Power outages due to repair work in 2020: timing, reasons, standards, for how long

Suspension of water supply does not mean that the debtor may not pay the resulting debt. The supplier has the right to recover funds through the court.

Reasons and amount of debt

Most often, payment for services for supplying electricity to the house is suspended by the user as a result of financial difficulties. To resolve the issue, it is possible to contact the electricity supply company with a request for a six-month deferment .

An apartment with the number 2 is well suited for a family whose members truly love each other and want to communicate as often as possible. This is a numerical indicator by which the standard wage is multiplied, compensating the employee for the risk of early loss of health and life in an unfavorable climatic zone.

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Procedure for disconnecting utilities for rent arrears

As indicated in paragraph. Let's look at how to notify the owner of the consumer's premises about the planned disconnection of the service. The rules for the provision of utility services have divided all methods of notifying the debtor into 2 groups:

It is difficult to imagine the life of a modern person without electrical appliances. We use light, cook on an electric stove, watch TV, wash in a washing machine. Even during a short power outage, discomfort occurs. You can lose these benefits of civilization for non-payment.

But there are often cases when the agreement of a separate house reflects other payment terms. For this reason, when moving into a new home, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with all the living conditions not only on this issue, but also with other situations with special features.

Notification of debt on utility bills

If hot water is turned off in your apartment for no apparent reason or for non-payment, but not according to the law, you should write complaints to various authorities and structures. First, you need to write a statement to your management company and demand the return of the water. The complainant also has the right to recalculate payment for the time when he did not use water due to the fault of the utility company. Within three days the water should return to the tap. If this does not happen, the next authorities to restore justice are the Housing Inspectorate, Rospotrebnadzor and the Prosecutor. If you really can’t stand the arbitrariness of public utilities, write a statement of claim to the court. Evidence must be attached to the claim.

The only reason why utility companies can deprive residents of the use of hot and/or cold water supply for a long period of time is debt for non-payment of utility bills.

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Working with debtors to pay utility bills

Let's start with the fact that paying for utilities is the current responsibility of those citizens who use government resources: water, electricity, gas, heat. For those who live in a dense forest, in a makeshift hut without heat, water and light, you don’t need to read further, the issue of resource provision has not affected you. And the obligation of everyone else to pay every month for the consumption of all these components of modern comfort. Without any alternatives.

People who refuse to pay utility bills for more than 3 months are given the “title” of debtor. How honorable it is, decide for yourself. And I’ll tell you how problematic it is.

From the moment the new status appears, work begins in relation to the “problem” apartment. Already from the second month of late payment, penalties begin to be charged, about writing off penalties for utilities using the link. The accrual of penalties for late utility payments is permitted by Article 155 of the RF Housing Code, clause 14. Penalties are accrued for each day of delay, their amount depends on the number of months that were unpaid. So, from the second to the third month, the percentage of penalties is 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate, starting from the fourth month - it rises to 1/130. I never tire of repeating that not paying for utilities is not a solution at all, it’s rather an elevator into a huge abyss of problems that you didn’t even suspect about before.

If the reason for your debt is the inadequate quality of utilities, it is much cheaper to pay for them and then record the poor quality of services. There are very specific evaluation criteria. You can order an examination and receive a document stating that:

the water is not hot or clean enough;
pressure is outside the norm;
The batteries are cold or the lights are turned off too often.

Through the court, you can achieve not only a recalculation, but also compensation for additional losses. And if the debt accumulates, the losses will only grow, no one will make any recalculation, moreover, you will pay not only the amount of the debt, penalties, but also fines - the amount can be huge. It is better to analyze a lawsuit for non-payment of utilities with our housing lawyer so that losses are minimal.

Procedure

As stated above, if payment of electricity bills has not been made within 2 months , then the defaulter will be notified. The document states:

consumer - an individual or legal entity, the address to which electricity was supplied. The power outage will occur at this address.
Reason for disconnection . For example, non-payment. In this case, you will need to indicate the amount of debt.
Level of restrictions on the use of electricity, timing of shutdowns. Moreover, de-energizing the living space occurs no earlier than 10 days after receiving the notification, it is prohibited. At the moment, 20 days are allotted from the date of receipt of the document.
Signature.

The main condition at the moment is to record data about the fact of transmission of the notification and the date of receipt of the document.

One option involves delivery in person, with the recipient signing for receipt.

Postal delivery is also possible, but in the form of a registered letter.

Ignoring the first notice results in a second notice being sent to the debtor, which is provided within 3 days and notifies of the limitation or complete cessation of the supply of electricity.

If the debtor continues to evade payment, then a restriction on the use of electricity is first introduced. And immediately an additional 10 days are given to pay the debt. If the debts are not paid within this period, the company completely stops providing the service.

If there was no notification at all, then turning off the electricity will be illegal. The service user will be able to fully sue the company responsible for supplying electricity to court , and also demand moral compensation.

Form for notification of power outage for non-payment.

Procedure for disconnecting utilities for non-payment

So, after a delay of 3 months, pre-trial work begins with the debtor. First, they try to negotiate with him, explain why it is more profitable to pay off the debt, find out why he does not pay for housing and communal services, offer to draw up a debt repayment schedule - it happens that they agree at this stage and start repaying the debt. But it happens that the debtor does not make contact at all, does not open the door, or does not respond to written notices about disconnecting utilities.

Then the claim work begins. This work can be carried out in different ways:

the numbers of debtor apartments are published on the payment slips of all residents of the building;
debtors are sent red payment receipts;
lists of debtors are posted in the lobby of an apartment building with requests to repay the debt;
The district media can also publish lists of defaulters indicating debts - from this moment on, your debts are no longer a secret, now all the neighbors know about your problems, the aspect of “moral influence” is included - this is a method permitted by law.

Some particularly active retired social activists, there are such in every home, begin to carry out their work - at every opportunity, voice their dissatisfaction publicly, branding them, so to speak, with shame.

If this does not have the desired effect, a legal shutdown mechanism is launched:

When do they have the right to turn off water for non-payment?

When turning off hot water, the easiest way is to weld the pipes. However, the debtor may not allow representatives of the management company to enter, and they cannot enter by force, since the owner’s right to the inviolability of the home will be violated. In this case, suppliers usually resort to a simple but rather expensive method: inserting a special plug through a pipe in the basement into the debtor’s riser. An invoice for the transaction performed is issued to the debtor. Thus, the total amount of debt increases.

Turning off hot water is an extreme measure that utility providers take when the owner of the premises does not pay the rent for a long time. In some cases, management companies threaten that not only hot but also cold water and even heating will be turned off. It happens that such warnings are received when the debt is only 1 month old .

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Utility Shutoff Notice

Article 118 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of 05/06/2011 allows management companies, homeowners' associations, housing cooperatives and other representatives of the executive power of a particular building to limit or even suspend the provision of utility services.

The Contractor shall send written notice to the debtor that it intends to limit or suspend the provision of any service or services. This notification must be delivered against signature or sent by registered mail, always with a description of the attachment. After serving the notice, the executor waits 30 days in the hope that the tenant will decide to pay off his debt. If this does not happen, utilities in a particular apartment are first limited, then their supply is blocked altogether.

What utilities can be turned off?

According to Article 119 of the Government Decree, cold water supply and heating cannot be limited or turned off. And everything else: hot water, electricity, sanitary equipment, electrical equipment, mechanical equipment are subject to locking, both in the apartment and outside it.

Power cut for non-payment of utilities

Electricity can be disconnected for non-payment only if the required steps are followed.

First, the debtor is notified that he has a debt regarding electricity, indicating the amount of the debt and accrued penalties. If after 20 days the debtor has not attempted to repay the debt, has not applied for restructuring, or has not repaid the debt in full, a notice of penalty is sent in the form of a restriction on the supply of light. Such notification must be sent by registered mail or delivered in person. Wait 3 days. If the debtor still has not attempted to resolve the problem of his debt, sanctions come into force and the defaulter receives a new notice. Only after this protocol is followed will there be a complete power outage. If the contractor does not wish to comply with this procedure, the defaulter has the right to challenge the disconnection and demand compensation for damage. The court, most likely, will qualify the actions of the management company as an independent settlement of the issue, will side with the tenant and determine to compensate him for the damage caused in full. Understanding this, the executive municipal authorities strive to comply with all legal norms very scrupulously, so as not to give the debtor a chance to apply for compensation to the court.

How water is turned off for non-payment, is it legal and what does the warning look like?

name of the judicial authority;

plaintiff's details: full name, residential address, telephone number;

details of the defendant: full name of the management company, full name of the director, legal address, telephone number;

statement of claims. This paragraph describes the circumstances of turning off the water supply, the date of filing a claim with the Criminal Code and the content of the response. You can also describe the circumstances of contacting regulatory authorities. Your own claims must be supported by references to the violated norms of the law;

We request that it be illegal to turn off the water supply based on current legislation.

Send a written application to the management company with a request to restore the water supply and recalculate for the period of shutdown.
If water does not appear in the apartment within three days, a claim is filed to be sent to Rospotrebnadzor and the Prosecutor's Office. A copy of the statement sent to the management company is attached to the claim.

Form for notifying the debtor of a power outage for

A sample notice of debt for unpaid utility bills helps to file claims in accordance with all standards. Notice of debt: a sample can be downloaded from the link.

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Let's consider cases when this measure against a defaulter is permissible :

Power outage to the owner of the apartment, or to the tenant to whom the apartment is provided under social security conditions. hiring , permissible. But to do this, you will first need to notify the debtor in accordance with the rules.
If the situation concerns legal entities , the electricity supplier will also need to notify the debtor, after which the power supply can be turned off.

Sample notice warning of power outage for non-payment

We suggest that you repay your existing debt before the expiration of a month from the date of receipt of this notice, otherwise you (your residential premises) will have limited supply of ____________ (for example, gas) until such debt is fully repaid.

If the debtor has not received notification, the possible disconnection will be illegal and will become a reason for the service user to file a corresponding claim in court. But not everyone remembers that you have to pay for services, and systematically, otherwise you risk being disconnected due to non-payment.

Power outages occur without notice. And this is understandable, because an accident does not warn about itself. However, the user must be warned about including himself in the shutdown schedule in the event of an emergency or power shortage in the power system by including this clause in the contract.

After a month has passed from the moment the utility bill is due, the housing organization or other housing and communal services provider sends residents a notice of debt repayment.

Pay for electricity on time. This will save you from unpleasant situations associated with turning it off.

The life of an ordinary person is unthinkable without electricity. At the same time, you need to pay for everything, otherwise there is a possibility of being disconnected for non-payment.

Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.

Typically, such notification comes a month after the debt is incurred. After all, in it the housing organization must indicate the accrual of penalties for each day of delay. And according to the law, a penalty cannot be charged for the first month of late payment.

According to paragraph “a” of paragraph 117 of the Rules, the restriction and suspension of the provision of utility services is carried out by the utility service provider.

New law on utility debtors

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 31 days of failure to make payments. To use installment plans and deferments, valid reasons for delaying payment are required. These include:

Every year utility tariffs increase. 2020 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.

03 Mar 2020 etolaw 368

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Planned power outage: maximum time by law, reasons, warning to residents

The standards say that consumers belonging to reliability category 3 cannot remain without power supply for longer than a certain period. The maximum time for which the lights can be turned off is 72 hours per year, and consumers cannot be left without electricity for more than 24 hours at a time. The exception is situations when an emergency shutdown occurs or repair work is carried out.

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The supplier bears administrative responsibility for supply failures and breakdowns. Many consumers are interested in what rights they have. In case of malfunctions or damage, consumers can demand moral as well as material compensation.

Who to call if the power goes out without warning? Helpful information

If you are unable to find support from the management company and the chairman of the HOA, try dialing the emergency service number. Here you can report a power outage that has occurred without prior warning.

To check this, just go to the panel, which in apartment buildings is often installed on the site. If the automatic meter system does not work, the shutdown problem affects the entire house . Once you are sure of this, you can start calling the responsible authorities.

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