Housing and communal plumbing services that you should receive for free

What paid and free services does housing and communal services provide?

People who live in apartment buildings often need help from a management company.
For example, a pipe or ventilation duct may become clogged. You cannot do without this service if the canopy above the entrance or the stairs inside it are in disrepair. Problems arise regularly and need to be resolved as soon as possible. It is worth noting that utility services will not solve the problem absolutely free of charge. Payment comes from the amount in the receipt, which is transferred monthly by home owners. That is, for each type of work performed, a certain amount is transferred under an agreement that was concluded with the management company or the resource supplier. The part of housing and communal services that goes beyond standard services will be paid from the residents’ own funds.

To use this and not waste money, we recommend that you study, or better yet, print out a list of what specialists are required to fix without issuing an additional invoice.

List of free and paid services in the field of housing and communal services in a privatized apartment

If the property is owned, you don’t have to spend money on:

maintenance, major and current repairs of a multi-storey building, entrances, attics and basements;
correction, adjustment and prevention in the gas supply or heating system;
replacement of communal meters, actions to restore its functionality.

In terms of maintaining the premises, the management company can also solve slightly different tasks for maintaining the premises. A specific list must be approved at a meeting of residents with representatives of the management company. You can request it from the management company and check its authority.

Peculiarities

Housing and communal services are the main part of the rent. But do all apartment building residents know what they are paying for, and is the payment calculated correctly? If there are violations in the provision of services and in the calculation of payments, housing and communal services organizations should be punished for illegal actions.

When residents pay for the maintenance of a house, they expect that the following work will be carried out in the house and on its territory:

repair or replacement of gutters, ventilation repairs;
roof restoration and repair;
installation of steps, railings, repair of old ones;
Comprehensive care of the local area will be carried out, including landscaping and watering of trees;
cleaning the territory and common areas;
arrangement of children's playgrounds, their care, other work.

The entire list must be in the agreement, which the management company or other utility company signs with the residents at the general meeting. It is recommended to indicate in the document the frequency of all processes.

Not all management companies are responsible in fulfilling their duties; the managers of many do not control their employees, and they rarely come to the service facility.

If the services and the time for their implementation are in the contract, each of the residents of the house will be able to monitor the services and their quality. When the contract does not specify the frequency of work, you can find out information about it from the Management Company itself; the information should be available.

There are standard recommendations for performing cleaning work, for example:

Sweeping should be done daily.
Windows in hallways and stairwells should be washed twice a year.
The floors are also washed every day.

There are deadlines for other works as well. If the cleaning lady does not adhere to the schedule, it is worth complaining about her, because all services are paid for, and not cheap.

Free housing and communal services in a municipal apartment

People who live in social housing may be asked to do more than homeowners.

What they do for them:

various repairs (both major and current) - for the house and common property;
work related to plumbing, electrical, heating and gas supply;
equipment is changed once in a certain period - geysers, stoves, bathrooms, and so on.

But it is worth noting that the equipment is installed for a very long time. Thus, a kitchen stove has a 20-year lifespan, but a cast-iron bathtub will be replaced no earlier than 45 years after its installation.

What free utilities does housing and communal services provide?

Let us consider in detail what belongs to common property and the restoration of which you will not have to pay for.

What they do without payment:

installation and repair of cold and hot water supply risers, up to the first connection or branch;
connecting the gas pipeline - until it stops or forks;
risers that relate to heating, water supply or drainage.
meters that are available in networks - installation before the first connection or locking mechanism.

Utility employees are responsible for maintaining common property in order. Therefore, the following work is performed:

install new glass windows and doors, as well as light bulbs in any auxiliary rooms;
remove snow and ice from the roof, remove icicles;
wash windows, floors, flights of stairs and wipe off dust;
monitor the cleanliness of the local area.

Housing and communal services: what will not be repaired in your apartment for free

There is a whole list of things that have to be changed at your own expense, since the management company does not touch what belongs to the owners:

all IMUs (individual metering devices) that are in the apartment are an obligation to resource suppliers;
stoves, both gas and electric (if the housing is privatized);
central heating batteries;
intercom;
plumbing – faucets, sinks, toilets, showers, taps;
pipes that are located after the connections and connections with risers;
electrician - lighting fixtures, sockets, cables, etc.

Both the residents of the municipal premises and the owners will have to foot the bill for such replacements.

Why do we need a general meeting of owners?

At a meeting of apartment owners and representatives of the management company, questions are raised regarding the maintenance of an apartment building. What is definitely spelled out there and later written into the contract:

monthly payment amount;
in what order and urgency certain tasks need to be completed (fix the roof or drainage first);
repair of which communications and facilities will be the responsibility of the management company.

The amount in the utility bill that will be presented for payment depends on several factors:

square;
type of housing;
how many people are registered;
volume of consumed resources in accordance with metering devices.

Also, this amount depends on the terms of the agreement between the owners of the living space and the company.

What is the actual situation?

It should be noted that the management authorities/homeowners associations/housing cooperatives themselves often explain that the list of works and services for housing maintenance is established by the Government of the Russian Federation, and the owners of the premises cannot in any way influence this list or the frequency of performance of works and services. In addition, often the initiators of the general meeting of owners of apartment building premises (or the general meeting of HOA members), at which the composition and frequency of work and services for housing maintenance are approved, do not discuss this list with the meeting participants; the issue of approving this list is indicated on the agenda and not attracts special attention from voters. These circumstances contribute to strengthening the opinion that the owners of premises do not have the authority to change the composition and frequency of maintenance work and services.

Taking into account the fact that supporters of such a widespread misconception in no way prove their position, it is advisable to talk not about refuting the false theory, but about explaining the procedure for approving the composition and frequency of work on maintaining residential premises.

For a more complete understanding of the procedure for determining the composition of services and work for housing maintenance, we will first indicate the general requirements for the specified work and services, and then separately consider two cases: 1. management of the house by a management organization (MA); 2. management of the house by a homeowners association (HOA).

At the same time, we note one important point. In accordance with Part 2 of Article 161 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (LC RF), owners not only have the right, but are also obliged to choose one of the proposed methods of managing an apartment building (MAD): management organization, HOA (or housing cooperative, other consumer cooperative), direct management (if the building has no more than 30 apartments). Despite the fact that Part 2 of Article 161 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation directly prohibits simultaneously choosing two control methods in one apartment building, Part 2 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes a “ loophole ”, using which you can, having formally chosen one control method, in fact implement two methods simultaneously home management. This situation is possible if the HOA management method has been chosen for the house, and the HOA has entered into a management agreement with the management authority (such an agreement can be concluded between the HOA and the management organization in accordance with clause 1, part 1, article 137, part 2, art. .162 Housing Code of the Russian Federation) - in this case, despite the choice of the method of managing the HOA, the building will actually be managed by the MA. For the purposes of this article, this case is referred to as the case of management of the house by the MA.

What services will be free for housing and communal services employees?

A list of what the management company guarantees to do free of charge must be drawn up and signed at the general meeting. After that, it is posted in the office and on the website. The list must be posted so that any resident can read and understand it.

The owners of the house, for their part, undertake to transfer the required amount monthly.

Here is an approximate list of works that each management company includes in a standard contract:

replacing gaskets;
installing valve seat insert;
eliminating leaks;
cleaning and flushing of internal sewerage;
replacement or repair of flexible plumbing lines;
checking the technical condition of household gas appliances;
fixing the toilet, shower cabin, sink in place;
eliminating blockages if they were not the fault of the residents;
adjustment of the flush tank;
setting up and adjusting the functioning of the hot water supply system, checking for the absence of a plug, washing and replacing faulty parts;
battery maintenance, installation of analogues;
repair of electrical wiring in staircases.

What do you still have to pay for?

But there are also some special cases when the work of a plumber is a paid housing and communal services service, and their price is set by the employee in accordance with the market average and is fixed in the price list.

For example, replacing a meter or riser whose service life has not yet expired. In this case, a person comes to the management company or goes to their website and finds out how much it will cost him. He can apply for correction or repair.

There are only two ways to calculate:

cash, receiving a cashier's check;
non-cash payment.

This is proof of payment in case something is done poorly and requires repair. Also, having payment documents will help you obtain compensation for negligence.

List of maintenance works when managing a house

If the house is managed by a management organization, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a management agreement is concluded with such a management organization. Part 2 of Article 162 of the RF Housing Code establishes: “2. Under the agreement for the management of an apartment building, one party (the management organization), on the instructions of the other party (the owners of the premises in the apartment building, the management bodies of the homeowners' association, the management bodies of a housing cooperative or the management bodies of another specialized consumer cooperative...) undertakes to carry out work for a fee within an agreed period of time and (or) provide services for the management of an apartment building, provide services and perform work for the proper maintenance and repair of common property in such a building...”

It is important to understand that relations with the management organization are contractual, and the terms of interaction between the parties to the agreement (one such party is the management company, the other is either the owners of the premises, or the HOA, or the housing cooperative) are determined by a special agreement called the management agreement for apartment buildings.

Clauses 1 and 2 of Part 3 of Article 162 of the RF Housing Code establish: “3. The management agreement for an apartment building must indicate: 1) the composition of the common property of the apartment building in respect of which management will be carried out, and the address of such a house; 2) a list of works and (or) services for the management of an apartment building, services and works for the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building, the procedure for changing such a list, as well as a list of utilities provided by the management organization .”

It follows from the above norm that the list of works and services for the maintenance of residential premises is established by the management agreement. At the same time, in accordance with paragraph 17 of the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building, approved by the RF Government of August 13, 2006 N491 (hereinafter referred to as Rules 491), the list of services and works, the conditions for their provision and implementation are required to be approved by the owners of the premises at a general meeting. It should be noted that this provision of Rule 491 is mandatory.

In addition, it should be noted that, according to paragraph 1 of Article 432 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an agreement is considered concluded if an agreement is reached between the parties in the required form on all essential terms. According to the civil legislation of the Russian Federation, essential conditions are the subject of the contract, conditions that are named in the law or other legal acts as essential or necessary for contracts of this type, as well as all those conditions regarding which, at the request of one of the parties, an agreement must be reached. If at least one of the essential conditions is not determined by the parties, the management agreement cannot be concluded. At the same time, paragraph 2 of part 3 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (cited above) establishes as essential terms of the management agreement, among other things, “a list of works and (or) services for the management of an apartment building, services and works for the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building home, the procedure for changing such a list, as well as the list of utilities provided by the management organization.”

From a systematic analysis of the above standards, it follows that approval of the list of services and works for the maintenance of housing as part of the terms of the management agreement falls within the powers of the general meeting of premises owners . In addition, without approval of such a list, a management agreement cannot be concluded, since the specified list refers to the essential terms of the management agreement.

Separately, it should be noted that if the owners of the premises have not chosen the method of managing the apartment building or have not implemented the chosen method of management, then the terms of the management agreement, including the list of works and services for the maintenance of residential premises, are determined based on the results of an open competition for the selection of a management organization, carried out by a local government body in accordance with Part 4 of Article 161 of the RF Housing Code. This case is not considered in this publication.

What to do if the management company ignores requests or demands a large amount

Prices for paid housing and communal services to the population are approximately the same in different regions. Management company employees should not inflate their cost, nor refuse what is specified in the contract. They are regularly checked by the state housing inspection and, if necessary, the prosecutor's office.

Therefore, if the management company refuses to act as expected, you can safely write a complaint and demand timely completion of preventive and other work. As a last resort, you can file a lawsuit, detailing your claim and requesting a fine from the Criminal Code. It will be awarded if the management company fails to keep its promises or abuses its powers.

We have provided a list of paid and free services of a management company in the housing and communal services sector, we have analyzed what they are required to do without a separate check, and what the owners will have to spend money on. The main thing is to remember that if the employees of the management company refuse to tidy up the local area, repair the entrance or canopy above it, or do not want to carry out scheduled or emergency repairs to the gas supply, then you have every right to write a complaint against them and go to court.

What does the box on the receipt include?

Each apartment building chooses a form of management for itself - it can be a management company, a HOA, a housing cooperative, or direct management. Regardless of the chosen form, each house constantly receives a whole list of standard services that provide comfortable and safe living conditions for residents.

The list of services is approved at the general meeting of apartment owners. Most of them are irreplaceable.

It is impossible to imagine the normal functioning of a residential premises without the supply of water, electricity, gas, and heat.

But house maintenance work is also important, because it allows you to maintain its safe technical condition and create the necessary sanitary and hygienic conditions in the apartments and in the house as a whole.

The list of works that are performed to maintain an apartment building includes basic and additional processes. What services are included in the list of essential services?

The management company must provide cleaning in the local area of the apartment building. Such work is performed by janitors and cleaners. MKD is an apartment building.
Also, the article “house maintenance” implies an inspection of all premises for compliance with safety requirements. Management of the management company must periodically call firefighters to check fire protection and elevator specialists.
This column pays for the provision of lighting in common areas, on staircases, and in entrances.
Garbage collection.
Maintenance.
Major renovation. Apartment owners can receive part of the funds for it through the state program.
Carrying out earthworks, including landscaping of the local area.
Maintaining the required air temperature and humidity in the MKD premises.

The list of these services is approved at the general meeting and must be specified in the service agreement. If the Management Company decides to provide any other services, it must obtain the consent of the residents of the building. By law, residents may not pay for services not provided for in the contract.

ATTENTION! All services provided must be of a high level.

If their quality standards or norms adopted in the housing and communal services sector do not meet, consumers may also refuse to pay in full or may require a recalculation.