How to recalculate utility bills?

Grounds for recalculation for utilities

Temporary absence of residents - if the residents of the house or apartment were absent from the serviced premises for 5 or more days.
Poor quality provision of housing and communal services - you need to provide evidence of such a violation; for this, specialists are invited who measure water pressure, temperature, current strength or other necessary indicators.
Complete absence of housing and communal services - if you pay utilities honestly and on time and are faced with their disconnection at a time higher than the norm established by law, you can demand a recalculation.

The procedure for recalculating utility bills

Recalculation of utilities in case of temporary absence

It is better to notify the management company or other housing and communal services provider in advance about your departure and provide the relevant documents - tickets, hotel reservations.

No counters. They will do it only if it is technically impossible to install metering devices in the house. If your home does not fall into this category and you have not yet installed meters, you will be denied recalculation. If there is no technical capability to install metering devices, ask for a document confirming this fact from your utility service provider and add it to the package of other papers.

According to the counters. If you have metering devices, no special recalculation is required - the devices will record data for days of absence.

What services are not subject to recalculation? You will still have to pay for some types of services, even if you have proven that you have not lived at home for more than 5 days:

garbage removal;
elevator operation;
maintenance of an apartment building;
gas supply for heating purposes;
drainage separate from water supply;
heating of residential premises.

Recalculation for low-quality utilities

You can request a recalculation procedure if you are dissatisfied with the quality of housing and communal services - for example, low hot water temperature or an excessively long absence. To do this, experts are invited to measure:

for electricity - voltage, current;
for hot and cold water supply - pressure and temperature according to standards, chemical composition, hardness, appearance.

If the indicators deviate from the norm, you can apply for recalculation based on an examination.

Features of recalculation for heating. If there is a complete shutdown or the temperature is below standards, you can challenge charges for poor-quality services only through the court. Your application will be denied if:

in an apartment or house, heat loss occurs due to the poor quality of door or window units - but if the heat transfer of the heating devices themselves is low, this can be disputed;
air locks in the risers - but if you don’t let the housing office employees in to eliminate them, they will refuse you;
you have old radiators or do not heat up due to blockages - if the temperature in the risers is normal, and the radiator in the room does not heat up, you will need to solve this issue yourself by replacing the equipment in your home.

If everything is in order with the quality of the appliances, and the temperature in the apartment is below the required level, you can demand a reduction in heating fees. To do this, invite an initiative group of residents or a special commission and:

calculate the difference between the normalized and actual temperature;
record the time when the temperature was below normal;
each hour of deviation reduces the payment by 0.15% of the monthly fee per degree; the monthly fee must be multiplied by 0.15%, by the number of hours of deviation, by its value.

Consider day and night rates separately - they have different rates.

Legal regulation and grounds for recalculation of hot water supply and hot water supply

In order to validly file an application, you need to know the relevant legislative norms. Issues of payment for utility services are regulated by several acts. The most detailed procedure is specified in Resolution 354.

Government Decree No. 354

Rules for the provision of utility services (PP No. 354) dated May 6, 2011.

It contains the following provisions:

terms of use;
rights and obligations of the owner, as well as the organization providing services;
payment order;
cases of recognition of housing and communal services as low-quality, including facts of violation of their provision;
features associated with the use of a central cold water and hot water system, or a separate column;
responsibility of the parties.

There is no need to fully delve into the text of the document to solve the problem. You should pay attention to specific articles.

Recalculation for hot water according to Resolution 354 is possible if:

there were errors when entering data into the accounting system - when there was a discrepancy with the actual readings;
the water does not meet sanitary and hygienic standards after purification (approved by SanPin 2.1.4.1074.1);
the pressure in the water supply pipes is lower than required;
emergency work deadlines were violated.

All grounds are indicated starting in section VIII of the Resolution. Paragraphs 86 to 98 describe the recalculation procedure.

Other legislation

Water supply issues are also covered by other legal documents:

Housing Code of the Russian Federation. In the text of the application, you can refer to Article 157, which indicates that the amount of payment is linked to the regional tariff. In Art. 154 also establishes the components of payment for utility services - hot water supply, hot water supply, sewerage and energy.
The concepts of water supply to multi-apartment residential buildings, as well as the rules for the supply of hot water, can be found in No. 416-FZ.

It is not necessary to refer to these sections, but knowledge of them can help in cases of protracted disputes with the management company.

Watch the video: “Do-it-yourself recalculation of housing and communal services. Part 1."

Documents for recalculating utility bills

How to write an application for recalculation of utilities

This type of application does not have a strictly established form. You can write it in free form, the main thing is to indicate important points:

name of the organization you are applying to;
personal data;
address of the premises where recalculation is required;
request for recalculation and indicate the type of service;
the period for which it is necessary to recalculate the amount of payments;
grounds for the procedure with a list of attachments to the application - certificates, expert opinions, other documents.

If you are sending an application by mail, send it by registered mail with notification and a list of applications. You can take it directly to the organization - in this case, make an application in two copies. Give one to the responsible employee, ask for a signature, seal and registration number of the document on the second.

You can find on the Internet and download an application for recalculation of utilities - sample 2018

Additional documents

They depend on the grounds for recalculation of utilities and must confirm the fact that the procedure is necessary.

Due to temporary absence. If you were staying at a hotel during your departure, please include proof of receipts. According to the type of departure, add the following certificate to the application appendix:

about a business trip certified by the employer;
about hospital treatment;
about temporary registration in another city;
from an educational institution;
from the HOA about living in a summer cottage.

In case of poor quality. Conduct an examination with the help of specialists from the Criminal Code, Rospotrebnadzor or Housing Inspectorate. Specialists should leave you with:

an act indicating the date of inspection, address of the premises;
expert opinion.

All documents must be legally drawn up. At the certificates, the details of organizations, seals, and signatures of responsible employees will be checked. If at least one document does not meet the conditions, your application will be rejected.

List of documents in case of temporary absence of the consumer

As documents confirming the duration of the period of temporary absence of the consumer at the place of permanent residence, the following may be attached to the application for recalculation:

a) a copy of the travel certificate or a copy of the decision (order, instruction) on sending on a business trip or a certificate of a business trip with copies of travel tickets attached;

b) a certificate confirming that you are undergoing treatment in an inpatient medical institution or at a sanatorium-resort treatment;

c) travel tickets issued in the name of the consumer (if the consumer’s name is indicated in such documents in accordance with the rules for their execution), or their certified copies. If travel documents are issued electronically, the contractor is presented with a printout of them on paper, as well as a document issued by the carrier confirming the fact of using the travel document (plane boarding pass, other documents);

d) invoices for accommodation in a hotel, hostel or other place of temporary stay or their certified copies;

e) a document from the body carrying out temporary registration of a citizen at the place of his temporary stay in cases established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, or a certified copy thereof;

f) a certificate from the organization providing private security of the residential premises in which the consumer was temporarily absent, confirming the beginning and end of the period during which the residential premises were under continuous security and the use of which was not carried out;

g) a certificate confirming the period of temporary stay of a citizen at the location of an educational institution, orphanage, boarding school, special educational and other children's institution with 24-hour stay;

h) a certificate from a consular office or diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation in the host country, confirming the temporary stay of a citizen outside the Russian Federation, or a certified copy of an identification document of a citizen of the Russian Federation containing marks on crossing the state border of the Russian Federation when leaving and entering the Russian Federation to the Russian Federation.

For consumers temporarily staying abroad, recalculation is carried out after the consumer returns to the Russian Federation upon presentation to the specialist of ERKTs LLC of the original foreign passport with notes on exit from the territory of the Russian Federation and entry into the territory of the Russian Federation, or the documents specified in the first paragraph of this subclause.

For consumers permanently residing abroad, recalculation is carried out on the basis of a certificate from the consular department of the embassy, which indicates from what date the consumer has been living abroad, and the recalculation will be carried out on the date of issue of the certificate (subject to filing an application for recalculation within 30 days from date of issue of the certificate). All other documents issued by a foreign state are subject to legalization (clause 94 of the Rules).

The consumer has the right to submit an application for recalculation himself or, by proxy, an authorized person may submit such an application on his behalf.

If other persons live in the residential premises along with the consumer, any of them, on their own behalf, has the right to apply for recalculation due to the absence of a consumer living outside the Russian Federation, attaching duly certified copies specified in this subparagraph of the documents .

i) a certificate from a dacha, gardening, vegetable gardening partnership, confirming the period of temporary stay of a citizen at the location of the dacha, gardening, vegetable gardening partnership.

For consumers temporarily residing in rural areas, recalculation can be carried out upon presentation of a certificate from the Administration of the village (settlement) signed by the Head or specialist of this Administration, certified by the appropriate seal, or a certificate of registration at the place of stay;

j) for consumers living within the city of Magnitogorsk in HOAs, housing cooperatives, housing stock not serviced by ERCC LLC, recalculation is carried out upon presentation of a certificate signed by the chairman (head) of the HOA, housing cooperatives, housing cooperatives, stating that the consumer pays for utilities according to place of stay, indicating the payment period.

k) other documents that, in the consumer’s opinion, confirm the fact and duration of the consumer’s temporary absence from the residential premises.

How quickly do you recalculate utility bills?

By law, a correctly completed application is considered within 5 working days. It is important to submit your application within 30 days of the date of grounds. You will see the results of the recalculation in the receipt for the next month.

If you apply before departure, you will only be counted for 6 months of absence. For a longer recalculation of utilities, you will need to return and submit the application again 6 months after the first application. You will be denied a recalculation if you miss the application deadline. However, if there is a good reason, this situation can be challenged in court.

Where to complain if a water recalculation is refused

After submitting an application without evidence, the management company may refuse recalculation.

Other legal grounds:

violation of statute of limitations;
ignoring the need for responsible persons to have access to meters to verify the IPU.

If the application was drawn up correctly, the documents are attached, but the Criminal Code still refuses to recalculate, then you can file a claim. It is submitted to the state housing inspection.

It is necessary to describe the problem, complain about the illegal actions of the management company, list the names of employees and the dates of submission of applications. In the text, you can refer to the management company’s violation of the Housing Code – clause 2.3 of Article 161 and clause 2 of Article 162 in the form of failure to fulfill obligations. The complaint should be accompanied by a copy of the application, ideally with a return receipt from an employee of the management organization.

Please note: in order to improve work with consumers, most management companies record conversations. It would be useful to indicate the dates and approximate times of calls if there were attempts to solve the problem by phone.

Appeals to the inspectorate are considered in accordance with the following procedure:

registration – within three working days;
The examination itself takes 1 month, during the same period inspections are carried out;
the response is sent to the specified contact information.

As a result, it is possible to initiate a procedure to analyze the activities of the management company, which may result in large fines and the transfer of the problem to the court. Sometimes facts are discovered that do not allow the housing inspectorate to act within its competence. In this case, the applicant receives a refusal with an explanation and an indication of the authorities to which the claim is forwarded.