How are utility bills calculated?
Each utility organization makes an accrual for the service provided on the basis of the developed tariff and the procedure for calculating the fees collected in Articles 42, 43,44 [2] approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The communal service provides the following services for citizens:
- 24-hour water supply and wastewater disposal.
- Uninterrupted gas supply.
- Providing housing with electricity.
- Heating of premises during the heating season.
- Maintaining housing and common areas in a suitable condition.
- Ensuring proper sanitary condition of the local area of the Moscow Railway.
Depending on the type of service provided, there is the following principle for generating attribution amounts:
- payment for consumed resource services, which occurs based on the actual volumes of consumed service, determined from meter readings;
- accrual for work performed related to maintaining the general condition of the building in a suitable condition for use.
These include:
- maintenance of elevator facilities;
- cleaning the territory belonging to the common household;
- removal of solid waste;
- lighting of common areas;
- carrying out complex measures to repair the building.
And if everything is simple with the calculation for the actually consumed service, which is calculated from the difference in meter readings, then homeowners often neglect to pay charges for the maintenance of a residential building. Based on the housing complex, payment of utility bills is always made, regardless of the fact of residence and the presence of registered persons in the apartment.
That is, getting rid of the obligation to pay rent is completely illegal, but there is a possibility of reducing payments in full.
How does the presence of metering devices affect accruals?
A very good option to reduce utility bills is to equip your home with meters. In the case of not living in housing, the absence of resource consumption will be confirmed by meter readings.
But it should be borne in mind that you must pay for the actually consumed resources, the amount of which is recorded on the meters, even if no one is registered in the apartment.
Without installed meters, payment is calculated according to the average, determined in each region separately, taking into account all registered citizens, regardless of the fact of non-residence.
If there are no meters and you are not actually living in the apartment, you can count on recalculation of the total amounts. Before initiating a reduction of the presented amount, you should make sure that there are the necessary grounds for making recalculations. Such documentary evidence includes:
- An act of absence of the consumer at the place of registration, which is drawn up by an official of the management company and signed by neighbors acting as witnesses.
- Travel document for departure and arrival of the resident.
- A trip to a country medical facility.
- Certificate from the place of study, if it is located outside the locality of registration.
- Travel certificate in case of a long business trip.
How to avoid paying for garbage removal if no one lives in the apartment
Also, the owner of a property in which no one lives or is registered can contact the contractor with a request for a recalculation. If the property is empty for more than five calendar days, then you do not have to pay for this period. The condition applies to real estate that has not been used for a long time. The payer provides receipts for payment of MSW from another property. We remind you that you still have to pay the minimum. It amounts to payment per person.
What documents will be needed
Persons who own two or more properties that are not in use should apply for a recalculation. In order not to pay for waste disposal at an address where no one is registered or lives, you must provide the following documents:
- certificate from the place of actual residence from the multifunctional center or passport office;
- house management company;
- You also need to draw up an application to stop charging fees for the removal of municipal solid waste.
A regional operator or management company can identify the fact of rental housing and evasion of payment for solid waste. This happens when the homeowners are not registered in the apartment and do not live in it. But it rents out the space, while hiding the fact that tenants produce waste. If housing legislation is violated, the owner will be presented with a fine and a requirement to reimburse the debt for the entire period. Evidence of evasion of reimbursement for the cost of waste removal can be evidence from neighbors, a local police officer, or changes in the readings of a device that reads the water or electricity consumed.
How do you pay for rent and heating?
Calculation of payments for heat received and housing maintenance, in everyday life - rent, occurs by multiplying the approved tariff by the square footage of housing. The number of people registered or actually living is not taken into account in the calculation formula. Therefore, it is not possible to free yourself from the financial costs of paying for these services.
It is important to know that an unregistered homeowner who does not live in the apartment is required to pay any additional costs that are aimed at maintaining the comfortable existence of the residents of the house and approved at the general meeting of owners.
Recently, many households have acquired heat meters that measure the amount of thermal energy spent on heating the apartment. Only in this case will the owner be able to reduce heating payments using heat meter readings. In other cases, recalculation for the service of heat engineers is not carried out.
Why are garbage fees charged for housing in which no one is registered or lives?
We are looking into the cases in which recalculation of fees for MSW management is impossible.
— I own an apartment in the Podosinovsky district. Energosbyt Plus issued an invoice for the management of MSW for the apartment. I sent a corresponding letter to Energosbyt Plus stating that neither I nor anyone else is registered in this apartment, no one lives permanently or temporarily. I also sent a request for recalculation of the accrued fee for handling MSW and non-accrual for subsequent periods, attaching a certificate from the place of work. In accordance with subclause 9.1 of the 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,” the amount of payment for utility services for the management of municipal solid waste in residential premises is determined based on the number of citizens, permanently and temporarily living in residential premises. Considering that I am registered, permanently reside and work on a permanent basis in the city of Kirov, I believe that I am being billed illegally. In addition, the legislation provides for the recalculation of the fee for handling solid waste in the regions (since payment is per person) due to temporary absence of more than 5 days due to a business trip, hospital stay, study, etc. I am not there either temporarily or permanently. I don't use this service. Is it legal for me to be billed for trash?
According to clause 11. Art. 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, non-use of premises by owners, tenants and other persons is not grounds for non-payment of payment for residential premises and utilities. That is, it doesn’t matter whether someone is registered in the apartment or house and whether they live there: the premises have an owner - and they will charge fees. In accordance with paragraph 148 (36) of Russian Government Decree No. 354, in the absence of permanent and temporary residents
In the residential premises of citizens, the volume of public services for the management of municipal solid waste is calculated
taking into account the number of owners
of such premises.
That is, garbage fees will be charged in any case
, since all residential premises have an owner.
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As follows from the explanations of the regional operator Kuprit JSC, recalculation of the payment for municipal waste can
only be obtained at the place of registration
, that is, at the place where you are expected to live permanently, but for some reason were temporarily absent (business trip, shift, vacation , treatment or study in another city, and so on).
That is, if you are the owner of an apartment or house in Kirov/Kirovo-Chepetsk, where you live permanently, but at the same time you own living space somewhere else (it doesn’t matter - in Kirov, in Kirovo-Chepetsk, in the Kirov region, in any other locality in Russia ), but are not registered and do not live, in the second case you will have to pay for the management of MSW in any case and recalculation will be impossible
- neither when charging a fee per square meter, nor when calculating a fee per person based on clause 148 (36) of the Resolution Government of Russia No. 354.
Moreover, if you are registered and live in Kirov or Kirovo-Chepetsk, you will not be able to receive a recalculation
, if you have temporarily left for another locality,
since in these cities the fee is charged per square meter
.
With this approach, the law does not provide for a recalculation procedure, therefore, it is impossible
, referring to the position of the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation itself, in its letter on the recalculation procedure, reports that the explanations contained in their letter “cannot be considered as generally binding state regulations of a permanent or temporary nature.”
It’s another matter if you, permanently residing and being registered
in an apartment or house, for example, in Slobodskoye, where
the fee is charged per person
, they left the city for a while.
In this case, recalculation is possible, but, again, only for one and only for this residential premises
.
If such a resident of Slobodsky also has an empty
dacha in the suburbs or in any other locality where he
is the owner, but does not live and is not registered, there will be no recalculation
. A fee will be charged to the owner of the dacha, again, in connection with clause 148 (36) of Russian Government Decree No. 354.
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According to the logic of the legislation, a person must permanently reside at the place of registration, which means that in case of temporary absence,
recalculation is possible only at one address
. And it doesn’t matter that a person may own a dacha or an apartment somewhere else where no one is registered or lives. At least, this is the position that is followed at Kuprit.
However, as Andrey Vorobyov, a member of the Public Chamber, emphasizes, neither Kuprit, nor the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, nor the government of the Kirov region are authorized to interpret federal legislation
. In cases where fees are charged for handling MSW on disputed property and recalculation is not made, citizens can go to court. But first it is better to contact the prosecutor’s office or the State Housing Inspectorate. Perhaps the issue can be resolved out of court.
It should be noted that in Russia there is already positive judicial practice regarding the recalculation of fees for the management of solid waste. Thus, in January 2021, a resident of Yaroslavl managed to challenge the refusal of the local MSW management operator to recalculate garbage fees. The woman owned several residential premises in Yaroslavl and Moscow. She did not live in the disputed residential premises in Yaroslavl for a long time, as she was undergoing treatment in Moscow and outside the country. But the regional operator did not recalculate, citing Art. 148 (36) Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354. The plaintiff proved that during certain periods she did not live in the apartment, and the court ordered the registrar to recalculate the disputed property. However, it is worth keeping in mind that the fee for garbage in Yaroslavl is charged per person, and not per square meter of living space.
Briefly about the main thing:
- According to paragraph 148 (36) of Russian Government Decree No. 354, if no one lives in an apartment or house, the fee for handling solid waste is calculated taking into account the number of owners of such premises. In Kirov and Kirovo-Chepetsk - based on area, in other settlements - per person.
- Based on the explanations of “Kuprit”, it does not matter how many residential premises you own. Recalculation is possible only at the place of registration - that is, where you are supposed to permanently reside, but for some reason (business trip, vacation, etc.) were forced to leave for a while.
- If the fee for garbage is charged per square meter, and not per person, recalculation is impossible even at the place of registration. With this charging option, federal law does not determine the procedure for recalculation.
- "Kuprit" refers to the explanations of the housing and communal services department of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, however, neither the regional operator itself nor the department are authorized to interpret federal legislation. In controversial cases, you can contact the Civil Housing Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or the court.
If you have questions that you can't find the answer to, ask us and we will try to answer them.
Photo: vk.com/zlo43
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How to challenge a utility bill
The contractor reflects all calculations of utility services in a receipt, which is provided to the consumer monthly for payment. Therefore, you can exercise control over the amounts presented for payment by checking the data specified in the received invoices. If you discover unnecessary charges made for a service that the apartment does not receive, the actions must be contested. The action algorithm is as follows:
- draw up an application addressed to the head of the enterprise that made the excess accrual. In the appeal, indicate the reason for disagreement with confirmation of your correctness;
- the period for consideration of the application is no more than thirty days;
- a written response must be provided to the appeal, which explains the nature of the occurrence of these amounts. When accruals occurred in error, the company is obliged to recalculate downwards to the amount presented. If utility companies do not recognize the assigned amounts as unlawful, they are obliged to decipher the final claims with reference to regulatory documents that allow these calculations to be made;
- If the consumer disagrees with the arguments of the utility companies, the unlawful actions can only be appealed in court.
The same procedure can be followed if the utility company refuses to provide credit for the temporarily absent owner. Before drawing up a statement of claim, you should definitely obtain a written refusal from the utility organization to make a recalculation, since this paper is a supporting document in litigation with opponents.
Legislative changes that relate to innovations in housing and communal services occur annually. However, on the issue of payment for utilities in the absence of registration with the owners or in the absence of actual residence of the owners, legislators do not change their decisions. Therefore, in order to avoid incurring additional expenses in the form of paying penalties and legal costs, you should be more attentive to mandatory payments and avoid accumulating debt.
