Utilities: what is included in housing and communal services payments

An organization that monitors the accuracy of utility bills.

The main organization that controls the full range of all housing legal relations is the housing inspection.

She has the right:

1. Check that utility bills are calculated correctly.
2. Punish those responsible for incorrect calculations.
3. Submit a petition to the court to liquidate the management organization, etc.

Of course, the management company itself (hereinafter we can call it for short “MC”) must clearly and correctly carry out its activities in calculating payments for residents of an apartment building. In case of unreasonably inflated tariffs, the management company may be subject to penalties.

Another control body can be recognized as FAS - the Federal Antimonopoly Service. It regulates the market for goods and services and prevents the establishment of any criminal code on the market.

What do you need to know to make calculations?

To check the correctness of the rent calculation, you need to know the main indicators that are used for calculation:

• total and living area of ​​the apartment;
• the number of actually living citizens;
• tariff for each type of utility services approved by the authorized body;
• standard for calculating resource consumption if meters are not installed in the apartment;
• a list of benefits established by authorities for certain categories of citizens.

All of the above indicators must be indicated in receipts that are sent to citizens at the end of the billing month. Information about tariffs, benefits and standards can be found on the official resources of local authorities, as well as in the management company or housing office.

With this information, you can independently calculate the correctness of payments. This task will be much easier if the apartment has officially installed meters for hot and cold water, as well as electricity and gas supply.

Water supply

Cost 1 cubic. m of water – 16.74 rubles.

Consumed per month: 1 – 10, 2 – 8, 3 – 10, 4 – 9, 5 – 8, 6 – 9

Total for 6 months: 54 cubic meters. m

Payment for 6 months: 903.96 rub. (54 cubic meters * 16.74 rub.)

Result: 903.96 = 903.96 – the fee is calculated correctly.

Consumed per month: 1 – 10, 2 – 8, 3 – 10, 4 – 9, 5 – 8, 6 – according to tariff

Total for 6 months: 45 cubic meters. m tariff

Payment for 6 months: 1033.30 rub. (54 cubic meters * 16.74 rubles, tariff 280 rubles)

Result: 1033.30 – 903.96 = 129.34 – we find out whether the tariff was charged legally

Payment for 6 months: 903.96 rub. (54 cubic meters * 16.74 rubles) – 42.05 rubles, refund of previously made overpayment = 861.91 rubles.

We recalculate all the overpayment refund amounts that the management company allocated to different services, and find out whether the overpayment for the audited payment period has been fully refunded.

Result: the fee is calculated correctly/the fee is calculated incorrectly/the overpayment is not returned in full.

When checking calculations, simple arithmetic operations are used; it is important to be careful and not miss a single figure appearing on the receipts.

Payment for consumed resources (hot and cold water, electricity, gas) is carried out according to the readings of individual meters.

Federal Law No. 261-FZ “On Energy Saving and Increasing Energy Efficiency” states the following.

If it is technically possible to equip an apartment with meters, but the owners have not done so, increasing coefficients are applied to the standard until the moment the apartment is equipped with metering devices.

1. per 1 m2 of area (heating);
2. by the number of citizens registered/living in the apartment (hot and cold water supply, sewerage, gas).

To determine the exact amount of the fee, you need to multiply the tariff:

• on meter readings (if any);
• on the standard and total area of ​​housing (heating);
• on the standard and number of residents (gas, water, sewerage).

Since 2012, utility bills began to describe in detail each service, its cost and the total amount to be paid.

If earlier accruals could be made with the inclusion of non-existent figures, now the payer sees and knows what he is giving his money for.

But even with new payment cards, it is possible that rent will be charged incorrectly. Errors occur due to the fault of both the equipment and the workers performing the calculations.

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If errors are found in the receipt, you must contact the management company with a request to recalculate.

This applies not only to unpaid bills, but also to receipts for which payment has already been made.

If you have any doubts about the correctness of the rent calculation, you must contact the management company or the HOA.

An application is submitted with a request to ensure the correctness of calculations for utility services.

The management company is obliged to provide access to information about the calculations made.

The payer's request is considered within 10 days, after which the management company is obliged to respond.

Sample application

An application must be submitted to the management company in writing, in two copies.

It would be useful to duplicate the document in electronic form. This will prevent deception on the part of the management company, which may refuse to conduct an inspection due to the “absence” of an application.

In the application, it is advisable to indicate the reason why the calculations raised doubts.

If there are documents confirming incorrectly accrued rent, then it is worth attaching copies of them and indicating in the application that copies of such and such documents were attached.

With this paper, you can later contact the Housing Inspectorate with a complaint about the work of the management company.

Payers can independently check whether rent is calculated correctly for each billing period.

To make sure that the tariffs are used correctly, you need to compare two or three payments for the current year.

The column displaying the cost of 1 unit of service should have the same value everywhere.

If the apartment does not have meters installed, then payment is made according to the standards established by utility services at the regional level.

The data is not taken out of thin air; the amount of resources spent is indicated on the payment slip as an average, based on the number of registered people and the area of ​​the apartment.

The state provides for penalties for citizens who do not use metering devices.

Therefore, it is problematic to make calculations on your own in this case.

Existing tariffs

And having decided to check the work of the management company, they are faced with the difficulty of determining tariffs.

The management company does not have the right to independently adjust the cost of services.

But she is obliged to use only existing tariffs for rent calculations.

You should carefully check the correctness of the information entered in the receipt.

Payers often provide incorrect information, which leads to incorrect charges.

If you find errors in your rent payment receipt, you must contact the management company to have it checked.

You should not ignore incorrectly carried out calculations, even if the overpayment is several rubles.

And if you refuse to conduct an inspection at the management company, immediately contact the Housing Inspectorate or directly to the prosecutor's office.

The HOA will be punished not only for errors in the receipt, but also for incompetent service to the population and failure to comply with legal requirements.

How to find out where to check whether the rent has been calculated correctly, what to look for

Of course, not all management companies conscientiously approach the performance of their duties. Therefore, a citizen must periodically check the correctness of the calculation of rent for housing and communal services.

The first thing the consumer should do is check the receipt itself, since everything is written down on it. The readings indicated in the receipt must be checked with the readings of metering devices located at the entrance of an apartment building or directly in the apartment. Reliable readings are not always provided there.

You can independently establish the legality of payments by sending an application to the management company with a request to provide documents regulating the authenticity of the payment, the payment procedure, etc.

What to do if an error is detected

If you find an error in the receipt, before contacting the management organization for clarification, it is recommended to double-check the correctness of the calculations so as not to waste time. In addition, it is necessary to take into account that the tariff could be changed.

You can check this information on the management company’s website or on the web resource of the regional provider of the relevant services. If there is still an error, then you need to submit an application to the housing and communal services with a request to correct it.

In order not to provoke errors in the future, it is recommended to always submit information on meters on time. Otherwise, the management organization will make calculations based on average indicators. And in this case, the likelihood of incorrect rent calculation increases.

However, errors are possible without this. They can be either software or human in nature, given that some initial data for calculations are entered into the system manually by employees of the management company. There is no need to worry too much about this, since the identified error will be corrected, as a result of which the apartment owner will be provided with a recalculation.

Taking into account the above information, it is recommended to check each payment document received thoroughly.

In this case, you need to pay attention:

• on the correctness of the address, since it is possible that the invoice was issued to another person and ended up in the mailbox by mistake;
• whether the number of registered people corresponds to the number indicated on the receipt;
• for what billing period the invoice is issued;
• what is the total amount of the invoice compared to previous payments - if it is much higher, it is necessary to analyze why such a difference arose;
• is there an extra item on the invoice for which payment has never been made before;
• Have consumption standards and tariffs changed?

Always following the above points, you can easily identify an error in a single settlement document.

How to check housing and communal services receipts online

To make it easier for the consumer to receive information about the services provided, on the websites of housing and communal inspections and management organizations it is possible to view the correctness of calculations and reconciliation of receipts.

To do this, you must indicate the region of residence, the specific house and the full name of the resident. After this, all necessary information will be provided to the consumer electronically. If necessary, at the request of a citizen, information can be provided on printed media.

How to check your receipt

Receipts received by mail often contain inflated amounts. The reasons for incorrect accruals may be:

• errors when generating receipts;
• incorrect meter readings;
• unfair actions of the management company.

First of all, you need to compare the amount indicated on the receipt with the amount of debt in the GIS housing and communal services system. If comparable amounts differ and are clearly overestimated, you need to contact the management company or the resource supplier with a request for recalculation.

You can evaluate the correctness of charges for individual services yourself. To do this, you need to multiply the tariff for the service by the difference in meter readings since the last payment. Tariff rates are posted on regional housing department websites and resource provider portals.

When checking receipts, it is important to take into account possible changes in the accrual order. Such changes, leading to unusual amounts in receipts, may be associated with the installation of in-house heat meters, as well as with the transfer of the house to year-round payment for heating.

Illegal issuance of receipts for housing and communal services payments - what is the responsibility

The main regulatory legal acts regulating the activities of management companies are the Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation. Housing and communal services will be subject to quite serious penalties for incorrect assignment of utility payments. Unlawfully high rents cause significant damage to the population. That is why, at the legislative level, disputes do not subside over the fact that it is time to completely eliminate management companies, namely their intermediary activities, between the consumer and the utility service provider. It is proposed to introduce a scheme according to which receipts will be generated not by the management company, but directly by the energy supply organization, city water utility, etc.

The legislation of the Russian Federation, including certain government decrees, stipulates that a management company that carries out its activities in bad faith can be brought to two types of liability:

1. Fine.
2. Deprivation of the right to engage in this type of activity (liquidation).

One of the most commonly used types of punishment is a fine. It is paid by the Criminal Code regardless of whether they paid compensation to the citizen himself.

The law establishes that the Criminal Code is obliged to pay to the state revenue fifty percent of the amount excessively accrued to the citizen. So, for example, if the management company wrote in the payment slip 500 rubles more than required, then it is obliged to pay 250 rubles from one receipt.

Does the Criminal Code have the right to fine residents?

The Criminal Code has no right to impose a fine. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a fine is a punishment that provides for administrative and criminal liability. Only the competent authorities of the state have the right to impose a fine, like any other punishment.

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How to check a housing and communal services receipt for accuracy

In order to check the receipt in the simplest way, we need the tenant of the apartment and his attentiveness. The document must be checked for:

• Services that are not provided, such as heating in the summer season.
• New graphs.
• Correspondence between the actual housing area and that indicated on the receipt.
• Correspondence to the number of people living.

The tenant has the right to contact the company managing your home if he has any doubts about the calculations. The management company is obliged to provide all the necessary information and calculation data.

You need to know that the Government for each region sets a percentage limit by which the tariff can be increased, and there can be no talk of including double rates. If you observe numbers higher than those established by regulations, then this is already an overestimation, this is wrong!

In order to find out whether the regulations of the Government of the Russian Federation have been violated, you need to find out when there will be changes in the tariff. The correct numbers can be found on the Internet.

Old receipts should be kept. When the tariff is reduced or increased, reconcile these papers (it is advisable that they be of the same date, with the exception of the year). Using simple calculations, you can calculate how much the fee actually increased, and then compare it with the regulatory framework. Reconciliation should be carried out primarily in the column “maintenance and current repairs”, since other indicators can vary greatly. True, if the receipt indicates tariffs, you can use its other lines.

Not all residents will be able to find out the rent amount, since only some housing and communal services create special websites where you can view such information.

If your housing and communal services have such a website, then just go to it and know the consumer’s data.

Where to complain, algorithm of actions

After it has been revealed that the receipt is filled out incorrectly and the rent is charged, the citizen has the right to receive explanations from the management organization and if they do not satisfy the consumer, then he has the right to appeal such an unreliable receipt.

A complaint to the regulatory authority in 2020 in Moscow and other regions of the Russian Federation is submitted in the manner and according to the rules provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Bodies exercising control over issues of incorrect accrual:

• Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation;
• housing inspection;
• FAS;
• court.

It is to these authorities that a complaint can be filed. Another authority is Rospotrebnadzor, but as practice has shown, it is most effective to resolve issues through the courts.

What to do if inconsistencies are identified in housing and communal services receipts

The need to perform a comparison on a personal account arises if payment receipts are lost or a discrepancy is found in settlements with service providers. Having received a receipt with incorrect data, you need to check it in any available way. If, after working on data comparison, your confidence in the untruthfulness of the information written on the receipt has only increased, you should perform the following steps:

1. Make a written statement addressed to the head of the housing and communal services office who made an error in the receipt. In your appeal you should clarify your disagreements.
2. Request the issuance of a reconciliation report for the period allowed for consideration in court. That is, over the past three years.
3. If you do not receive a written response and a reconciliation report within thirty days, you should contact the supervisory authorities with a statement of violation of civil rights.
4. If an act has been issued and, based on the information specified in it, there is a fact of inflated tariffs or unlawful additional charges, these violations can only be appealed in court.

The need to obtain a reconciliation report lies in the fact that the issued document is confirmation for the court of charges made by public utilities. And if they are truly unlawful, then the court will oblige them to be excluded from the personal account.

Also, if such a disputed amount arises, it will be problematic for utility companies to collect it through the court as a debt, since it is disputed and actions with it are frozen until the correctness of its occurrence is determined. But only if there is correspondence with the utility office.

Since methods of dealing with debtors have recently become more stringent, various methods have been introduced to obtain information about the state of one’s balance on utility bills. Therefore, in case of disagreement with the data specified in the receipt, you can always make an official comparison of the information without postponing this event for a long time.

Documents and statement of claim, sample

Any complaint sent to one or another authority must be accompanied by documents proving the consumer’s case. Checking tariffs and meters is carried out precisely according to these documents of the applicant.

If it is possible to find out that payments for housing and communal services are calculated correctly, then the citizen’s complaint is rejected.

The fundamental document preceding the trial is the statement of claim. It should include the following elements:

1. Name of the document and address of the court.
2. Indication of the full name or official name of the parties.
3. Description of the essence of the disputed legal relationship.
4. An indication of the evidence base.
5. Date of preparation of the document and signatures of the parties.

Sample claim to court for incorrect calculation of rent. ⇐

Housing and communal services participates in the trial through its official representative. The court has the authority to cancel accrued penalties, award compensation for illegal charges, cancel delays, etc.

The act issued by the court regarding the consideration of the case is called a decision. It is mandatory for execution by both the consumer and the resource organization.

Complaint to the housing inspectorate about incorrect charges, sample

The prosecutor's office is not the only way to influence unscrupulous management companies. A citizen has the right to contact other government agencies, for example, the Housing Inspectorate.

According to the law, you can complain and contact this body either by filing a complaint in person or by using Internet resources. The complaint must indicate the bills and tariff amounts that exist today. All this will serve as evidence of illegal accrual and incorrect calculations.

The complaint in this body is considered in accordance with the federal law on the procedure for considering appeals from citizens in the Russian Federation.

A sample document is available. ⇐

The lawyer of the development group "City-XXI Century" Vasily Sharapov answers:

If the management of the house is carried out through the HOA and the HOA directly manages the apartment building, then the procedure for paying for the services of the HOA is determined in accordance with the decisions of the governing bodies of this association of owners. If an agreement for the management of an apartment building is concluded between the HOA and the management company, the owners of the premises are required to make utility payments to the account of the management company according to the issued invoices. If we are talking about the legal relationship between the HOA and the owner of the premises, who is not a member of the HOA, then in this case the fee for services is paid on the basis of an agreement between the owner and the HOA.

How to correctly calculate penalties for late payment of rent

Penalties, in essence, are penalties for unscrupulous citizens who do not want to fulfill their obligations to pay for utilities.

Before accruing penalties, it is necessary to notify the citizen about this. This occurs by sending a written act in the form of a registered letter. Only after written notification can penalties be assessed. The rules for calculating penalties are regulated not only by internal local acts of management organizations, but also by civil law.

Refund of overpayment for utilities: practical situations

Of course, incorrectly calculated sums of money for utilities entail large overpayments by the population. Checking and seeing water, gas, and electricity meters can really help to timely establish the fact of overpayments and prevent this illegal action.

All receipts must comply with the standards established in a particular entity. Overpayment, as a rule, is returned only through the court. For example, the Serpukhov Court considered a similar case. The fact of overestimation of tariffs for natural gas consumption was revealed. As a result, there was an overpayment of sixty thousand rubles.

The court, having studied the arguments of the parties, having considered the receipts and previously established tariffs, came to the conclusion that the plaintiff was right. Thus, the management organization was obliged to reimburse this amount of money in full.

Fine for incorrect calculation of utility bills in 2020, who pays whom and to whom

As noted above, for incorrect accrual there is a fine of fifty percent of the illegally obtained amount. However, this is far from the only punishment for unscrupulous management organizations. Mandatory payment of compensation to a citizen is provided, regardless of the amount of the fine paid.

Thus, management companies and other structures involved in charging utility bills can and should be fought. The law provides for many methods of influence, each of which is very effective.