What is the difference between utilities and housing services? We do it together.

Management companies (MC) working in the field of housing and communal services (HCS) today are nothing more than commercialized housing offices and DEZs. In other words - private traders, merchants, speculators who have gained access and the legal right to strategically important and vital resources: water, gas, electricity, heat. Based on Article 13 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 of May 6, 2011: “The provision of utilities provided by the managing organization ... ".

Most of the employees of management companies are not educated, do not have knowledge of the laws and do not know how to correctly calculate and add the amounts in receipts for payment for housing and communal services (HCS), therefore, from so many amateurs modern system Housing and communal services are bursting at the seams.

It is curious that the management companies themselves do not produce any resources, but they have an exceptional opportunity to trade strategically important resources, when the resource supplying organizations themselves not only cannot sell their own works: purified or heated water, electricity, gas, heat, but in most cases, cannot even touch the money from the sale of these resources, since all funds, according to the law, must go to the account of the Criminal Code, and only after that the management companies decide how much and which resource-supplying organization to transfer money for the resold resources.

It often happens that the management companies do not transfer the money received from the population from payments for housing and communal services to the accounts of resource supplying organizations: Vodokanal, Heating Networks, Electricity Companies, Gas Services, but take money away in an unknown direction and spend it on personal needs - this is a common practice in the work of such companies, because their economic activities are completely uncontrolled.

In such a situation, resource-supplying organizations are left without money or are forced to spend their time defending their own interests in court and extorting money from unscrupulous Criminal Code. Resource supplying organizations receive less funds from the sale of communal resources, but they could use this money to repair an outdated fund: change rusted pipes, engineering Communication, modernize the resource-supplying organizations themselves, equipping them with settlement centers, their own accounting, and the population with individual meters for water, heat, electricity, gas, but everything is arranged in such a way that all the cream is skimmed by the Criminal Code.

Residents are also dissatisfied with the behavior and services of the management company: utilities are charged and calculated incorrectly, overstated, without taking into account the formulas and norms of legislation in the field of housing and communal services, no recalculation is made, the management companies always strive to cash in on tenants, cheat, cheat.

It is known from history that in pre-revolutionary Russia the urban population, having some kind of income, settled in narrow, dirty rooms in tenement houses for a fee. Most of the rooms in apartment buildings were deprived of electricity, running water, and sewerage, so candles were burning in the rooms instead of electricity, latrines were set up outside in the courtyard, and water was drawn from the nearby river. And after the final victory of the revolution, a class of benefit recipients and state employees began to emerge in the person of the families of the Red Army, who were freed from the need to pay rent, in contrast to all other categories of the population.

The life of those settled on the confiscated square meters, which belonged to the Soviets, were controlled by a division of the Main Directorate of Communal Services (GUKH), created in 1921 under the NKVD. In 1924, the CEC issued a decree "On housing cooperatives", which proposed a form of uniting residents into a housing - rental cooperative partnership - ZHAKT. ZHAKT was charged with the operation of the house. In the 30s, RZhU began to develop - regional housing administrations, which over time were retrained into ZhEKi - housing maintenance offices.

ZhEKi were connected with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (passport office), with the Ministry of Defense, which made it possible to keep records of conscripts, with the Ministry of Culture, organizing cultural events in the local recreation center, with the Ministry of Sports, organizing sports clubs and sports grounds in the courtyards. ZhEKs were allowed to interfere with the private life of residents and monitor their morale, and, if necessary, carry out educational measures over residents through comrade courts or house committees, which had the right to take public measures against tenants of residential premises and persons living with them who violate the rules use of this room. Therefore, the roots of the boorish attitude towards tenants on the part of employees of management companies go back to the times of the revolution, when the housing and communal services system had just begun to emerge in the country, and the population was in slavish housing dependence on the authorities.

Under the Soviets, private property was destroyed by everyone possible ways, turning people into a dependent herd: the NKVD had total control over citizens and possessed personal information about almost everyone, if necessary, it could use it or manipulate it for educational purposes. Housing belonged to the state, the Soviets and was rented out, so it is a state, it could indicate to whom and how to live, later the system changed a little and housing was issued in turn at the enterprise as if free of charge, as a kind of gift from the state, for which everyone felt like this state obliged and due, and therefore was forced to obey his will in the person of various government organizations. In the minds of people, slave psychology and the fear of the possibility of losing a roof over their heads and being thrown into the street, which originated under Soviet rule, are still alive, so the population allows itself to be manipulated by illiterate plumbers, technicians, inspectors, judges working in the housing and utilities sector.

In 1989, a decree was adopted "On the transition of housing and communal services to self-financing and self-financing", the modern housing and communal services system, in the presence of private ownership of apartments in the country, still remains a relic of the past and requires enormous efforts for modernization and normal functioning in society and society in this system.

Since 1989, a period of reforming the housing and communal services began in East Germany. But the basic conditions for the orderly operation of housing enterprises began to operate only in October 1991. The prerequisites for the reforms were created by a number of factors that took place in the area of operating costs, housing ownership, the structure of housing enterprises and pricing. Housing in East Germany was focused on achieving quantitative results. Priority was given to the massive construction of new housing, where the main investments were directed. The goal of the housing policy was to increase the volume and area of the housing stock, while the maintenance and repair of existing housing was not given due attention. At the same time, new construction was carried out with extremely low quality. As a result, the housing stock and intra-building infrastructure were dilapidated, and new buildings were rapidly deteriorating.

Most of the apartments in East Germany were owned by the state or municipalities. Some apartments were owned by associations. These were the so-called Housing Construction Workers' Associations, which is analogous to the Soviet housing construction cooperatives. Some of the houses were privately owned. As a rule, these were small buildings designed for one or several families. There was no division of payment by type of service. There was a rent that included rent and maintenance costs. There was also no difference in operating costs by type of service - water, heat, etc. It should also be noted that there was no concept of resource conservation. The policy to reduce the consumption of heat and electricity, as well as to introduce metering devices and charge payments according to their indications, was not implemented. Government subsidies were provided to the population as follows:

The population living in the public housing stock received subsidies directly. In other words, even before the reform in East Germany, there was a mechanism for the provision of targeted subsidies.
Homebuilders' associations received subsidies through utilities.
No subsidies were provided to owners of private houses.

In this regard, in most cases the funds of private owners were insufficient to maintain the housing stock. The provision of electricity, heat and gas was carried out by the so-called supra-regional energy companies... These enterprises were owned by the state, and they were responsible for supplying the region assigned to them. This structure was reminiscent of the Ukrainian one. Water supply and wastewater disposal was carried out by water supply and treatment enterprises Wastewater organized at the district level. Prices for housing and communal services were formed by the state and remained at the same level for decades. The subsidies provided were included in the cost of the services. Such pricing did not allow maintaining and modernizing the utility infrastructure at the proper level and was a tangible burden on the budget. As a result, the infrastructure was dilapidated, and measures to reduce the loss of resources during transportation, protection environment and attracting investments were financed in an extremely small amount. As a result, the following prerequisites for reforming the housing and utilities sector in East Germany were revealed:

The dilapidated state of the building and communal infrastructure led to large losses of resources.
Information on the technical condition of the infrastructure was unavailable or was completely absent.
The tariff pricing system did not allow for cost recovery.
The calculation of utilities was mainly carried out according to consumption standards, and not on the basis of meter readings.
Service consumers were not interested in saving resources.
Housing and communal services were provided with poor quality.

The goal of reforming the housing and communal services in East Germany was to create a market for housing and communal services with the presence of competition in various spheres of the economy. The basis of the reform was the construction of a system of effective municipal self-government. For this it was necessary, first of all:

Demonopolize and corporatize supra-regional service providers
Modernize communal infrastructure and housing stock
Improve pricing to cover existing costs.

The implementation of the set goals consisted of the following activities. Improving pricing and modernizing infrastructure In order to improve pricing, first of all, it was necessary to work out schemes that would cover current costs in the medium term. For this, the first step was the refusal to provide social assistance to the population through utilities and the transition to targeted subsidies. Subsidies were provided to low-income families depending on the income they received. The principle was developed: the needy strata of the population receive assistance at the expense of the rich, and not along with them, as is the case with subsidized tariffs. As a result, the released budget funds were used as investments in the modernization of networks and equipment. The funds were allocated through the provision of grants and loans at low interest rates. Loans aimed at modernizing the housing stock were provided by both the Federal Government of Germany, municipalities, energy suppliers and the European Community. It is also necessary to note a significant increase in the cost of services and, at the same time, the transition to payment for services provided according to their actual consumption. This led to the saving of resources by the population and their individual consumption. Privatization of the housing stock After the unification of East and West Germany, special attention was paid to the privatization of municipal and state housing stock. In contrast to the situation in Ukraine, privatization was carried out through the sale of state and municipal housing. There was no free privatization. The privatization of the housing stock was aimed at:

Creation of individual private property
Mobilization of private initiative and responsibility
Raising funds for the maintenance, repair and modernization of housing.

Housing cooperatives were transformed into cooperatives registered with the courts that maintain the commercial register, and thus became legally capable and independent. This was accompanied by an increase in the responsibility of housing enterprises for the payment of all utilities and the abolition of state subsidies for this. A prerequisite implementation of the reform was 100% registration of condominiums. Not a single house should have been left without an owner (including a collective one). The owners make better use of the property than the municipal authorities do for them. Demonopolization and corporatization of communal enterprises The entire sphere of housing and communal services was given over to private hands, but at the same time transparent schemes of enterprises' activities were ensured. The land became the property of enterprises. On the basis of state supra-regional enterprises, the so-called city and communal companies (Stadtwerke) were created in the form of joint stock companies. The ownership of these companies was mixed and they specialized in providing a full range of services: electricity, heat and gas. Some of the water supply and wastewater treatment enterprises were transferred to the ownership of municipalities on a public basis, and some joined the structure of urban utility companies. Market conditions were formed for the operation of utility companies. Service providers began to be selected on a competitive basis, this was reinforced by new legislation. In this regard, improving the quality of utilities, reducing losses in networks and reducing costs were in the forefront of the owners. Also, in order to succeed in a competitive environment, urban utilities were not enough just to supply resources and charge for their consumption. It became necessary to provide consumers with a number of additional services. A new term has appeared - "multi-utility" (multi-utility). The result is more aggressive and creative business policies. For example, in addition to their main activity, urban utilities include in their packages of multilateral services cleaning of adjoining territories, garbage collection and waste disposal, maintenance of in-house infrastructure, equipment management, and telecommunications. Such organizations have a holding structure, distributed by type of activity, which makes it possible to finance less developing or socially significant areas at the expense of more successful ones. After the unification of Germany, 15 large regional energy plants in the eastern part of it were to be transferred to private energy supply companies from West Germany. The federal government believed that this method of restructuring would provide stable funding for the far from new housing and communal infrastructure. However, the leadership of, for example, Frankfurt an der Oder (East Germany) considered that such a decision infringes upon the rights of citizens. In their opinion, the replacement of the former state monopoly represented by the plant by another monopoly, but private, represented by the West German energy concern, is not the best solution... The Frankfurt public utility company, in the form of a holding company, was initially 100 percent owned by the municipality. In addition to heat and electricity, it was engaged in gas and water supply, sewerage and garbage collection. Local authorities argue that the creation of a diversified enterprise with a flexible structure allows them to achieve "synergistic" effects (effects from interaction) in technical, organizational, financial and economic terms. Over time, municipalities began to pursue a policy of attracting investors by selling them a stake in the communal monopoly. Dozens of other companies appeared that began to successfully compete with the municipal structure. Consumers quickly realized the beauty of competition, willingly buying the services of energy service companies, which began to offer a wide range of services on lease, credit, and independently finance energy-saving measures. In 70 million Germany, 59.9% of the population, or more than 40 million people, receive electricity from private or mixed companies with private capital. Improving the efficiency of utilities In connection with the rapidly changing situation in the market for housing and communal services in Germany and in order to achieve a competitive advantage, enterprises have begun to pay special attention to modern technology and automation. The provision of a wide range of basic and additional services, the use of various payment methods, coverage of a large area of service and work with various segments of the population required the use of complex developments capable of supporting all processes at enterprises. The main requirement was the ability modern technologies display the model of housing and communal services before the reform, all changes in the process of reforming the industry and a new market model. The housing and communal services in Germany had specific goals, namely:

The increase in liquidity was ensured through the implementation of accurate calculation of consumption, control of payments, and quick cash flow.
The transparency and efficiency of financial flows at the enterprise were ensured by competent investment planning, accounting, and control over the movement of funds.
Reducing costs and losses, improving the quality of services provided was ensured by the management of fixed assets, planning renovation works and replacement of equipment, control of business processes at the enterprise and beyond.
Also great attention focused on customer relationships. For this, it was important to maintain the client base, offer different schemes payment and additional services depending on the needs of customers, meeting their requests, creating a cadastre of land plots.

Achievement of these goals largely ensures the success of the enterprise. In order for the reform to proceed at the municipal level, first of all, the educational programs, since locally, "below", people have little knowledge of what is being developed "above". Pilot projects demonstrating the benefits of home renovation - increasing its cost - were of great importance. The further existence of all communal enterprises was ensured by the fact that the first banks to promote the development of housing and communal services appeared. With the help of these banks and thanks to the appropriate guarantees in case of losses (there was no possibility of property security for the loan), enterprises began to renovate apartments where tenants continued to live. This was an innovation in the housing sector. Roofs, windows were completely replaced, entrance doors, all plumbing and heating systems. The walls of the kitchens and bathrooms were covered with tiles, and the facades of the buildings were insulated. Only the energy-saving measures taken (installation of heating points in buildings, installation of thermostats, insulation of buildings, including windows) have brought savings to tenants. In payments, there was a decrease from DM 2.10 / m2 occupied area per month to approximately DM 1.00 / m2. Tenants living in apartments where radiators were equipped with thermostats and heat meters had a new understanding of costs (you only need to pay for what you yourself consumed). Today, building renovations in eastern Germany have become commonplace.

The Swedes solve communal misunderstandings in the Housing Court, and Australians may not pay for water if the apartment does not have a meter.

How does the housing and utilities system work in Europe and the USA, South Korea and Brazil, Australia and Turkey? About interesting distinctive features and conditions for consumers in different countries the world is our material today.

Brazil. In this country, different water is used, and it costs, accordingly, differently. For example, in some Brazilian prefectures with a centralized water supply system, water is supplied several times a week. It is pumped into underground reservoirs, and water consumption is monitored using metering devices.

Another type of water supply for Brazilians is artesian wells. Water from wells is used for washing and bathing, but you cannot drink it, since in most houses the main sewage system is cesspools, waste from which seeps into groundwater. The price of Brazilian water depends on the cost of equipment for its delivery and electricity, which is spent on raising and pumping water into tanks.

Gas in Brazil is scarce fuel. It is supplied to consumers in standard cylinders and costs (so far) twice or three times more than in Ukraine. Brazilians also have to pay dearly for electricity - up to $ 2 per 1 kilowatt.

South Korean consumers can use two types of district heating - gas and electric. Gas heating is more expensive, and electricity is turned off at daytime and is not used at all in the summer.

Turkey. Many Turkish houses are equipped with solar panels on the rooftops. Per hot water they don't pay in Turkey, because it is heated by the energy of the Sun. Also, for Turkish consumers there is no concept of "rent", instead it is "aydat" - the full cost of maintenance of a residential complex. "Aydat" is a fixed value, it does not depend on the number of residents. The amount of this fee is set by the residents of the house every year at a general meeting, after the manager submits a report on the expenses.

In Australia, where fresh water is scarce, many consumers are installing rainwater harvesting systems in their homes. The water collected in this way is used for sanitary purposes and for watering the garden. Water bills in Australia include the cost of accessing the resource and connecting to a sewer. Every month, Australians pay $ 150-200 for this alone, and in addition, consumers are charged for the cubic meters of water consumed during the month. But if you live in an apartment where water meters are not installed, you do not need to pay for consumed water: according to Australian law, you cannot charge a fee if there are no metering devices.

Europe. Residents of European countries pay not so much for the water itself as for the drainage. All water that enters the apartment is automatically considered used, no matter what needs it goes. That is why all "euro-sinks" are equipped with a drain plug: in order to save water, Europeans collect a full sink and wash from it.

The public service system in Europe is based on trust. Often, neither the residents of the house, nor its owner even know where the meters are located, and how to take readings from them - all this is done by housing and communal services workers.

In Sweden, the Housing Court is successfully functioning, examining housing and communal troubles. In the UK, in addition to paying for utilities, consumers also pay municipal tax, the amount of which depends on the prestige of the area. At the expense of the municipal tax and, in part, the state budget funds, in the cities of Great Britain, "purely English" comfort is maintained, lawns and flower beds are maintained, garbage is removed, roads are repaired, and the work of firefighters, police and city officials themselves is paid. Britons living in apartment buildings are required to pay a special home care fee. The owner of the house with these funds contains elevators, a hall, corridors and an adjoining territory.

USA. As soon as a new tenant moves into an American home, he enters into a contract for the supply of water, and then a technician from the supply company comes to him and installs a meter. The data from the meter is read automatically and sent to the company without the participation of the consumer. In America, there is practically no risk of a consumer being defrauded by a management company, as there have been many lawsuits brought before the courts on similar issues. Thrifty Americans go to court at the slightest suspicion of the possibility of deception.

Interestingly, in the United States, consumers of utilities practically do not pay in cash, preferring to use electronic cards. The amount of payment is withdrawn from the card and credited to the trust accounts. At the same time, the management company can transfer to itself only the rest of the money, and only after its full settlement with all counterparties.

Real estate tax in the United States is paid once a year. The tax is set in the form of a certain percentage of the cost of housing. Penalties for non-payment of this fee are very severe - $ 25-50 for each day of delay. Housing costs of 30% of family income are considered normal for America. The cost of maintaining housing and utilities differs in individual states and cities - it depends on many factors: the size of taxes, the general level of prices, incomes of the population, but the climate is fundamental. In areas with hot summers and cold winter Electricity is expensive for air conditioners in the summer, and in the winter months, electricity is paid 30–40% less, but the cost of gas heating increases.

How does the housing and utilities system work in Europe and the USA, South Korea and Brazil, Australia and Turkey? Our today's material is about interesting distinctive features and conditions for consumers in different countries of the world.

Brazil. In this country, different water is used, and it costs, accordingly, differently. For example, in some Brazilian prefectures with a centralized water supply system, water is supplied several times a week. It is pumped into underground reservoirs, and water consumption is monitored using metering devices.

Consumers from South Korea can use two types of centralized heating - gas and electric. Gas heating is more expensive, and electricity is turned off during the day and is not used at all in the summer.

Turkey. Many Turkish homes are equipped with solar panels on their roofs. They don't pay for hot water in Turkey, because it is heated by the energy of the Sun. Also, for Turkish consumers there is no concept of "rent", instead it is "aydat" - the full cost of maintenance of a residential complex. "Aydat" is a fixed value, it does not depend on the number of residents. The amount of this fee is set by the residents of the house every year at a general meeting, after the manager submits a report on the expenses.

V Australia where fresh water is scarce, many consumers install rainwater harvesting systems in their homes. The water collected in this way is used for sanitary purposes and for watering the garden. Water bills in Australia include the cost of accessing the resource and connecting to a sewer. Every month, Australians pay $ 150-200 for this alone, and in addition, consumers are charged for the cubic meters of water consumed during the month. But if you live in an apartment where water meters are not installed, you do not need to pay for the consumed water: according to Australian law, you cannot charge a fee if there are no metering devices.

Europe. Residents of European countries pay not so much for the water itself as for the drainage. All water that enters the apartment is automatically considered used, no matter what needs it goes. That is why all "euro-sinks" are equipped with a drain plug: in order to save water, Europeans collect a full sink and wash from it.

V Sweden The Housing Court is successfully functioning, examining housing and communal troubles. V Great Britain, in addition to paying for utilities, consumers also pay municipal tax, the amount of which depends on the prestige of the area. At the expense of the municipal tax and, in part, the state budget funds, in the cities of Great Britain, "purely English" comfort is maintained, lawns and flower beds are maintained, garbage is removed, roads are repaired, and the work of firefighters, police and city officials themselves is paid. Britons living in apartment buildings are required to pay a special home care fee. The owner of the house with these funds contains elevators, a hall, corridors and an adjoining territory.

USA. As soon as a new tenant moves into an American home, he enters into a contract for the supply of water, and then a technician from the supply company comes to him and installs a meter. The data from the meter is read automatically and sent to the company without the participation of the consumer. In America, there is practically no risk of a consumer being defrauded by a management company, as there have been many lawsuits brought before the courts on similar issues. Thrifty Americans go to court at the slightest suspicion of the possibility of deception.

Real estate tax in the United States is paid once a year. The tax is set in the form of a certain percentage of the cost of housing. Penalties for non-payment of this fee are very severe - $ 25-50 for each day of delay. Housing costs of 30% of family income are considered normal for America. The cost of maintaining housing and utilities differs in individual states and cities - it depends on many factors: the size of taxes, the general level of prices, incomes of the population, but the climate is fundamental. In areas with hot summers and cold winters, electricity is expensive for air conditioners in the summer, and in the winter months they pay 30-40% less for electricity, but this increases the cost of gas heating.

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