New law on debtors for utility services. XI. Suspension or restriction of the provision of Penalty for poor-quality utility services

Changes have been made to legislative acts to tighten liability for utility debtors. On November 3, 2015, Law No. 307-FZ “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in connection with strengthening the payment discipline of consumers of energy resources” was adopted.

In Russia, work with all categories of non-payers for electricity and public utilities. On December 5, 2015, the Federal Law of November 3, 2015 No. 307-FZ “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts” comes into force Russian Federation in connection with strengthening the payment discipline of consumers of energy resources.” The purpose of the changes is to increase payment discipline in relation to consumed resources: electricity and heat, gas, water and wastewater disposal.

Non-payment of utilities - power outages in 2020

• the notification procedure has been violated;
• there is no act of disconnection;
• electricity is not supplied in full after the debt is repaid;
• during the shutdown, damage to the general building networks occurred;
• disconnection of services should not adversely affect the condition of the property;
• during the process of turning off the debtor's electricity, the rights of third-party consumers were violated;
• the house becomes uninhabitable;
• In the relationship between supplier and consumer, outside interference is excluded.

The state program of assistance to the population also concerns the sphere of public services. Some families or individuals may be eligible for a subsidy. To do this, it is enough to prepare the necessary package of documents and contact the local government and social protection authorities.

Utility defaulter

3. Owners of residential buildings bear the costs of their maintenance and repair, and also pay for utilities in accordance with agreements concluded, including in electronic form using the system, with persons carrying out the relevant types of activities.

""4. Utility fees include fees for cold water, hot water, electrical energy, thermal energy, gas, domestic gas in cylinders, solid fuel if available stove heating, withdrawal fee waste water, management of municipal solid waste.

Non-payment of utilities

But any restriction does not come into effect immediately. First, the debtor receives a notice that he must pay off the debt within a month. Moreover, the debt is not calculated from the readings that your meter gives. The debt is accrued according to accepted standards in the management company. That is, payment will have to be made for the actually used service according to the company’s tariffs.

The law says that in theory it is possible to evict a person with a debt, but in practice these are rare cases. Despite the debt, the state still remains loyal and therefore many amendments and restrictions have been made that do not allow eviction of a person with utility debts.

Actions in case of power outages for non-payment of utilities in 2020

People are added to the list of persistent non-payers of utility services almost every day. While it can be caused by a variety of factors, falling behind on your electricity bills can result in your electricity being cut off. Energosbyt practices measures such as shutting down 3 months after debt is incurred. However, he cannot do this at his own discretion.

1. Pay bills if you have debt. If you are in a difficult financial situation, it is recommended to visit the office of the organization supplying electricity and write a statement about the need to provide an installment plan. The Russian Federation, or rather, the laws in force there, stipulate that they cannot refuse.
2. If the installment plan is approved, you should take the certified documents and go to an appointment with the director of the management company. The agreed amount is paid on the spot towards the debt. It is possible to deposit no more than 1,000 rubles.
3. Then you wait for the electrician. The arrival date is agreed upon in advance. The specialist removes the seal and connects the home to electricity.

Legislation on utility bills

• travel certificate;
• a certificate stating that during the specified period the consumer was treated in a “hospital” or sanatorium;
• travel tickets that indicate the consumer's name;
• bills from a hotel or other place of stay;
• many others, which the consumer considers evidence of his temporary absence.

1. Detailed information about the time frame during which utility payments must be made (Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
2. Information about when and where payment should be made.
3. General information on the procedure for calculating the cost of utility bills and their structure (Article 154 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
4. General information about the procedure and rules on the basis of which subsidies and compensation for utility bills are provided, the list of persons who are entitled to this.

Rent Debtors Law 2020

By general rule The statute of limitations allowed for collecting debt for housing and communal services is three years. Judicial practice shows that such claims are satisfied by the court, and bailiffs with their actions can darken the life of the debtor for an even longer period. Therefore, it is better to pay off debts immediately than to accumulate them.

All responsible organizations spend a lot of money on this, which is then returned by the apartment owners according to the law. Money is paid under an agreement concluded between the property owner and the management company or service provider company. In the latter case, bills arrive on different quintations, and in the first - on one.

Utility debts: law on debtors 2020

Starting from 2020, the legislation introduced the concept of so-called “non-switchable consumers”, which include those resources, the supply limitation of which can lead to serious economic, environmental and social consequences. The list of “non-disconnected consumers” is approved annually by regional authorities.

• Resource supply limitation can be of two types and is carried out based on the choice of the management company:

1. The introduction of a certain limit, after which the energy networks will be turned off automatically if the debt is not paid.
2. Normal reduction in power supply limit.

Important! Limits and restrictions on the supply of resources do not apply to private houses, the owners of which will immediately face a complete shutdown of the power grid.

Law on penalties for utilities 2020

If you did not have time to notify the company in advance about your departure, recalculation may be carried out after your return. According to the law, the application in this case must be submitted within one month from the date of return. To achieve positive result, it will be necessary to provide evidence of absence, for example, travel documentation, certificate of sanatorium treatment etc.

For the first month of delay, citizens will be able to avoid punishment; for the next two months of non-payment, creditors will charge a penalty in the amount of 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate, and from the 91st day - in the amount of 1/130 of the rate. According to the Ministry of Construction, the total volume of consumer debt in the housing and communal services sector is 968 billion rubles, of which 250 billion rubles are debts of the population, and the remaining 718 billion rubles are owed by legal entities.

New law on utility debtors

In addition to charging penalties, utility service providers have the right to resort to other measures to punish debtors. For late payment of more than 3 months, the supply of gas, electricity, water will be disconnected or limited for non-payment of utilities. The supplier has the right to act in accordance with these regulations before receiving cash from the debtor. Notification of the defaulter is made in writing by mail. After 3 days, if the notification is ignored, the notification is made personally by an authorized person.

The most common penalty is the accrual of penalties. A penalty is a penalty for a long delay in paying utility bills. According to federal law No. 307, citizens who are overdue for payment by more than a month will be subject to penalties. You can pay your invoice within 31 days after receiving your receipt.

In case of prolonged non-payment of housing and communal services and debts, services may be disconnected. When this is completely legal, and in what situation disabling one of the services in an apartment will violate the law, we will look at the example of a specific legal dispute.

Disconnection of utility resources in the presence of debt is provided for by law. There are differences regarding the supply of resources to residential or non-residential premises: when it comes to non-residential premises, any service can be disconnected. If we are talking about a residential premises, apartment or private house, it is prohibited by law to completely turn off cold water and heating. The provision of these services can only be limited. Everything else can be turned off completely, including if there is debt, says Sergey Sergeev, ".

However, such a disconnection should not violate the rights of those conscientious consumers who pay their bills on time. For example, if half the residents apartment building does not pay for electricity, then the supplier cannot completely disconnect this house from the supply of the resource, even if the amount of debt allows it. After all, then those who pay on time and in full will suffer.

In such disputes, much depends on the actual circumstances, Sergeev notes: for example, on who supplies the resource. So, if a resident has a direct contract with the supplier for electricity and he regularly pays him, but does not pay the management company for other services - maintenance and repairs, heating and water, then the company cannot turn off his electricity for this, since it does not supply such a resource, the lawyer emphasizes. But what if there is only one receipt for all services at once? An example was a case recently considered by the Moscow Regional Court.

What is incomplete payment of utility services?

The service is not paid in full if the consumer owes payment for it in an amount exceeding the sum of two monthly fees for this service. The payment is calculated based on their consumption standard - the presence of meters and tariffs does not matter. In this case, there is no agreement between the debtor and the executor regarding the repayment of the debt (or there is one, but the debtor does not fulfill it).

Valentina Gaikina*, owner of an apartment in a building managed by LLC "UK Comfort City". In September 2017, the management company sent her a registered letter with notification, offering to pay off the debt on utility bills. The homeowner owed 27,561 rubles. - this amount included both utilities and home maintenance services, since the contract with the management company was concluded for everything at once. The company warned that if the debt is not repaid, it may limit the supply of electricity to the apartment. If the debt continues 10 days after the introduction of restrictions, then the electricity will be turned off completely.

Gaikina received a notification. As promised by the management company, on November 8 the supply of electricity was limited. On November 13, the owner of the apartment paid half of the debt - 14,709 rubles, which were for utilities. She specifically indicated the purpose of the payment. But this did not prevent the company from completely cutting off the electricity within the agreed 10 days due to the fact that the entire debt had not been repaid.

The procedure for limiting or disconnecting a utility service:

a) the executor sends a written notification to the debtor that if the debt for the service is not paid within 20 days from the date of receipt of the notification, it may first be limited and then suspended. If suspension is impossible, this stage is omitted altogether. The notice is delivered against signature or sent by registered mail.

b) if the debt is not repaid within the specified time, a service restriction is introduced. The debtor must be notified of this three days in advance by handing him a notice against receipt.

c) if it is technically impossible to introduce a restriction, the debt is not repaid after the agreed 30 days, the service is turned off (except for heating and cold water in apartment building). Disconnection must be notified in writing, against receipt, three days in advance.

The owner of the apartment filed a lawsuit against the management company. She demanded that the power outage be declared illegal, compensation for moral damages in the amount of 100,000 rubles, expenses for paying for the services of a representative in the amount of 50,000 rubles, as well as a fine of 50% of the awarded amount. She insisted that the management company violated the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings, did not properly notify her of the amount of debt for electricity, of the time of the introduction of a complete cessation of its supply. In addition, the management company is not an electricity supplier, which means it did not have the right to suspend the provision of electricity supply services, the applicant believed.

Apartment owners currently have the opportunity to choose the form of building management and service providers. Along with the usual housing office, you can transfer the house to be serviced by a management company or create an HOA.

But this does not protect against inadequate quality of public services. Regulatory authorities receive complaints against management companies or suppliers hot water, electricity.

Depending on the level of work of local control authorities or the Management Company, apartment residents may long time wait for a response or receive a timely recalculation for poor quality water or power outages.

In order to punish the culprit for poor quality provision of utility services and achieve recalculation, it is important for apartment owners to know the algorithm of action in such a situation. There are legislative norms that define the rules for drawing up a complaint and the procedure for changing accrued payments for utility services.

ATTENTION! According to Government Decree No. 354 of June 6, 2011 “On the provision of public services...” supplies of water, electricity, and heat must comply with the standards for pressure, shutdown time, and temperatures.

If these standards are violated, you can already contact the Management Company. And if it fails to act, it will be sent to various regulatory authorities, including Rospotrebnadzor.

Low quality fixation

The liability of management companies for improper provision of services is established by law. The consumer also signs a service agreement with the company, which strictly specifies the responsibilities for the high-quality performance of all home maintenance work.

If there is a malfunction in the house utility networks, interruptions in the supply of various resources, water quality is deteriorating, the management company is obliged to immediately respond to such events and correct the situation.

Residents of apartments who received poor-quality housing and communal services are required to record violations in the maintenance of the house; this can be done on the company’s website, by calling the dispatch service, or by coming to its office and making a written statement.

When contacting the dispatcher, you should provide the nature of the problem, the exact address of the house, and your details. The dispatcher is obliged to register the appeal and inform the applicant about the reasons for interruptions in water, for example, or power supply. If the reason is not known, you need to start finding out no later than two hours later.

Company employees have 24 hours to find out the reasons for the low quality of services provided and inform their clients about this. Work must be carried out to eliminate violations.

Representatives of the Management Company must verify the facts indicated by the consumer of services; based on the results of the verification, a report is drawn up. This document must be drawn up in several copies, one of which remains with the representative of the management company.

The act indicates poor quality services provided, terms, and which quality parameters were violated. If the hot water system does not maintain the required temperature or the heating of the house is poor, all this must be recorded in a document and confirmed by several signatures, including the signature of a representative of the Management Company.

ATTENTION! If the management company employee does not want to sign the act, uninterested persons (at least two people) can sign the document.

It is important to record the presence of a violation in the supply of utilities in writing; such a document will later become the basis for recalculating rent payments.

Carrying out an examination

During the inspection, disputes and disagreements may arise between consumers and the service utility organization or supplier. In this case, an examination is appointed, it can be initiated by any member of the group conducting the inspection, his name must be indicated in the act.

The result of the independent examination is attached to the inspection report, and all participants in the inspection event are informed about the information contained in it. The costs of the examination are borne by the service provider. But, if the low quality of the service is not proven, the consumer will bear the costs.

It is possible not to conduct an examination, but to schedule (in case of disputes) a repeat inspection, to which a representative of the state housing inspection is invited. A representative of a public association of consumers may also be present; they then also sign the inspection report.

Refusal to check

IMPORTANT! When the management company evades its responsibilities to check consumer messages, it is possible to conduct an inspection and draw up an act without it.

For these cases, there is a House Council; its chairman, together with several residents of the apartment building, signs an act, recording that a low-quality service is provided.

In an apartment building managed by a HOA, the board or the chairman of the partnership can draw up an act on the supply of low-quality services from public utilities. Then this act is handed over to the service provider (with mandatory written registration).

Elimination of violations

It is necessary to record not only the fact of deterioration in the quality of services, but also the date when such deterioration began. It is also necessary to accurately set the date and record it in writing when all problems and violations have been eliminated. A specific procedure has been developed for this.

After the repair work, the contractor conducts an inspection that will confirm compliance with all parameters of the services provided.

The inspection is carried out in the presence of the consumer, and a report is also drawn up. The consumer may refuse to participate in the inspection, in which case an employee of the Management Company invites several interested parties and checks the work in their presence engineering systems, quality of services.

All participants of the event sign the document. If you need to be in the consumer’s apartment to carry out the inspection, the contractor agrees in advance on the time of the meeting.

Definition of deadlines

If residents of a house are interested in how not to pay for utility services not provided or for low-quality services, they should also know their responsibilities in this issue. It is in the consumer's interest to accurately record the time when services were interrupted and when they were restored.

ATTENTION! The time from which the utility service was provided with a violation of quality is recorded by the time the consumer discovered this fact, by the time of the call to the dispatch service. The date and time of the inspection with the participation of the contractor and the drawing up of the report are taken into account.

Elimination of violations is established upon the resumption of the services provided (which must be recorded in an electronic or paper journal), also by the date and time of the inspection, drawing up a report, and by the time it was recorded by the metering device.

Requirements

Each type of service provided by the Management Company and suppliers has its own quality parameters.

If quality indicators decrease, you need to record this fact, call representatives of the management company for inspection, and draw up a report. In this case, you can apply for a recalculation, which can lead to significant savings for the family.

Companies servicing apartments and private houses should receive payment only for quality work. Hot water should be supplied at a temperature of 60 to 75 degrees (at night, a deviation of 5 degrees is possible).

As the temperature decreases, the amount of payment for the service should also decrease - for every 3 degrees of deviation, a decrease of 0.1% is made. If water was supplied at a temperature below 40 degrees for more than an hour, it should be paid for as cold.

The heating service provided is often disrupted. By sanitary standards the temperature in residential premises during the heating period should not be lower than 18 degrees (for corner rooms - not lower than 20 degrees). If you deviate from this norm, the payment should be reduced by 0.15% for each hour. It is not difficult to establish the fact of a violation; it is enough to record the thermometer readings.

A violation of the cold water supply service is considered to be a water outage. There are acceptable standards - no more than 8 hours per month and no more than 4 hours at a time (for reasons such as an accident on the line). If the interruption in supply exceeds the standards, payment should be reduced by 0.15% of the amount recorded by metering devices or established by the tariff.

There are requirements for cold water and the quality of its composition. The consumer will not pay for the day on which water was supplied of poor quality.

The drainage system must also operate uninterruptedly. Also, according to the standards, a total break of 8 hours per month and 4 hours at a time is allowed. If the outages were longer, the payment for sewerage is reduced by 0.15%, taking into account the meter readings or tariff.

Recalculations are also made for poor-quality electricity supply. If a supply interruption of more than 24 hours is recorded, a reduction factor of 0.15% must be applied.

Gas supply interruptions should not exceed 4 hours per month in total. If this time increases, payment must also be reduced by applying a coefficient of 0.15% for each hour of break in excess of the norm. No payment will be made for gas supplied at a pressure below normal.

ATTENTION! If these standards are violated, services provided are subject to recalculation.

Recalculation is carried out by the Management Company or suppliers (if the house is managed by a HOA). If these authorities refuse to reduce payments for poor quality of services, the consumer has all the rights to contact regulatory organizations to protect their interests. Who is involved in resolving these conflicts?

1. Office of the State Housing Inspectorate. The direct purpose of this organization is to ensure the rights of citizens in the provision of quality services to them by utilities and companies.
2. A special department of CMTU Rostekhregulirovaniya, dealing with issues of compliance with requirements for utility services.
3. Office of Rospotrebnadzor, which is responsible for protecting consumer rights.

These authorities are obliged to consider the consumer’s application and oblige the contractor to perform his work efficiently. As a punishment, a fine may be issued to the Management Company.

The amount of the fine is determined by the same Resolution 354 - 200 rubles for incorrect payment calculation. The amount of compensation for poor-quality services is 30% of the amount paid for the services.

Even if contacting these organizations did not produce results and the payment for utilities was not recalculated, you need to file a statement of claim in court. In court, you can achieve not only a recalculation, but also compensation for moral damage, based on the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.

Reading time: 7 minutes

The growing debts of the population to pay for housing and communal services are forcing the state to take various measures against defaulters. At first, they are of a notification and warning nature. This is followed by economic sanctions in the form of fines and penalties. Among the more serious measures that are applied if others have not had an effect are restrictions on the supply of resources and shutdown of utilities for non-payment in 2020. Measures can be even more radical - up to the eviction of persistent defaulters from their occupied living space.

Acceptable periods for late payment for an apartment

The obligation of residents to pay for utilities and the rules for their payment are defined in Art. 153 and 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. The basis is receipts sent to the consumer by service providers.

The payer has time to settle the issued receipt. Whether it is possible to delay the payment of funds for consumed services and for how long is established by law. They provide for a deadline for payment for consumed housing and communal services resources as the 31st day of the month in which the receipt was delivered to the payer.

Other options are specified in the agreement between the service consumer and the management company.

From the 31st to the 90th day of debt, a penalty is charged on the amount of the debt in the amount of 1/1300 of the refinancing rate, after 90 it will be 1/130. After the three-month period, people who refuse to pay utility bills receive the status of debtors.

Recent changes to the document tighten penalties for evading their repayment. In addition to the accrual of progressive fines and penalties, the defaulter will face a restriction in the supply of resources, and then their complete shutdown.

These measures are preceded by written notifications of the possibility of applying such sanctions.

The reason for going to court can only be a violation of the power outage procedure, namely, failure to comply with all the stages provided for by the established Rules, but not the fact of the outage itself.

So, if, in compliance with the procedure, company representatives turned off the electricity for debts, whether there are minors in the apartment or not, no longer matters. The actions of the Criminal Code are not grounds for going to court.

A power outage is considered legal if the following conditions are met:

• the debt period is equal to or exceeds 3 months, if payments correspond to average monthly consumption standards;
• the utility service provider notified the violator of the existence of the debt in writing, personally delivered, as well as in other ways to confirm the fact of receipt of the notification;
• the debtor is given 20 days from the date of receipt of the notification, during which he can repay the debt at least partially;
• after the allotted period has passed and the resident makes no attempts to pay the bills, he is sent a second warning, which contains information that the electricity will be turned off in 3 days.

The same applies to the question of whether the management company has the right to turn off water for debts. If the water is hot, then the management company can do this following the same steps.

How utilities are disconnected for non-payment

Art. 118 of the above-mentioned Resolution No. 354 determines the right of the management company, housing cooperative and other representatives of the executive bodies of management of a particular house to limit or completely suspend the supply of a resource.

The procedure is the same for all types of services provided. The way water is turned off for non-payment in one apartment is practically no different from the procedure for cutting off the supply of gas for cooking. The algorithm includes:

1. Serving the debtor with written notice of the intention to limit or suspend the provision of any service/services.
2. Waiting for the tenant to repay the debt within the statutory period of 20 days.
3. If payment is not received, the utility service is limited, then completely blocked.

The procedure for disconnecting debtors for additional housing and communal services, the list and the fact of the need for their provision must be approved at a general meeting and recorded in the agreement between the residents and the management company.



What is a notice of disconnection of housing and communal services?

A warning sent to the debtor before limiting or suspending the supply of a resource is a necessary element of the procedure for disconnecting housing and communal services. Without this, it will not have legal force.

The notice must contain the necessary information about the amount of debt and the proposed sanctions. It is handed over to the violator personally against signature or sent by registered mail (with acknowledgment of receipt) or. by including the notification text in the payment document. Other notification methods are also possible. The main thing is that they can confirm the fact and date of receipt of the notification (warning) by the debtor.

Services that can be disabled

What can be disconnected for non-payment of utilities in an apartment building and private household is regulated by Art. 119 Resolution No. 354.

IN normative act It lists which services cannot be suspended or completely disconnected to consumers who have missed all payment deadlines and have impressive amounts of housing and communal services debts. Such resources include heating and cold water supply, as well as sanitation.

Therefore, turning off gas for non-payment in an apartment building is a real nuisance that awaits a defaulter who has violated the rules for paying for utilities. Gas, like other resources consumed by apartment building residents, may well be turned off as a measure of pressure on debtors to pay their housing and communal services debts.

The management company has the right to suspend the supply of electricity and block equipment located outside the apartment, for example, an intercom.

Residents who violate legal norms to pay for consumed housing and communal services need to be prepared for the fact that they can remain in their apartments only with cold water and heating, which cannot be turned off by law. The consumer will hear a positive answer to the question whether the HOA can turn off the water for non-payment only if it is hot water.

You should not take growing debt for an apartment lightly, since service shutdowns are not the only trouble that can result. The next step for the management company or HOA is to go to court.

The implementation of court decisions will be monitored by bailiffs. Therefore, you should pay attention to payments for housing and communal services and avoid late payments.



Why you can’t connect to resources without authorization

Left without the amenities that improved the quality of life, debtors begin to look for ways out of the situation, and not always legal ones. These actions are taken even when the suspension of services was absolutely fair and lawful.

Instead of paying off debts and legally resuming the supply of resources, defaulters are trying to connect gas and electricity without permission. They believe that this will also solve problems with hot water.

Before taking such actions, it is worth remembering that they will entail even more serious troubles. Art. 7.19 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses provides for the application of penalties for independent connection to electrical networks and gas pipelines:

• for individuals – 10-15 thousand rubles;
• for institutions and organizations – 100-200 thousand rubles;
• for enterprise managers – 30-80 thousand rubles or disqualification for up to 2 years.

More drastic measures are not excluded. The commission that has identified an unauthorized connection will draw up a corresponding act and send it to the magistrate’s court. The court will open a case under Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the punishment under which involves up to 48 months of imprisonment.

Is it possible to appeal the shutdown of resources for non-payment?

If a consumer believes that the disconnection of a resource for non-payment of utility bills was carried out illegally, he can file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office and the Housing Inspectorate or file a claim in court against the actions of the Criminal Code.

The complaint must be preceded by the tenant contacting management company. A copy of the complaint sent to the Criminal Code and the response to it are attached to the application to the regulatory authorities.

If such actions do not produce the desired results, listed documents along with statement of claim filed with the district court at the location of the property.

Conclusions

Citizens who are in no hurry to pay for consumed housing and communal services are subject to sanctions that seriously complicate their daily life. If you ignore warnings about the possibility of turning off the resource and not repaying existing debts, the supply of electricity, gas, hot water and some other services may be stopped until the debt is fully repaid.

Every year utility tariffs increase. 2017 was no exception for citizens of the Russian Federation. At the beginning of last year, a new law was adopted to tighten liability for debtors in payment for housing and communal services. What the new law implies and what punishment is provided for willful defaulters, we will consider further in the article.

The procedure for paying for utilities is regulated by the Housing Code. According to Article 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, this is the responsibility of every citizen, including legal entities, who rent any premises. Housing and communal services include:

• payment for hot and cold water;
• making payments for electricity (study);
• making payments for heating;
• and gas supply.

According to Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, there is a certain period during which utilities must be paid. Payment is made every month before the 10th day upon receipt of the corresponding payment document. Military personnel, veterans and other categories of citizens enjoy payment benefits.

The maximum delay in payment for utilities can be 31 days. Previously, penalties were accrued for a month of delay; now penalties are accrued for the 31st day of failure to make payments. To use installment plans and deferments, valid reasons for delaying payment are required. These include:

• serious illness;
• loss of position or sole breadwinner.

In any of the above cases, documentary evidence of the facts will be required.

What are the consequences of non-payment of utility bills?

The new law on non-payment of utilities involves the accrual of penalties for debtors who do not pay bills on time for utilities. Federal Law No. 307 discusses the procedure for calculating penalties for non-payment. Amendments have been made to the law to increase consumer discipline.

The main methods of dealing with persistent defaulters are:

• accrual of penalties;
• imposing restrictions or suspension of utility services;
• The last resort is eviction from the apartment with the help of the court.

Let's consider the above methods of punishment for late payments carried out by utility providers later in the article.

Penalty amount according to law

The most common penalty is the accrual of penalties. A penalty is a penalty for a long delay in paying utility bills. According to federal law No. 307, citizens who are overdue for payment by more than a month will be subject to penalties. You can pay your invoice within 31 days after receiving your receipt.

The total amount of the penalty depends on the size of the debt and the number of days of non-payment, as well as the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Russia.

Rent debtors who are individuals, must remember that from 31 to 90 days, 1/300 of the refinancing rate is charged for each day the receipt is not paid. And from 91 days the penalty will increase to 1/130 of the Bank of Russia rate. Currently the rate is 9%.

The legal status of the utility consumer affects the calculation of late fees. For organizations supplying heating, water, etc., the fine will be charged as follows:

• from 1st to 60th day - 1/300 of the Central Bank interest rate;
• from 60 - 90 - 1/170;
• from 91 days - 1/130 of the interest rate.

For legal entities, the fine will be charged at the maximum discount rate - 1/130. If the debt for an apartment can be paid through the terminal, then there is no penalty. Payment can only be made at a Sberbank branch or at a management company, which should be done as soon as possible.

The accrual of penalties can be avoided if the citizen has to leave for another city for a long period. The interested party is obliged to write an application to the management company and notify this fact. The deferred payment will be valid for six months. If an extension is required, the next application is sent by mail.

What are suppliers entitled to?

In addition to charging penalties, utility service providers have the right to resort to other measures to punish debtors. For late payment of more than 3 months, the supply of gas, electricity, water will be disconnected or limited for non-payment of utilities. The supplier has the right to act in accordance with these regulations until funds are received from the debtor. Notification of the defaulter is made in writing by mail. After 3 days, if the notification is ignored, the notification is made personally by an authorized person.

Eviction from an apartment for debt is also possible. However, it applies to citizens who rent living space. INevict the owner It is legally prohibited from a privatized apartment. The impetus for this procedure is not the total amount of debt, but the time period of non-payment of utility bills - more than 6 months.

Where can I complain about illegal shutdowns?

The Federal Law on Rent provides for utilities that do not have the right to be turned off, even if payment is not received - heating and cold water supply.

Disconnection of any type of utility services without adequate warning from suppliers illegal! Given illegal action you can appeal. The complaint can be sent to the management company or the HOA. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the claim is sent to the state housing inspection or Rospotrebnadzor. This is followed by filing a written application with the prosecutor's office and the court.

Utility providers may be subject to administrative and criminal liability. For violation of the regime for providing the population, housing and communal services impose a fine on officials- 500 - 1,000 rubles, and for legal entities - 5,000 - 10,000 rubles. For arbitrariness and causing damage - a fine of up to 80,000 rubles is charged, or compulsory labor of 180 - 240 hours is carried out, or correctional labor for 1 - 2 years, or arrest for 3 - 6 months.

Arrears in payment could be the reason for disconnection of utility services. If the debtor received the notice on time and the fact of late payment is recognized by him, then the only solution to the problem is the payment of funds. When the debt is repaid, electricity, gas, and water are supplied within two days.