Determining the number of residents in residential premises when calculating the amount of payment for utility services

How to determine the estimated number of residents in an apartment building

Oh, it's not that simple. Actually it depends on the design stage. When done at the level of, for example, a planning project, etc. The estimated occupancy of apartments is taken to be approximately 3.7 people/apartment. This is the average for the region. Now this norm is too high. When we conduct surveys of houses (several dozen a year), we make sure to find out the real number of residents. It is now much different. Maybe less than 2 people for large apartments, maybe more.

Therefore, we must proceed from the importance of the numbers. For example, when setting tariffs, arguments like “Realistically, 1 and 2 rooms can accommodate 2 adults + 1 child” will not fit, even if they look like the truth from a distance. Or maybe a “clean Tajik family of 18 people” can live in a 1-room apartment.

The management authority has the right to draw up an act on the number of people living in the apartment in accordance with RF PP No. 354

The question of how many people actually live in an apartment is important for management organizations, HOAs and RSOs: the number of residents affects the calculation of fees for the corresponding housing or utility service, if it is made taking into account the number of registered residents.

For example, if it is technically impossible to install utility meters in a room and a report has been drawn up about this, then the value of the consumption standard directly depends on the number of people living in the apartment. And if this is not precisely established, then the management organization/HOA may incur large expenses when paying for the CD on SOI.

In RF PP No. 354, legislators officially gave consumers and providers of utility services the opportunity to resolve the issue with citizens unregistered in the apartment:

voluntarily - when the owners of an apartment or a person permanently residing in it send a statement to the executor of the property management system that there are persons living in the residential premises temporarily, that is, for more than 5 days (clauses 56, 57(1) of the RF PP No. 354).
compulsorily - MA, HOA and RSO independently record such information by drawing up an act establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in residential premises (clause 56(1) of the RF PP No. 354).

The task of drawing up such an act is not an easy one in itself, and if the MA succeeded, then it is worth strictly following the requirements of the RF PP No. 354, which was repeatedly expressed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation when resolving disputes between owners and the MA about the legality of this document.

For example, in case No. A56-102775/2018, the Administration did not send a copy of the drawn up act to the owner and to the body authorized to exercise supervision functions in the field of migration. All courts sided with the owner, who demanded that the act be declared invalid. We examined this matter in detail here.

It is not easy for management organizations to defend in court the legality and legality of the act they have drawn up on the number of people living in an apartment, but in practice there are examples when they succeed. Let's look at one of the latest such cases.

How to correctly draw up an act on persons temporarily residing in an apartment
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How Russians live: 68%; in separate apartments, 26%; private houses, the rest - wherever necessary

The main type of housing among Russian citizens remains a separate apartment - 96.3 million people (almost 68%) live in such “mansions”. 37.6 million people live in private homes. Oddly enough, between 2002 and 2010 the number of Russians living in communal apartments increased. The largest number of communal apartments are in St. Petersburg (9.3% of citizens live in them), Chuvashia (5.3%), and the Kirov region (3.8%). But Russians no longer want to live in hostels - their number has decreased in all regions of Russia, except Chechnya and Adygea.

Interesting fact: 31 thousand people permanently live in hotels, almost half of which are in Moscow. 404 thousand Russians live in other non-traditional places of residence - trailers, barges, tents, yarangas, yurts. The good news is that this is two times less than in 2002.

The same Rosstat informs us that the current distribution of the housing stock of the Russian Federation is as follows. The largest number of two-room apartments in the country can be found. Their number is approaching 26 million. In second place are three-room apartments with an indicator of 18.7 million units. And finally, the top three is completed by such popular options among tenants as one-room apartments. There are 16.6 million of them in the country.

To meet demand, developers are actively commissioning housing. Our table, compiled according to Rosstat data, shows how the number of apartments in Russia increased from 1995 to 2018. So, if in 1995 there were 52 million apartments in Russia, then by the end of 2021 their number was already close to 67 million. Over the past year, housing commissioning amounted to about 1 million new apartments. The total area of all apartments put into operation at the end of 2021 exceeded 75 million square meters.

About the number of residents of an apartment building

Comments

The question of the number of people living in residential premises (apartments) of an apartment building has become particularly relevant in connection with the equipping of houses with communal metering devices for utilities.

In the absence of a common house metering device, the payment for cold, hot water supply, electricity supply is calculated based on the readings of individual metering devices and consumption standards for the above utilities, and it does not matter how many citizens live in the neighboring apartment.

Payment for utilities provided for general house needs, in this case, is calculated according to consumption standards based on the area of the occupied premises.

If there is a common house metering device, the picture changes, and citizens’ interest in the number of people living in neighboring apartments is growing every day. And this, of course, is not without reason, because the amount of payment for utilities provided for general house needs will depend on the volume of utilities consumed by individual metering devices, as well as accrued according to the standard.

Naturally, if a family of 5 people lives in a residential building that is not equipped with individual meters, and payment for utilities is made for 1 registered person, then this will undoubtedly affect the payment for utilities provided for general house needs for residents other apartments, because the utilities that five of them consume hardly fit into the standard provided for 1 person.

The rules approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 2011 No. 354 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) define the procedure for identifying temporary residents in residential premises that are not equipped with an individual and (or) hot water and (or) cold water meter , and (or) electrical energy, consumers.

According to the Rules, if a residential premises that is not equipped with an individual and (or) common (apartment) metering device for hot water and (or) cold water and (or) electrical energy is used by temporarily residing consumers , then the amount of payment for the corresponding type of utility service is provided in such a residential premises, is calculated based on the number of consumers permanently residing and temporarily residing in the residential premises .

A consumer is considered to be temporarily residing in a residential premises if he actually resides in this residential premises for more than 5 days in a row .

If the residential premises are not equipped with an individual or common (apartment) metering device for cold water, hot water, electricity and gas, and the contractor has information about consumers temporarily residing in the residential premises who are not registered in this premises at their permanent (temporary) place of residence or place of stay, the contractor has the right to draw up an act establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in the residential premises , which is signed by the contractor and the consumer .

If the consumer refuses to sign such an act, then the act establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in the residential premises is signed by the contractor, at least 2 consumers, as well as a member of the house council (if a HOA or cooperative has not been created), or the chairman of the HOA or cooperative, if management of the apartment building is carried out by a partnership or cooperative and the management body of such a partnership or cooperative has concluded a management agreement with the management organization.

The act establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in residential premises indicates:

→ date and time of its preparation, → full name of the owner of the residential premises (permanently residing consumer), → address, place of residence, → information on the number of temporarily residing consumers, as well as if it is possible to determine the start date of their residence and subject to the signing of the act by the owner of the residential premises (permanently residing consumer) indicates the start date of their residence.

If the owner of the residential premises (permanently residing consumer) refuses to sign the act or the owner of the residential premises (permanently residing consumer) is absent from the residential premises at the time the act is drawn up, a corresponding note is made in this act .

The contractor is obliged to hand over 1 copy of the act to the owner of the residential premises (permanently residing consumer), and if there is a refusal to receive such an act, a note is made.

The specified act is sent by the executor to the internal affairs bodies within 3 days from the date of its preparation.

In the absence of citizens permanently or temporarily residing in the residential premises, the volume of utilities is calculated taking into account the number of owners of such premises .

The amount of payment for the corresponding type of utility service provided to temporary residents is calculated by the contractor in proportion to the number of days lived by such consumers and is paid by the permanent resident consumer .

Calculation of the amount of payment for the corresponding type of utility service provided to temporary residents stops from the day following the day:

— commissioning of an individual and (or) general (apartment) metering device for hot water, cold water and (or) electrical energy, designed to account for the consumption of such (such) utility resources in a residential building used by temporarily residing consumers;

- the end of the period of residence of such consumers in the residential premises, which is indicated in the application of the owner or permanently residing consumer for the use of residential premises by temporarily residing consumers, but not earlier than the date of receipt of such an application by the contractor.

The date of commencement of residence of temporary residents in residential premises for use in calculating fees for utility services and, if necessary, recalculations for past periods is indicated in the application of the owner (permanently residing consumer) for the use of residential premises by temporarily residing consumers.

In the absence of such an application or in the absence in such an application of the date of commencement of residence of temporarily residing persons in the residential premises, such date is considered to be the 1st day of the month of the date of drawing up the act establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in the residential premises . The said act is drawn up in the manner prescribed by the Rules.

The application of the owner or permanently residing consumer for the use of residential premises by temporarily residing consumers must indicate the surname, first name and patronymic of the owner or permanently residing consumer, address, place of residence, information on the number of temporarily residing consumers, the start and end dates of such consumers’ residence in residential premises . Such an application is sent to the contractor by the owner or permanently residing consumer within 3 working days from the date of arrival of temporary residents .

The number of consumers temporarily residing in a residential premises is determined on the basis of an application and (or) on the basis of an act drawn up by the executor on establishing the number of citizens temporarily residing in a residential premises .

Housing stock of Russia according to Rosstat

Today, the housing stock of Russia, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, is a rather heterogeneous structure. The fact is that in different regions of the country there is an uneven level of improvement and social support in this area.

The number of one-room apartments has increased by approximately 30% since 1995.
The number of two-room apartments increased by less than 20%.
There are also 20% more three-room apartments.
But large-sized premises, with more than 4 rooms, increased by more than 100%.

Where and how do Russians live today?

There is only one room per person in Russia - this is one of the lowest indicators in the Better Life Index rating, compiled by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). One resident of Turkey and Mexico has the same amount; the highest rates are in Canada (2.5), New Zealand and the USA (2.4 each). The average for OECD countries is 1.8 rooms per person. In total, 36 countries participate in the rating - 34 OECD members (these are mainly developed economies) plus Brazil and Russia.