Is it possible not to pay for housing and communal services if you are registered in an apartment, but do not live there

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Some costs can be avoided, but not all.

Let's say you temporarily left for another city - for work or at the behest of your heart. There is no one in the apartment, but payments are received regularly. Or you are registered with your parents, but you live in a different place and pay for housing and communal services there. But mom and dad are brought receipts with amounts, in the calculation of which everything prescribed is taken into account - and you too. This all sounds unfair enough: you pay for what you don’t use. Let's figure out what to do with it.

What you can not pay for

If you have temporarily left the apartment and do not live there for more than five full calendar days in a row, you can demand a recalculation of utility bills: electricity, gas, hot and cold water, sewerage. Of course, this only works if you don't have counters. If there is a metering device, you simply submit reduced or zero readings.

But there is a nuance. According to the leading lawyer of the European Legal Service Srbuya Ivashchenko, recalculation is allowed only for those who do not have the technical ability to install a meter. This fact must be confirmed by an official conclusion. If the absence of a metering device is your choice, then the recalculation will not be done. At the same time, the payment for the sewage system depends on what decision was made for hot and cold water. If you have made a recalculation for them, then you will be charged less for water disposal.

In addition, if in the region the fee for garbage collection is determined by the number of registered residents, you can also ask not to take you into account during the absence.

What you have to pay for

It is necessary to pay for heating and housing maintenance. This includes electricity, gas, hot and cold water, sewerage, heating, used for general house needs, as well as all the services provided by the management company: repair and maintenance of elevators, cleaning of entrances and adjoining territory, work of the control room.

All these expenses fall on the shoulders of the owner and do not depend on the number of registered tenants. If the owner is you, then you have to pay. If the apartment belongs to someone else, it is his responsibility. But your registration does not affect the amount in any way, everything is decided by square meters.

How to issue a recalculation

The documents

Usually you need to contact the management company. Sometimes the contract is concluded directly with the resource supplying organization, in which case you will have to communicate with its representatives.

In order for you to make a recalculation, you must submit an application in a free form. Indicate in it the last name, first name, patronymic of each absent consumer, the date of departure and arrival. The absence must be confirmed by documents. It can be:

• a copy of a travel certificate with copies of tickets attached;
• a certificate of being in a hospital or sanatorium;
• tickets;
• bills for hotel or hostel accommodation;
• a document from the Migration Department confirming temporary registration at a different address;
• any other document confirming your absence.

As the lawyer Srbuhi Ivashchenko said, if the application is submitted in advance, the Criminal Code can sometimes seal the closed valves separating the intra-apartment communications from the common ones. In this case, it is not necessary to confirm your absence with documents after returning - it is enough to show the whole seals to the inspectors. It is also necessary to attach a copy of the conclusion on the impossibility of installing meters.

Pick up time

There are two options when you can apply:

• Until departure. The recalculation will be made within five days after receiving the application for the entire time specified in it, but not more than six months. Next, you need to submit a repeated paper on the extension of the absence period. If you cannot attach documents confirming departure to the application, then indicate the reasons for this. For example, a certificate from a sanatorium can be issued to you only when you arrive there. In this case, you must bring supporting documents within 30 days from the date of arrival.
• After returning. The recalculation will be done retroactively, but no later than 30 days after your arrival. Accordingly, if you have not paid for housing and communal services all this time, your debt will decrease or you will have an overpayment.

Result

Recalculation is made in proportion to the number of days of absence. For example, you were gone for two weeks in June. Usually you pay 1 thousand rubles for hot and cold water, sewage, gas and electricity. This means that in June you will give 534 rubles, which is equivalent to spending in 16 days. The recalculation will be reflected in the payment.