Reasons for turning off water. Do they have the right to stop the supply and where to complain?

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Published: 09/05/2018

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In Russia, there are two documents that regulate the supply of hot and cold water. These are Federal Law No. 416-FZ of December 7, 2011 “On water supply and sanitation” and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of May 6, 2011 “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings.”

• Grounds for filing a complaint about lack of water to the Management Company or Vodokanal
• To the housing inspection and Rospotrebnadzor
• To the Municipal Administration
• To the Prosecutor's Office
• To court

Based on these regulations, hot water must be supplied around the clock, regardless of the time of year. In some cases, a temporary lack of water is allowed:

• over the course of a month, hot water may be unavailable for 8 hours (this figure is the total amount; the law allows a one-time shutdown for no more than 4 hours);
• in the event of an accident on the main line, the absence of water for 24 hours is allowed;
• during repair and maintenance work, the duration of the break is established by SanPin standards ; this break cannot be more than two weeks.

If the water temperature is below +40 degrees, it should be paid for as cold. However, this fact will need to be recorded.

Where to go if the hot water supply is not turned on on time?

If the outage is planned, the residents were notified about it in advance, then all that remains is to wait for the completion of the repair work.
The period of annual preventive repairs cannot exceed 14 days , and residents must be notified about this 10 days before the start of work.

If hot water is not provided, you can:

• contact the management company or HOA with a written application or call them by phone;
• call the emergency dispatch service.

The numbers can be found at the information stand at any entrance.

Recalculation for lack of service according to the Resolution

During planned water outages or if the water supply is turned off for a long period, the housing and communal services cash settlement center usually independently adjusts the amount of consumer fees for hot and cold water.

If this does not happen, the consumer can write a complaint to the RCC. The document must indicate the details of the addressee and sender, the period when there was no water (if there is a meter, write down the readings before and after the shutdown), as well as the number of the agreement with the Management Company.

Along with the application, you must submit to the RCC:

1. a receipt with an overcharged fee;
2. act on the provision of poor-quality services (if it was drawn up by emergency dispatch service employees);
3. a statement confirming the absence of debt for housing and communal services;
4. document on ownership of housing or a lease agreement.

These rules are enshrined in Chapter. IX. Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 N 354 “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings.”

The fee must be recalculated within 5 days from the date of receipt of the complaint from the consumer.

What to do if there is no long term?

If there is no hot water for a long time or the water temperature does not meet the standards, then you need to contact the management company or the local housing and communal services department with a written statement.

If there is no result or inaction of the responsible persons, the next step is an application to a higher authority.

The list of institutions for filing complaints about poor quality housing and communal services is established by Art. 13, art. 20 Housing Code of the Russian Federation, clause 124 of Order No. 170.

These are local authorities or government agencies that have the authority to control the provision of quality services to the population:

1. District or city administration. This is the first instance where you need to contact in case of inaction of the Criminal Code. It is recommended to write a complaint addressed to the head of the district administration.

2. 
   Housing inspection. This institution controls all issues related to maintaining the good condition of the housing stock. The right to apply sanctions if it is discovered that services are of inadequate quality.

3. Government services. To submit a complaint remotely, registration on this portal is required, but not all institutions can be contacted.
4. Rospotrebnadzor. Resolves all problems with organizations that violate consumer rights and provide low-quality services. Has the authority to impose sanctions on the violator.
5. Prosecutor's office. It is recommended if appeals to all other authorities have not brought results, or there are material claims, for example, a requirement to recalculate payment for services not received
6. Court. The last authority that decides cases involving violation of rights and material claims, for example, compensation for moral or material damage. The defendant in the claim must be the organization providing the service.

Permissible duration of utility outages

Utility outage duration

When providing utility services with interruptions exceeding the established duration, the amount of payment for each utility service is also subject to reduction in the amount of utilities not provided. The main regulatory document regulating the relationship between the subjects of the process of providing hot water supply is the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings” dated 05/06/2011. No. 354. According to this resolution, namely Appendix No. 1, a list of situations is established when utilities can be disconnected:

— Allowable duration of interruption in cold water supply: 8 hours (total) for 1 month; 4 hours at a time, in case of an accident in centralized cold water supply networks in accordance with the requirements of the Russian Federation on technical regulation (SNiP 2.04.02-84).

— Allowable duration of hot water supply interruption: 8 hours (total) for 1 month; 4 hours at a time, and in case of an accident on a dead-end main - 24 hours, the duration of the hot water supply interruption associated with repair and maintenance work is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on technical regulation (SanPin 2.1.4.2496-09).

— Allowable duration of water supply interruption: 8 hours (total) for 1 month; 4 hours at a time (including in case of an accident).

— Permissible duration of gas supply interruption: no more than 4 hours (in total) for one month.

— Permissible duration of heating interruption: no more than 24 hours (in total) within one month; no more than 16 hours at a time - at an air temperature in residential premises from 12 degrees C to standard; no more than 8 hours at a time – at an air temperature in residential premises from 10 degrees C to 12 degrees C; no more than 4 hours at a time - at an air temperature in residential premises from 8 degrees C to 10 degrees C.

As a rule, all the dissatisfaction of residents of comfortable apartments is caused by rather long periods of preventive maintenance. According to paragraph 10 of this Procedure:

When providing utility services, breaks to carry out repair and maintenance work, as well as work to connect new consumers, are allowed after prior notification (in writing) to the consumer in the manner prescribed by these Rules. The duration of these breaks is established in accordance with these Rules and other requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation. Interruptions due to natural disasters and emergencies are also permitted.

Other requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation mean regulations that ensure sanitary and technical requirements (control over which is established in accordance with Articles 12, 13, 14 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation), namely:

1) Rules and regulations for the operation of the housing stock, approved by Decree of the State Construction Committee of Russia No. 170 of September 27, 2003: Repair of heating networks, heating points and heat consumption systems should be carried out simultaneously in the summer. The recommended repair period associated with the cessation of hot water supply is 14 days. In each specific case, the duration of repairs is set by local governments.

2) Hygienic requirements for ensuring the safety of hot water supply systems, approved by the Resolution of the Federal Service for Supervision of the Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare (Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation) No. 20 dated 04/07/2009: During the period of annual preventive maintenance, hot water supply systems should not be turned off exceed 14 days. During the repair period, facilities of increased epidemic significance (hospitals, boarding schools, school and preschool institutions, etc.) must be provided with hot water from their own backup sources, which should be provided for at the project development stage.

Moreover, if in the first normative act it is allowed to exceed the period for carrying out preventive work by more than 14 days, then in the second normative act this period is clearly established.

A planned shutdown of utilities, in accordance with clause 49 of the Procedure, must be accompanied by notification to consumers no later than 10 working days before the start of the break.

The implementation of state control over the compliance of residential premises, quality, volume and procedure for the provision of utility services, regardless of the form of ownership, is carried out by executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (in accordance with Article 13, Article 20 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). Control over compliance with the procedure for the provision of utility services is carried out by executive authorities of the Russian Federation, executive authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local government bodies within their competence (in accordance with clause 114 of the Procedure).

Therefore, you can contact the following authorities regarding this matter (you can also see contacts on our website):

1) District administration;

2) Department of Housing and Communal Services;

3) State Housing Inspectorate;

4) Office of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare;

5) Prosecutor's office (district, regional).

Who should be held accountable for these violations? To do this, it is necessary to determine who is the contractor providing hot water supply. Depending on how you manage your home, there may be several options:

1) Your home is maintained by a management company. In this case, the management company is the executor, and responsibility for the provision of hot water supply lies with it, regardless of whether it produces or acquires utilities. In practice, very often management companies explain the absence of their fault, however, according to the Procedure, they are the executor who is responsible for the entire process of providing utility services. And it is they who must answer.

Management companies like to refer to the debt of consumers, however, according to clause 80 of the Procedure, in order to suspend or limit the provision of utility services, it is necessary to have a debt of 6 monthly payments, determined based on the relevant standards for the consumption of utility services. In this case, the contractor is obliged to notify in writing one month in advance of such a disconnection, otherwise the disconnection will not be carried out. In addition, the contractor, in accordance with clause 85, clause 86 of the Procedure, cannot turn off hot water to consumers who fulfill their obligations. That is, if your neighbor improperly fulfills his obligations (for example, does not pay housing and communal services on time), then you do not have the right to turn off the hot water and refer to this neighbor.

2) If you have an HOA or housing cooperative, then responsibility for the failure to provide hot water supply lies with the governing bodies.

In practice, disconnections often occur when some consumers fail to pay their debts for housing and communal services. In this case, HOAs and housing cooperatives are a single consumer and are liable for their debts in full. In the first option, we have already discussed how hot water should be suspended or limited. At the same time, paragraph 86 of the Procedure does not clearly refer specifically to the consumer, but generally refers to the suspension or limitation of utility services. In addition, there is a review of the judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation for the 4th quarter of 2006, approved by the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 7, 2007 (issue 28), where HOAs and housing cooperatives were identified as an intermediary (since it is not a direct consumer) in the process provision of public services. Therefore, there is a rather difficult question here, how to position an HOA or housing cooperative, and whether it is possible to turn off bona fide payers in the event of debts of other residents.

3) In the case of direct management, in accordance with Article 164 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, each owner independently enters into an agreement for the provision of hot water supply. The performer will be the one with whom this agreement is concluded.

It is also important to know that, in accordance with clause 51, clause 77 of the Procedure, you have the right to demand payment by the contractor of penalties (fines, penalties) for failure to provide utility services or provision of utility services of inadequate quality, including compensation for losses and harm caused to life, health or property of the consumer (persons living together with him). At the same time, in accordance with paragraphs 75, 76 of the procedure, the provider of utility services bears responsibility established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for violation of the quality and procedure for the provision of utility services. That is, not only is there no charge for failure to provide utility services, but you also have the right to demand penalties.

Information is being updated!!!

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How to file a claim?

There are no uniform requirements for drawing up such a document, but it must be remembered that this is an official document and will be received by an employee of a government agency. The result of the appeal largely depends on how correctly it is compiled.

For this reason, when filing a complaint, you must adhere to certain rules:

• 
  the complaint can be written on a regular A4 sheet, since there is no unified form;

• The writing style must be formal, polite, you cannot use personal thoughts, threats, or curses;
• the situation must be described briefly but clearly, without inventing anything or adding anything on your own;
• to confirm information, the numbers of laws, regulations, details of contracts or other documents are indicated;

You will need to provide all available evidence, for which all supporting documents are attached to the complaint.

It is necessary to put forward demands commensurate with the offense that has arisen.

Procedure for filing a written complaint:

1. At the top right is the full name of the organization to which the complaint is being sent, its address, and details. You can write the full name and position of the head of the organization to send a complaint to him.
2. Information about the applicant is entered: his passport and contact details. The address to which the response should be sent is required.
3. A little lower in the middle of the line is the name of the document, for example, “Complaint about lack of hot water.”
4. What follows is a text that clearly states the essence of the case, the reason for the appeal, with references to violated standards and laws. You should write the address of the house, the time of violations, the dates of appeals to various authorities, indicating the names of these institutions. You can enter a claim for late notification or violation of work deadlines.
5. There is a requirement to take appropriate measures (eliminate the violation, make a recalculation, organize an inspection, send an order) and bring the perpetrators to justice.

At the bottom there is a signature with a transcript, date, and a list of attached documents . If this is a collective complaint, then all residents of the building must sign it.

It is imperative to indicate what kind of water supply disruption is occurring and how long it has been going on.

You will need to make 3-4 copies of the document, since its copies must be sent to regulatory authorities. One copy remains in the hands of the applicant with a note that the complaint has been accepted for consideration, indicating the date and signature of the person who accepted the complaint.

The complaint can be submitted in person or sent by mail with acknowledgment of receipt.
Mailing is effective if any agency refuses to accept the application. However, this method of handling will require a lot of time.

Disconnection message

Before the REO workers turn off the resource, it is required to notify residents about this. To do this, employees of the management company write announcements about water shutoffs, then these messages are hung on the entrances. Compose as follows:

1. First, the words “Announcement” and “Attention” are printed on top in capital letters.
2. Address to residents below, in the middle.
3. Message that hot water is turned off.
4. They indicate the reason and apologize.
5. Below they write that this is the REO administration.

The management company is obliged to warn about the shutdown of a hot resource. The exception is natural disasters or sudden emergencies. If communication is not provided at the entrances of a residential building for longer than the established period, the quality of services is compromised, or there is no notification, then residents can complain. To do this, they call administration employees and draw up an act.

Evidence base

When turning off hot water, the first thing you need to do is record the fact and time of the shutdown.

To do this, you need to contact the utility services, report the lack of water, and find out the reason.

The utility employee usually specifies the reasons or time frame required to identify the causes of the lack of water and correct the problem.

It is advisable to obtain information in writing. This will become an important argument when protecting your interests. To do this, you must submit a written claim.

What else can you do to prove the lack of hot water:

1. If there is no accident at the site , but cold water flows from the tap, the applicant has the right to independently measure the temperature. If it is below the norm established by law, which is 40°, then an application is also submitted to the dispatch service to record the non-compliance with the standards.
2. The applicant has the right to call a specialist to take measurements and record the violation. By law, the master must arrive no later than two hours from the moment the application is submitted. Based on the results of the inspection, a report is drawn up, one copy of which remains with the applicant.
3. If there is no hot water supply all the time , a specialist needs to be called several times. Having several acts in hand, you can contact the management company, where they write an application demanding recalculation and restoration of the standard water temperature.

If the inspection shows compliance with the standards, but the owner of the apartment does not agree with this, an independent examination can be carried out, based on the results of which a report is also drawn up.

The management company must be notified in advance of the date of the examination. You can install a meter equipped with a temperature sensor, but management companies are reluctant to agree to register such devices.

In addition, according to the law, payments are calculated based on the number of cubic meters of water received, and not the amount of heat. Therefore, it is very difficult to use temperature sensor data as evidence in the event of disputes with the management company.

Need to remember

• Utilities have the right to turn off water for several reasons, including due to a water main failure, consumer debt, and in case of preventive maintenance.
• In a month, cold and hot water have the right to be turned off for a total of no more than 8 hours. Exception: if there is an accident on a dead-end water pipeline, then hot water may not be supplied for a day.
• A two-week summer shutdown of hot water must be notified no later than 10 days.
• If a consumer has not paid for water for more than two months, his apartment will be disconnected from the GWW system. Water supply will be restored again within 2 days from the date of repayment of the debt.
• You can find out about planned water outages on the websites of individual services; if the outage is an emergency, you can find out from the media or from the Management Company.
• If the water is turned off too often, the consumer has the right to demand a recalculation of utility bills. To do this, you need to write an application to the cash settlement center.
• If consumer complaints are ignored, or there are other violations in the supply and quality of water, you need to contact the housing inspectorate or the prosecutor's office. The utility service provider may be held administratively liable and fined from 1,000 to 10,000 rubles.

When can I expect results?

The deadline for responding to citizens' appeals regarding poor-quality provision of utility services according to the law is no more than 3 days.

This is stated in paragraphs. “k” clause 31 of the Rules for the provision of public services (Resolution No. 354).

Consideration of an application requesting recalculation of the cost of services provided takes no more than 10 days (Article 31 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights)

The response from the prosecutor's office will need to wait no more than 15 days , after which the applicant will receive written notification of the results of the prosecutor's inspection or the imposition of administrative penalties. Sometimes the period for consideration of an application is extended to 30 days.

After receiving the statement of claim, the court conducts a pre-trial inspection within 5 days. After this, the case will be put in a queue for consideration, a date will be set, and the plaintiff and defendant will be invited to the hearing. The result will be a court decision that comes into force one month after its adoption.

Suspension of supply of resources upon application

There are situations when turning off the water supply is required for a resident of the house. This happens at the time of repair, replacement of the riser, pipes and other sewer elements. To do this, the owner writes an application addressed to the head of the administration in free form. In this case there is no standard sample. As an example, you can take the following option:

1. The standard “hat” is on the top, right.
2. Statement – ​​inscription in the middle.
3. Text: “Please turn off the risers... Dates, times...”
4. At the end they put a number, a signature, and a transcript.

You can further clarify the nuances and details. It is important to know that during the heating season this will not be allowed. If the owner leaves the home, he informs about this. It is necessary to ask to stop the supply of supplied services, to assure that information about departure will be provided. The owner must understand that the amount of funds will be recalculated during departure and when communications are disconnected.

You can write a request to suspend the provision of services upon arrival, but no later than a month. After submitting the application, the service must respond to the request and provide a response to the resident. Payment will be recalculated without fail, as this is provided for by law. It is important to know the rights of owners so that you can take advantage of them.