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Installation of water meters according to the law
Installation of water meters is carried out only legally. This procedure is regulated by legislative acts:
- rules, as well as some nuances of the use of water resources and wastewater, are approved by Government Resolution No. 776;
- the procedure and conditions for installing cold (hot) water consumption meters are regulated by Federal Law No. 261;
- tariffs and benefits for citizens who do not have water consumption meters are established by Government Decree No. 306;
- Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated 04/05/2013 N 178 states that citizens must install water consumption meters in their homes on a voluntary basis.
The installation of meters in apartments of multi-storey buildings is the responsibility of building management organizations or employees of housing and communal services.
Note! Direct installation of the meter can only be carried out by a person with the appropriate specialty and qualifications.
Before he starts work, check his documents. He must have permission to work with such equipment.
After the device takes its place, the installer is obliged to provide the homeowner with the following documentation:
- those. device passport;
- certificate of work completed, warranty card for maintenance work;
- papers on registration of the meter and its commissioning;
- meter identification code, seal number, receipt for payment for specialist services;
- a document confirming the device’s compliance with established standards (may be required during inspection).
Watch the video. Is it necessary to install water meters:
Is it possible to install a water flow meter yourself - what does the law say about this?
The ability to install a water meter yourself is not specifically stipulated by law; the law only obliges all citizens of the Russian Federation to have them available.
At the same time, all water meters must meet the requirements of the standards and be included in the list of permitted installations in apartments. However, specialists from authorized organizations will offer the apartment owner certified water meters, with which there will be no problems.
Until 2012, in order to install a meter on a pipe, it was necessary to contact the territorial housing administration with a statement - the rules for installing water meters in an apartment did not provide otherwise. Now you can connect everything yourself.
Install the meter by representatives of the management company - registration procedure
Nowadays, you are allowed to install a water meter in your apartment yourself. But if you still decide to install the metering device by company representatives, you will need to perform the following steps:
- Submit an application to the housing and communal services office according to the affiliation. Here you should be able to choose from a list of specialized organizations that install water meters for water in apartments
- Next, you need to sign an agreement with the contractors for the installation of a water meter in the apartment and their further maintenance
- Upon completion of the installation work in the apartment, a certificate of acceptance of the equipment and its commissioning is drawn up.
- Simultaneously with drawing up the report, the water meter is sealed.
- An agreement is concluded with the operating organization on the use of these devices to calculate payments for used water.
Install for free – to whom the law provides free installation of the device
It should be noted that according to the law, a certain group of citizens can install a water meter free of charge.
This service can be used free of charge by:
- citizens with a total income below the subsistence level;
- WWII participants;
- incompetent citizens belonging to the first and second groups;
- citizens raising disabled children.
Is it necessary to install them?
There is no exact requirement for the mandatory installation of a water flow meter in the Federal Law. You can do without it, but is it profitable? After all, payment for water consumption at a tariff is almost 60% higher than the average consumption rate.
Each region has the right to make individual amendments and special points to the law. Thus, according to Moscow Government Decree No. 77-PP, issued on February 10, 2004, fixed intervals between water meter verifications were canceled for residents of the capital.
Need to know! Housing and communal services should not insist that residents independently install these devices in their apartments .
It is also prohibited to advertise inspection organizations. Indeed, at the legislative level the installation of water meters is prescribed, but nothing about any admin. Punishments for those citizens who do not do this are not stated in legislative acts.
Homeowners install water meters at their own expense. The same situation applies to replacing devices.
Timing for verification of electricity meters.
Whether gas meters are changed free of charge or not, read here.
General house heat meters: who should install them, read the link:
What to do if the water utility requires moving the meter from the house to the well?
Submit a written statement to the management of the water utility. Verbal negotiations will lead nowhere.
Having received a written refusal, contact the district prosecutor's office. In your letter, refer to Article 27 of the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”. It says that when a victim, for health reasons, age or other reasons, cannot personally defend his interests in court, the prosecutor files and supports a claim in court or arbitration court in the interests of the victim.
Write a letter to the State Housing Inspectorate. Its employees have the right to issue orders against the water utility and bring it to administrative responsibility.
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source: Energy Question
Who can use the service for free
Not all owners have the opportunity to purchase a meter and pay for its installation.
Important! A certain category of citizens of the Russian Federation has the right to free installation:
- low-income citizens;
- persons with disability group 1 or 2;
- citizens with the status of a participant in the Second World War. This category includes: home front workers, widows of WWII participants, citizens who were rehabilitated;
- families raising a child with a disability.
It should be noted that the authorities of some regions of the country have provided for the possibility of free installation of water meters for citizens who have retired due to old age. For example, in Moscow, all residents of the capital who received a subsidy to pay for living expenses. services have the right to free installation of water consumption meters.
In addition, the local administration of each region has the right to announce a promotion for equipping homes with free water meters during the period of their choice. For example, last year residents of St. Petersburg took advantage of this right.
What to pay attention to
Please note! In certain cases, owners may refuse to equip their apartments or houses with water meters .
But there must be certain reasons for this.
So, you don’t have to install a counter if:
- the structure refers to “buildings with low electrical energy consumption”;
- residential building based on the results of a special inspection. the commission is considered to be in disrepair or dilapidated;
- the building's communications are very old and unreliable, so they urgently need to be replaced;
- The wiring of cold and hot water in the house is designed in such a way that installing a water meter will not allow recording readings of resource consumption.
If your building has one of the features listed above, you need to contact the management company and ask them for appropriate documentary evidence.
You will have to contact Rospotrebnadzor if you need the above conclusion, but you were unable to obtain it from another organization. Specialists of this authority will study the situation and issue the necessary conclusion.
Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.
What to do if permission is required
Homeowners have the right to use the services of any organization they choose to install water meters.
No powers of attorney or licenses are required. The passport specifies all the requirements for installation. Papers that remain with the customer after installation:
- payment documents;
- document and passport for the water meter;
- warranty obligations.
The persons who installed the device are responsible for all defects and substandard parts.
In the event that certain persons refuse to register a device that takes into account water consumption, they must request a refusal in writing in order to contact the Prosecutor's Office, the Antimonopoly and Housing Committees.
Procedure for filing an application for meter installation
As mentioned above, according to Government Decree No. 776 “On approval of the procedure and rules for the private use of water, including wastewater,” issued in September 2013, the commissioning of water meters for citizens of our country is free of charge. In the same way, their sealing is carried out at the expense of the state.
Step-by-step instructions for completing an application:
- contact the management organization;
- prepare the necessary documentation;
- install the meter, obtain a certificate of commissioning of the device;
- sign the contract.
Management companies do not always take responsibility for installing water meters. To perform the technical component of this procedure, you may be recommended organizations that have the right to provide such services.
What documents will be required?
To install a water meter in your home, you will need to prepare the following documents:
- original and copy of passport (all pages with marks);
- application;
- certificate of ownership of housing or other document confirming this fact;
- housing plan. Such technical conditions (plan) are drawn up by the management company or another organization that performs similar work.
Important! To enter into an agreement, you will need to submit certain documents:
- agreement regarding the installation of a water meter;
- meter passport (issued by the manufacturer and included with the device);
- act on putting the metering device into operation;
- a certificate confirming that the device complies with established standards.
Depending on the circumstances, the list of documents may be supplemented.
The commissioning report is drawn up by a representative of the management organization after the water meter is installed and sealed. After receiving the act, enter into an agreement with the management company. The agreement specifies that from a specific date, payment for water consumed will be made according to meter readings. Tariffs are set by the state.
ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application for installation and commissioning of water meters:
Is it possible to install the meter yourself?
The homeowner can install the water meter himself, but after installation, he should call an employee of the management organization (housing complex, HOA, etc.), who must inspect the device, draw up all the documents complete with certification of the fact that the meter has been put into operation, and carry out the sealing.
If you add to this that for such an installation you need to have special technical skills and be able to accurately buy what you need, you should think about calling a professional.
In addition, the water meter is part of the engineering equipment and is prohibited from being dismantled except in cases of repair or replacement; seals must not be broken. Do-it-yourself installation of a water meter is fraught with possible troubles.
Cost of the procedure
Residential real estate can be privately or municipally owned. In the first case, the owner will have to pay for the installation of the water meter himself. On average, such a service will cost 4-7 thousand rubles, in this case it all depends on the region, as well as on how difficult it will be to install the device. If the apartment is municipal, installation is free.
Now about the price of the device itself. You can buy it yourself at the appropriate store or purchase it at the Criminal Code. The average price will be about 2.5 thousand rubles. But again, it all depends on the manufacturer’s product model.
Procedure for replacing water meters
Any device has the ability to fail and wear out. That is why every 4-6 years, homeowners whose houses have water meters installed must change them, as the law says.
In some cases, devices must be replaced due to the passage of a certain amount of water through them during use, since further readings may be incorrect.
When replacing meters, citizens again face waste - the same as when they were installed. For some categories of persons this service is provided completely free of charge.
The following can count on benefits when replacing a water meter:
- low-income families;
- veterans of the Great Patriotic War;
- citizens with disabilities (groups 1 and 2);
- families raising a disabled child.
In some regions of the Russian Federation, pensioners can expect free installation and replacement of water meters.
Sometimes you don’t have to wait for the next replacement. The fact is that some devices fail earlier. In this case, you need to contact the management organization or housing and communal services and write an application for early replacement of the water meter.
It may happen that when performing any plumbing work, the device becomes unsealed, or the plumber installs a new device. Then you need to call the management company and the water utility so that they can send an engineer who will carry out the work appropriate to the situation (for example, put a seal on a new device or restore it on an old meter).
ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application for early replacement of the water meter:
Features of verification of water meters
Government Decree No. 354 (2011) established the procedure for verifying water consumption meters.
This verification is carried out depending on the nuances listed below:
- what meter model;
- when it was installed;
- date of commissioning;
- when the seal was installed at the manufacturer;
- what period of control is expected.
Usually not all of the listed characteristics are taken into account.
Note! In practice, everything happens based on the following reasons:
- set period of time. So, cold water meters must be checked every 4 years, and hot water meters - every 6 years;
- the volume of water passed through the device. In this case, the time period is not taken into account. Verification occurs only after the water meter measures the volume of water set for it.
Then, when exactly it is necessary to verify a particular device, utility services monitor it. If the time for verification comes, a corresponding notification is sent to the owner of the apartment.
If such a notification has not been received, and you know that the time for verification or replacement has come, it is better to independently apply for the implementation of these actions.
Step-by-step procedure for checking a water meter:
- stage one. Write a statement for verification. Indicate your full name, address, telephone number, as well as the name of the device, its model, identification code, information about the manufacturer;
- stage two. Send an application to the management company or municipal services that previously installed this device. According to the contract, they are the ones who are obliged to perform verification or replace the water meter;
- stage three. Check the specialist’s document for permission to perform these actions;
- stage four. If the work is completed, take from the specialist documents confirming the fact that the work was completed, warranty papers, a receipt for payment for services (check for seals and signatures).
ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample application for the need to check the water meter:
What to do if the developer has not installed meters?
If after the commissioning of the facility there are no meters in the water supply network, the following steps must be taken:
Contact the organization entrusted with the functions of managing the housing stock. At this stage, you need to write an application requesting the installation of water meters. Here it is worth clarifying whether common metering devices are installed in the house. This requirement is due to the fact that payment for cold water is possible only if such devices are available. Based on the application, a draft agreement is drawn up between the apartment owner (tenant) and the management organization. The document stipulates the procedure for making payments for hot and cold water. It is advisable to carefully study the contract, and especially the rights and obligations of the parties. Inspect utility networks
It is worth paying attention to the possibility of installing meters. Sometimes, before submitting an application and inviting a specialist, you have to do related work - replace the pipes or taps through which water is supplied to the apartment. Check with specialists what type of device needs to be installed
There is no need to rush into buying the first model you come across. If a licensed organization is involved in the installation, it may not agree to install an existing device. To avoid additional costs, it is recommended to call the installer in advance and determine the time and date of installation. It is also required to invite a representative of the management company to draw up a tripartite Certificate of acceptance of meters and their commissioning. At this stage it is worth deciding how maintenance will be carried out in the future. Install water measuring devices, the number of which may vary - two or four. Most often, two devices are enough - for hot and cold water.
Contract part
Now you can move on to the next steps:
- Conclude an agreement with the housing manager and organization. The document discusses the procedure for making payments for sewerage and cold water. It also spells out the obligations assumed by the housing maintenance office and the owner.
- Conclude another agreement with the organization responsible for heating the water. For example, in the capital we are talking about the State Unitary Enterprise “Mosgorteplo”. Payment is made to the account of these organizations based on a receipt from the hot water section. To formalize the agreement, you need to personally appear at the office of the organization that serves the region of interest (the one where the house is located), and then declare your desire to pay for hot water according to the meter. Now you need to wait for an employee of the organization, who arrives on site within a few days and puts an additional seal on the hot water meter. After this, an agreement is signed. At this stage, it is worth clarifying how the readings will be transmitted.
- If the managing organization is not DEZ, you need to draw up an agreement with the company, and then bring it to the Unified Information Settlement Center. Along with the contract, you need to take a number of other documents - copies of passports for water meters, a commissioning certificate or other papers. If all the requirements are taken into account, the owner of the apartment is registered with the EIRTs and receives information about the rules for transmitting meter readings. For convenience, you need to use a special book in which the readings are entered.
