming the illegality of the imposed measures;
• file a lawsuit for illegal restriction or suspension of electricity supply. You can prepare it yourself or seek advice from professional lawyers.

Is it legal

SNT is understood as a gardening non-profit partnership. The law establishes that the legality of creating such an organization is determined by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This form of education is a legal entity, and, accordingly, the beginning of its validity is determined by the moment of state registration.

SNT can act both on the basis of the charter and a collective agreement between the owners of summer cottages and houses.

Shutting off the electricity we all need so much will be legal only in situations where there are exceptional grounds for doing so. ⇐

The right to take administrative actions regarding the supply or termination of electricity supply to the partnership is vested only in the energy sales organization (for example, Mosenergosbyt), with which the partnership has concluded an agreement.

Disputes arise over the cutting off of electricity by the ruling assembly or the chairman of the SNT. These subjects in no way have the right to these administrative actions!

For non-payment of electricity

Turning off the electricity to debtor citizens can only take place if their debt arose as a result of non-payment of electricity debts to the company supplying this service. This decision is made by the energy sales organization. A reasoned decision is made on this matter. Disabling occurs by performing the following sequential actions:

1. Identification of non-payment.
2. Submitting a demand for repayment of the debt amount.
3. Power outage warning.
4. Direct shutdown.

As noted above, only firms engaged in the supply of electricity have the right to these actions. Unauthorized disconnection of non-paying customers from electricity in a gardening partnership is illegal. In this case, the person whose rights were violated has the right to file a statement of claim in court!

For non-payment of contributions to SNT

Judicial practice shows that very often disputes arise over turning off electricity for non-payment of mandatory contributions to the NST, DNT, etc. Many people wonder what to do if your electricity was turned off by decision of the ruling elite of horticulture and how to deal with it.

Citizens need to remember that only a specialized organization has the right to make a decision to stop the supply of energy. They are the ones who can turn off the lights for non-payment, during the planned period, etc.

Gardening can only stop supplying electricity to houses, for example, according to a certain schedule, in winter. All this should be done only with the mutual consent of all participants in the partnership.

In the event of an accident, the SNT board may carry out a so-called emergency shutdown of power supply to the sites. This is necessary in order to protect the property and lives of the members of the partnership.

The rules for lawfully limiting the supply of electricity must be specified in the constituent documentation of a non-profit organization. ⇐ Despite this , as we wrote above,

In winter

If we are talking about country houses, then it is understood that they are seasonal housing and are not suitable for permanent residence. Therefore, many people leave their plots of land in winter and return to them only in the spring. In this case, there is no need to supply electricity to the plots. As a rule, the cessation of electricity supply in winter occurs by decision of the SNT board and by agreement with the energy sales organization.

Such a disconnection will be legal if all owners included in the partnership have expressed their consent to this.

Act on power outages in SNT

Restriction and suspension of electricity supply is formalized by a disconnection act. This document is prepared exclusively in simple written form. Any other type of deed makes it invalid.

Attention! Regardless of the organization issuing it, the following data must be indicated in the act:

• the name of the organization that issued it;
• Title of the document;
• date and time of drawing up the act;
• the reasons for the shutdown, specifying the areas to which the energy supply is limited;
• methods and expected timing of resumption of electricity supply;
• signature of the person who drew up the act.

Documents specifying the blackout are attached to the act. For example, a SNT plan indicating de-energized areas and energy supply routes. At the request of the person drawing up the act, other information related to the procedure can be added.

ATTENTION! View the completed sample power outage report:

Are there legal grounds, in what cases?

Disconnection from power supply will be illegal if:

• there is no payment arrears;
• disconnection was used as a way to force a member of the partnership or the entire SNT as a whole to perform actions not provided for by the terms of the contract;
• the procedure for suspending the provision of services was violated, for example, the consumer was not informed in advance about the power outage;
• a seriously ill person lives in a country house, whose vital functions are provided by electrical appliances;
• The repair period has been exceeded.

In order to prove the unfoundedness of the disconnection, it is necessary to prepare supporting documents. The legal grounds for disconnection are :

• repair;
• accident;
• payment arrears;
• change of service provider.

Who has such authority?

1. If there is a decision of a judicial authority presented by a bailiff.
2. If violations of the points specified in the contract are detected regarding light consumption - time of use, connection to the common system without a contract or without permission.
3. The end of the resource supply period.

Legality

If the company is going to limit the supply of electricity, this must be communicated personally to the defaulter. In another situation, limiting the supply of resources will be illegal.

When managing SNT’s electrical facilities, questions always arose: “What to do if the consumer does not pay for the electricity consumed?”, “Is it possible to turn off/limit the consumer’s power?”, “How to follow the shutdown/limitation procedure so that everything is legal?” etc. Until recently, there was no clear answer to this question, and numerous disputes were resolved in the courts with mixed results. But, everything has changed. On November 10, 2021, “The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation signed Resolution No. 1351 “On amendments to certain Acts of the Government of the Russian Federation on increasing the accessibility of energy infrastructure in relation to certain consumer groups.”