How cheaper to pay for an apartment. We save the family budget: how to pay less for utilities

Monthly payments for housing and communal services are a serious expense item for every family. Is it possible to save on utility bills and how to do it correctly? Experts from the Moscow company Metrium share effective secrets.

Disable unnecessary services

Not all tenants carefully study their apartment bills, so they often pay for services they don't use. Perhaps the most common unclaimed receipt items are “radio and notification” (99.12 rubles per month), as well as “TV antenna” (204 rubles per month). For a year, the amount turns out to be a decent - 3 637 rubles. It is not difficult to remove extra lines from the receipt. In order not to pay for radio and notification, the property owner needs to come to the center of public services "My Documents" with a passport, fill out an application and pay 60 rubles. And to turn off the television antenna, the homeowner needs to take a passport, a copy of the certificate of state registration of rights (or an extract from the USRN) and come to the Rostelecom office, where he will be asked to fill out an application. If you submit documents before the 20th, then from next month the items "radio and notification" and "TV antenna" will disappear from the receipt.

Examining the payment document

Unscrupulous management companies (MCs) often account for additional services for which tenants are already paying. For example, they add maintenance of cleanliness in the entrance, landscaping of the local area, replacement of risers, etc. All this is already included in the item "maintenance and repair of residential premises", so you need to make sure that there are no such lines in the receipt. And if there are incomprehensible columns in the payment document, then it is worth contacting the Criminal Code at home for an explanation.

We install water meters

For those who still do not have meters installed, water consumption is calculated according to overstated general standards. That is, tenants pay more than they actually consume. For example, according to the standards, about 12 cubic meters of water is intended for one person per month: 5 hot and 7 cold. This is almost 12,000 liters. In other words, there are 400 liters of water per person per day. For comparison, a medium-sized bathtub holds 170 liters. But you can spend half as much water, but you still have to pay for the full standard.

The additional water costs do not end there. Another disadvantage is the multiplying coefficient. Thus, apartment owners without meters pay for water at a tariff 1.5 times higher than usual. For example, a family used 20 cubic meters of cold water per month. According to the meter, residents will pay 354 rubles, and without metering devices, the amount will be 531 rubles.

It is not difficult to install meters: just find a company on the Internet that provides such services, or ask an employee of the management company of your house to provide a list of licensed contractors and contact them. The specialists will install the devices and seal them, as well as draw up and sign a tripartite act of putting the equipment into operation.

You can also buy and supply devices yourself (it is important to note that a certificate is issued for each meter), but to seal them and sign the act, you will still have to call an employee of the Criminal Code. Next, you should conclude an agreement with the management company for the payment of water. Installation of meters will cost an average of 4,000 rubles, but monthly savings will amount to 50% of the usual payments for water and wastewater disposal.

We repair and change plumbing

About 8,000 liters of water can flow out from just one leaking mixer or tank per year. At current rates, this is about 300 rubles. Considering that there are at least four mixers in the apartment (two taps and a shower head in the bathroom and one in the kitchen), then the amount is not so small - 1200 rubles. Therefore, it makes sense to repair the plumbing immediately, as soon as the malfunction made itself felt.

An additional advantage will be if you replace conventional taps in the bathroom and in the kitchen with mixer taps with levers. While we are turning two valves, adjusting the temperature, about 5 liters of water are poured out. So for one hand washing, an extra ruble is spent. In addition, a great way to save water is to install an aerator on each mixer. This is a small mesh nozzle that connects water with air and thus reduces the jet intensity. In normal mode, about 15 liters flow out of the tap in one minute, and with the nozzle, the flow is halved. There are also water-saving shower heads that work on a similar principle. The cost of an ordinary aerator is about 80 rubles, a shower head is 500 rubles. However, the expenses pay off in almost a month.

Installing a multi-tariff meter

In Russia, there are one-, two-, and three-tariff meters. In the first case, the device multiplies the consumed kilowatts by the standard tariff (in Moscow - 5.38 rubles per kWh). And in the second and third, it also takes into account the time of day when energy is used.

If tenants leave home early in the morning and return only late in the evening, then a two-tariff meter will significantly save money. For example, a modern washing machine consumes about 0.17 kWh for two hours of operation. It turns out that with a regular counter, washing costs about 1.83 rubles, and when the equipment is operating from 23.00 to 7.00 and a two-tariff metering device - 0.60 rubles. But if it is convenient for residents to do household chores during the daytime, then it is more profitable to install a multi-tariff meter that registers energy consumption at the most expensive "peak" (from 07.00 to 10.00 and from 17.00 to 21.00), more budgetary “half-peak” (from 10.00 to 17.00) and cheap night time (from 23.00 to 07.00). In this case, the redistribution of the work of household appliances for "half-peak" and nighttime can reduce payments by 20-30%. To replace the meters, you need to act in the same way as when installing water meters. The costs will be about 5,000 rubles.

Disconnect electrical appliances from the network

Plug-in chargers and household appliances are often referred to as passive consumers. They use electricity even when they sleep. Of course, a kettle just plugged into the network spends no more than 5 rubles. in year. But, as you know, the ruble saves a penny. In addition, "passive" appliances can cause fires (especially for cheap phone chargers), so a new habit may one day save an apartment.

We screw in energy-saving lamps

Energy saving lamps consume 80% less electricity than conventional lamps and last about three years. Manufacturers even give a year of warranty: if the lamp burns out in the first 12 months of use, you can return it to the store (the main thing is not to forget to save the receipt and the box). Energy saving lamps are available in fluorescent and LED. Better to buy the latter. They immediately shine at full power, and there is no mercury in their composition, so the lamps can be disposed of with ordinary waste (they do not harm the environment).

The price of ordinary incandescent lamps is 20-30 rubles, energy-saving lamps - 90-400 rubles. But the difference in cost is offset by a 4-5-fold reduction in electricity costs.

We use eco-modes

In modern household appliances, special energy-saving operating modes are provided that help to save money. First of all, washing machines and dishwashers have such functions. Such programs simultaneously reduce the consumption of both water and electricity. If there is no eco-mode in the washing machine, then at startup you can simply set a low temperature: 30-50 degrees is enough to clean things. The savings are significant, because the technology heats up the water faster and uses less electricity. By the way, in modern models there are "profitable" night wash modes - they are quieter than usual, and the final spin is turned on in the morning.

We receive a recalculation for housing and communal services

If tenants leave the apartment for more than five days, then they can recalculate for cold and hot water, sanitation, electricity and garbage collection services. But only those who technically cannot have meters in their apartment or house will be able to use this life hack. To get a new receipt, you need to bring to the Criminal Code an inspection certificate proving the impossibility of installing individual meters, and documents confirming the temporary absence to the Criminal Code within a month after returning. These include train or plane tickets, hotel bills, travel documents, etc. The utility will review the appeal and charge a lower payment for the next month.

“In the current difficult economic situation, the reduction of utility bills will undoubtedly bring enormous benefits to citizens,” comments Natalya Kruglova, CEO of Metrium, a member of the CBRE partner network. - But it should be noted that the right savings is to reduce spending without discomfort for the consumer. And as practice shows, this can be achieved with a little effort. As a result, tens and hundreds of rubles turn into a significant amount. "

Post date March 16, 2018

Who has not thought about how to pay less for utilities? The question has always been relevant, and now even more so. All citizens do not want to receive huge amounts in payments for housing and communal services, but to use the saved funds for other purposes. There are people who want to reduce the amount in the receipt, not only because of the banal desire to save money, but because of the huge lack of money.

And although advice on saving on utilities has long been heard by many, we will try to summarize the various advice of experts, utilities and government officials. The main thing is not only to know how to save money, but also to adhere to these recommendations.

How to save on electricity, gas and water

Everyone knows very well that utilities are a wide range of services that are provided by various companies. And only thanks to the management organization, tenants receive single consolidated invoices for payment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that savings can be achieved through complex actions: saving on electricity, water, heating, etc.

Let's start with electricity. It is it that every inhabitant of Russia consumes in large volumes. And this is understandable. Thanks to progress and civilization, each apartment has a TV, personal computer, refrigerator, washing machine, etc. Consumption is growing every year, as are payments to the world. But with the right approach, the cost of electricity bills can be significantly reduced.

Tips on how to save on electricity:

Install multi-tariff meters. This means that the meter will distribute the amount of electricity depending on the time of day: from 7.00 to 23.00 and from 23.00 to 7.00. This advice is relevant for those who work a lot from morning to evening, and already late at night doing all the housework: washing, washing dishes in the dishwasher, etc. The main thing with such a multi-rate meter is to conclude an agreement with the management company to pay bills at a double rate. The night rate is much lower than the day rate.
If necessary, buy equipment that is characterized as energy efficient. It is best to buy household appliances of class A or higher.
Replace all bulbs in your apartment with energy efficient ones. Yes, they cost several times more expensive than conventional lamps, but during the first year they pay off, and in subsequent years of operation they save 5 times less electricity.
Do not be lazy to remove all electrical appliances from the outlet. It seems like a burning light bulb on a TV can't wind up a lot. But do not forget that there is not a single such device in the house.

If you can save on electricity due to the presented tips, then here save on water it is possible only with its rational use:

Buy a special nozzle for water (available at IKEA);
Use economical options for water consumption: do not turn on the water completely when washing the dishes; use a shower, not a bath; wash in large quantities, etc.

As for gas , but now it is not very relevant for residents of apartment buildings, but only relevant for owners of private houses where gas is used for heating. Accordingly, you can save money when the house is well insulated, has energy-saving windows, etc.

Savings on utility bills while on vacation

You can save on paying for communal services not only by saving resources, but also by knowing your rights.

For example, did you know that if a person is absent for a certain time, he may partially not pay for utilities. And this is quite correct. The right to recalculation is granted by the absence of a person in the apartment for more than 10 days. The main thing is that there must be supporting documents.

For example, it can be a one-way and backward pass, documents from a hotel, etc.

Regarding the timing, you can warn the management company both in advance and after absence. It is necessary to report on the result of absence at the place of residence no later than 30 days later.

Thus, it turns out that people who live in the summer at the dacha, go to the seas and other types of recreation, have every right not to pay for the period when they were absent. Although there may be problems here.

The management company itself may refuse to accept such a fact. Especially if the deadline is coming to an end. In this case, if you are denied acceptance of documents, you can submit them thanks to the operator "Russian Post". Just send the necessary documents to the legal address of the managing organization by registered mail. The company will be obliged to respond to this letter. And, as a rule, the decision will be made in your favor.

In what cases is it permissible to recalculate for utilities:

If a person left the state or was on recovery in a sanatorium. This is the easiest option when most management companies make concessions and recalculate. In this case, supporting documents may be a passport with a note of departure and entry, a certificate from a sanatorium, boarding house, etc.;
Undergoing treatment at the hospital. In the case of hospital treatment, each patient will be provided with a certificate of completion of the course of treatment. It must be submitted to the Criminal Code. But please note that the certificate must contain the phrase that the treatment was inpatient.
Passage of the army. If a person served in the army or was at some military training, then he must ask the military unit for a certificate of the place of service. Based on this certificate, the recalculation will be carried out;
Prison. Staying in places of alienation also provides an opportunity for a prisoner to receive a recalculation for housing and communal services. The basis is the help.
Rest in the country. This situation is the most difficult, since for this you need to take a certificate from the village council that you really stayed at the dacha for more than 10 days.
Seasonal part-time job. If you have a main place of work, but at the same time in the summer you went to work part-time in another region, then you can try to get a recalculation for housing and communal services on the basis of a certificate from the main employer that you were absent for a certain period.

What will be recalculated for

But even the implementation of the recalculation by the management company does not yet guarantee that the citizen will not be able to pay for certain services at all. There is a list of utilities for which recalculation is possible, but for which not.

In the absence, an individual has the right, upon presentation of the relevant documents, not to pay for:

Hot and cold water;
Electricity;
Garbage removal;
Wastewater disposal.

If you look at this list of resources, it becomes clear: most citizens have meters for electricity, hot and cold water, gas, etc. Therefore, in their absence, the level of consumption will accordingly be lower, and the subject will have to pay only for the actually consumed resources.

If you have counters, you do not need to apply for recalculation.

It is advisable to apply only to the organization that is engaged in garbage disposal.

Recalculation cannot be obtained for heating, because regardless of whether the resident is at home or not, the apartment is heated due to the presence of heating systems in the apartment. The situation is the same with paying for repairing entrances, cleaning them, etc. The company carries out the whole range of works on cleaning the territory and keeping it clean, so it doesn't care whether there is a resident or not.

If the subject lives but is not registered

Many residents of the Russian Federation have one place of registration, but live elsewhere. This is a normal practice for our country. It turns out that at the place of actual residence, no one pays for those services that are consumed, for example, cold and hot water (in the absence of meters). Is it legal or not to save on utility bills?

Quite. Even if someone writes a complaint, it is permissible not to have a place of registration at the actual place of residence, if at least 3 times a month a person visits his registration address. Therefore, in fact, he is not obliged to register at a new place and pay for utility services.

Another thing is that if common meters for the consumption of water, gas and heating are installed on an apartment building, then the neighbors themselves will require you to register your place of stay. This is due to the fact that the general indicators of the counters are divided equally for all. If you refuse to participate in paying bills, neighbors can go to court.

Business lawyer> Housing and communal services> Utilities> How to pay less for an apartment: nuances and ways of saving

In search of how to save the family budget, citizens often resort to extreme extremes, while ignoring the available ways to save their money. A striking example of this is the receipt of benefits and other indulgences in terms of payment for housing and communal services.

More details on how to pay less for an apartment will be discussed in the article below.

When can you reduce the cost of utilities for an apartment?

Is it possible to reduce utility bills? Photo # 1

Every year the cost of utilities in Russia is growing steadily. Not every family can afford such a luxury, namely, to pay for "communal" in the amount of 10-20% of the family budget. Such a phenomenon often causes dissatisfaction among citizens, and at the same time it is often justified.

If ordinary people are unable to change the tariffs, then it is possible for many of them to get some concessions on the payment of housing and communal services and, most importantly, according to their capabilities.

Most often, citizens seek to reduce the cost of their "communal" for an apartment for the following reasons:

poor quality of services provided (dirty tap water, lack of hot water supply, heating failures, etc.);
the cost of services is too high for them and they are not able to “pull” such financial expenses;
citizens have already been notified of their privileged position and want to use it (there is a disabled person in the family, the family is recognized as poor, etc.).

Otherwise, there is a considerable risk of the need to bear responsibility before the law, and not always civil.

See also: How much does it cost to connect electricity to a site?

Ways to get benefits and various kinds of indulgences for the payment of "communal"

How do I get utility benefits or subsidies? Photo # 2

As mentioned earlier, it is possible to get benefits and other concessions for paying for "communal" in a number of situations. Today the legislation allows to reduce the cost of utilities for an apartment in the following ways:

First of all, set the accounting items for the resources entering your home (electricity, water, gas, etc.). Often, housing management companies (ZhUK) round them up when calculating bills for a month, as a result of which citizens have to overpay for "communal services". By installing ordinary meters, you can not only control the honesty of the BEETLE, but also save up to 30% on utility bills.
Secondly, when leaving somewhere from your apartment for a long period of time (more than 1-2 weeks), be sure to notify your BEETLE about this either before leaving or after. You can use a travel ticket, an extract from the sanatorium, hotel bills and similar papers for this purpose. The BEETLE is obliged to recalculate for some services that were not used by you at the time of departure. As a rule, recalculation allows you to save up to 20% on utility bills.
Third, be sure to review your utility bills. If there are any services there that you do not use or do not provide to you, ask the BEETLE to remove them from the list from the next month. Very often, management organizations include in the list of utilities unnecessary and unused radio points or cleaning of entrances to anyone, which will bring them considerable profit, in fact, made out of thin air. By excluding unused or not provided services, it becomes possible to save up to 30% on utility bills.
Fourth, try to get benefits or subsidies for utility bills. The list of people who can count on this is quite wide. Most often, benefits for "communal" are used by:

families whose utilities consume 15% of their income;
families that include disabled people;
families with people with disabilities;
poor families who have officially received this status;
large families;
veterans or children of the Second World War and other military operations;
citizens who have lost their breadwinners or are in the public service.

See also: Why do you need a timely check of an electric meter?

The size of the relief varies from 10 to 60% of the total cost of utilities. You can get or find out about such an opportunity regarding benefits for paying for "communal services" in the ZhUK and the social protection authorities at your place of residence.

And fifthly, just carefully monitor the amount of consumed resources, save them as much as possible and make sure that the factors provoking the inflated cost of utilities are neutralized in the early stages of manifestation. For example, you can dismiss citizens from your apartment who do not live in it, not use services that you do not need, and do similar things. This approach to business will save up to 20% of the cost of "communal".

The nuances of saving money on housing and communal services

Tips for those wishing to save on utility bills. Photo No. 4

Using the previously presented methods of saving money on utilities, you can significantly save the family budget. The greatest efficiency will be achieved if you know all the nuances of measures to reduce the cost of "communal".

In fact, such a procedure is quite simple to implement, but it is also not devoid of features. The most important of these are presented below:

Never be afraid to refuse those services that you do not use or those that are provided to you in poor quality or are not provided at all. The BEETLE is obliged to respond to such wishes and demands of citizens. If the employees of the organization ignore you, be sure to complain about them first to the local police department, and then to the prosecutor's office.
When issuing benefits for paying for "communal" or applying for its reduction in authorized organizations, do not forget that your position must be supported by documents. At a minimum, it is important to have an appropriate statement, declaration or certificate of income, documents confirming your preferential status, and similar papers with you.
If you have any difficulties in the process of organizing savings on utilities, be sure to contact the professionals for help. An experienced lawyer for a small fee can provide a very high-quality consultation on the issue of interest to you, so much so that the costs of his services will quickly be "repulsed".

You can find out tips on how to legally not pay for hot water supply and heating an apartment by watching the video:

See also: What does the abbreviation HVS DPU mean?

Source: http://PravoZhil.com/zhkh/uslugi/kak-platit-menshe.html

We save the family budget: how to pay less for utilities

Legal advice> Civil law> Save the family budget: how to pay less for utilities

Every year it becomes more and more difficult for the average Russian family to pay utility bills, which are growing much faster than the salaries and pensions of citizens. Utility bills eat up a huge part of the family budget, forcing ordinary people to limit themselves in satisfying significant needs.

Trying to find a way out of this situation, citizens ask themselves the question: how to pay less for utilities without violating the norms of Russian legislation? You can find out the answer to this question by reading this article.

How to save on utility bills?

For many families, paying for utilities is too much ...

There are several possible ways to reduce utility bills:

registration of benefits or subsidies for payment of utility services;
receiving a recalculation for improperly rendered utilities;
economical handling of provided resources (gas, water, electricity);
establishing control over the activities of the management company and the list of services it provides.

Let's take a closer look at each of the listed saving methods.

Registration of benefits and subsidies

One of the most profitable ways to reduce payments on bills issued for services rendered is to obtain benefits and subsidies. But only certain categories of citizens can take advantage of these concessions.

Before starting the procedure for registering these types of subsidies, you should understand the difference between the concepts of “benefit” and “subsidy”. The list of persons who are entitled to benefits, as well as the percentage of payments are established at the legislative level.

When calculating this subsidy, the level of income of citizens, the area of \ u200b \ u200bdwelling is not taken into account. Thus, in order to apply for a discount on payment of utility bills, it is enough to simply belong to a certain category of persons who are entitled to this discount.

Calculation of payments is carried out for the past period of time (3 years). All citizens of the Russian Federation in need (as well as Belarusians and Kyrgyz) who have submitted to the authorized body a certain package of documents confirming their difficult financial situation can receive a subsidy. Financial assistance is paid in advance for the next six months.

Who is eligible for utility benefits?

You can try to get subsidies

The payment of this type of subsidies can be counted on:

WWII participants, home front workers, residents of besieged Leningrad, prisoners of concentration camps;
citizens affected by an accident at a nuclear power plant or taking part in the elimination of its consequences;
members of a family that has received the status of a large family;
disabled people;
orphans;
citizens awarded the title "Hero of Labor of the USSR or the Russian Federation", holders of the Order of Glory and Labor Glory;
families of employees with three or more citizens in their care;
Honorary Donors of Russia or the USSR.

In a poor financial situation, these beneficiaries can additionally receive a subsidy to pay for "communal".

Who is entitled to a subsidy for utility bills?

Citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as Belarusians and Kyrgyz living in our country, can get a discount on utility bills. The main indicator of receiving a subsidy is the level of income.

Families who spend more than 22% on utility bills (this figure depends on a specific region of the Russian Federation, therefore it can be much less) from the family budget will be able to receive financial support. This takes into account the footage of the living space, as well as the minimum wage.

In addition, help is provided only if:

the owner of the dwelling in which the citizen in need of assistance lives is the municipality or the state Housing Fund;
the apartment rented by the applicant under the lease agreement is the property of a private housing stock;
a citizen is a member of a housing or housing construction union;
the dwelling is owned by a citizen in need of subsidies.

Assistance will be denied:

foreign citizens (except for citizens of Kyrgyzstan and Belarus);
persons in debt to utility providers;
citizens living in an apartment under a gratuitous use agreement;
disabled citizens who have entered into a life annuity agreement.

How to get the required benefits and subsidies?

Alternatively, make a recalculation

To obtain material assistance, you must apply to the authorized body. This could be the MFC, the Social Welfare Office, or the City Housing Assistance Center. A certain package of documents must be attached to the application.

The list of required documents for obtaining benefits includes:

a document proving the identity of a citizen;
a document proving that a citizen belongs to a certain category of beneficiaries;
certificate of absence of debt for LCD services;
a document describing the composition of the family;
help showing the size of the dwelling;
housing documents.

To apply for a subsidy, you must prepare:

copies of passports of all family members, birth certificates of minors;
documents proving the relationship of family members;
residential property documents (title deed / lease agreement);
information on the composition of the family;
certificates of income of each family member;
a document from the BTI on the size of the living space;
certificate of absence of debt to housing and communal services.

The presented list of documents is approximate. To obtain complete information, you must contact the authorized body at your place of residence.

It should be remembered that a family can only receive one subsidy. Help is provided within six months. After this period, it is required to collect again all the necessary documents to receive a subsidy.

Receiving an allocation

If utilities are provided improperly, citizens have the right to demand recalculation. This is possible only if there is real evidence of unfair treatment of their duties by management companies and suppliers of resources important for normal life (water, gas, electricity).

When submitting an application, it is important to act within the framework of Russian legislation and be guided by the established norms that the provided utilities must comply with.

Poor water quality, low room temperature at the height of the heating season, slightly warm water from a hot tap or untimely garbage disposal can be a significant reason for obtaining a recalculation.

In addition, it is necessary to require recalculation in those situations if the management company charges a fee for services that are not performed or that the citizen does not need.

Savings on rent

Some household tricks allow you to save

One of the most effective ways to significantly reduce the monthly rent is the reasonable waste of the supplied resources, as well as the installation of individual metering devices.

The installation of two-tariff or multi-tariff meters will help save on electricity bills. In the presence of such meters, energy-consuming appliances (for example, washing machines, dishwashers) can be started at night when the electricity tariff is much lower.

Another way to save on electricity is to replace conventional bulbs with energy-efficient ones, as well as buy electrical appliances with low energy consumption. Do not leave devices connected to the network (TV, laptop, telephone, etc.) overnight, and also unnecessarily leave the lights on in the room.

Reasonable consumption of these types of resources will also help to save on payment of receipts for gas and water.

It is important to pay the invoices on time so that late fees are not charged. It will also help you avoid unnecessary spending.

In addition, it is better to pay receipts received in the ways in which the charged commission is lower (for example, via terminals or the Internet).

Thus, there are various ways to reduce utility bills. A subsidy or benefit will help save a significant part of the family budget.

But this type of assistance can only be used by certain categories of citizens.

But it is up to each of us to take good care of the supplied resources, pay the rent on time and carefully study the receipts for services.

How to pay less for housing and communal services, the video will tell you:

Have you noticed a mistake? Select it and press Ctrl + Enter to tell us.

Source: http://JuristPomog.com/civil/kak-platit-menshe-za-kommunalnye.html

Savings on housing and communal services - do not allow unreasonable fees

The monthly growth in utility bills significantly outstrips the growth in the income level of the Russian population: although tariffs for housing and communal services are growing slower than official inflation, the growth of pensions and wages does not keep pace with tariffs and citizens are forced to think more and more often about how to pay less for housing and communal services.

Moreover, it will no longer be a secret to anyone that the housing and communal services sector is often used for all kinds of abuses, therefore, restoring justice in determining prices for housing and communal services is always a very important, but at the same time difficult task.

That is why tenants should not relax - if there are suspicions about the transparency of the decisions of general meetings of an apartment building, they should be proactive and follow the house council and the management company.

In other words, the size of prices for housing and communal services in your house largely depends on the decency and correctness of the work of your management company.

We are not claiming that all management companies are dishonest. We argue that objective control by residents of the work of any management company will benefit both the residents of the building and will teach the management company to work better, make its work more open and, ultimately, improve the market for housing and communal services.

How to prevent illegal charges for housing and communal services and save money:

Require representatives of the HOA or management company to provide invoices for payments to resource supplying companies. The general bill will help you calculate how much money you personally have to pay.

It is necessary to demand responsibility from the audit commission for the expenses of the HOA or the management company conducted by it. If overspending is identified, the case file should be sent to law enforcement. No additional items of expenditure of money - only those that are approved at the general meeting!

You have every right to file an application with law enforcement agencies about illegal actions of the HOA or the Criminal Code or the resource-using organization (payment for an idle elevator, etc.).
If you find in the mail bills for payment of housing and communal services, first check the account number, and then pay.

Household authority

According to experts, if corruption in the housing and utilities sector is eliminated, the amount of payments will be halved.

Complaints about the work of the management company or the board of the HOA are submitted to the state housing inspectorate, Rospotrebnadzor, and the prosecutor's office.

And we all need to frequently ask and demand reporting from the HOA or the management company regarding the distribution of funds that they received for paying for services. An active life position and the absence of indifferent people will help change the situation.

For convenience, you can see articles on how you can save on payment for heat, water, gas and electricity in other sections of the site.

Still have questions? Want to get answers to them?

Here you can ask a question free of charge to experts or lawyers of the gkh-konsultant.ru portal.

Source: https://www.energo-konsultant.ru/sovets/GKH/kak_sekonomit_na_uslugax_gkh/kak_platit_menshe_za_uslugi_gkh/

Utilities: How to Pay Less

Many people mistakenly believe that housing and communal services belongs to a system in which it is better to pay money than to try to figure out what exactly it is spent on. However, this is not the case. Housing and communal services is the sphere of rendering services to the population and legal entities.

What do you do when you don't like the service in a cafe? That's right, you are complaining.

And what prevents us from doing the same if the utility charges us more money than is necessary, or provides a bill for services that it does not provide?

Ways to save on housing and communal services

There are many ways to save on utility bills. For example, you can save on electricity, water, heating and services that we don't use. This is done differently in each case. Below we will consider several ways that will allow everyone to significantly reduce their utility bills.

Savings on electricity bills

As a rule, most people have a single-rate light meter installed in apartments and private houses. It can be replaced with multi-tariff. The purchase and installation of such a meter will cost from 2 to 5 thousand rubles. Despite the fact that in the beginning you will have to spend a certain amount, this will allow you to save up to 25% monthly on electricity bills.

Don't believe me? Now we will try to explain. In an ordinary meter, kilowatts are multiplied by a certain tariff, for example, for Moscow it is 4.5. At the same time, a multi-tariff meter performs the same actions, only taking into account the time of day. So, in the named counter from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm the coefficient is 4.

53, and from 23:00 to 7:00 this coefficient is already 1.16.

How to replace a single-rate meter with a multi-rate meter? The scheme of actions here is similar to the installation of water meters. Your actions will have to be coordinated with the management company. After approval, you need to purchase a meter, and then call a specialist who will replace the old device with a new one. The last step is to conclude a new service contract with the power grids.

Another way that will reduce the financial costs of electricity is to replace conventional bulbs with energy-saving ones. This will allow you to save up to 75% on electricity every day. Such bulbs shine no worse than ordinary ones, but at the same time they consume electricity 5, or even 10 times less.

Today, energy-saving light bulbs are produced in two types:

luminescent;
LED.

The price of the latter is much higher than luminescent ones. But they immediately turn on at full power. If you use fluorescent ones, you will have to wait a while for them to flare up in full force. In addition, the service life of LEDs is about 6 years.

Before purchasing a particular light bulb, pay attention to its light temperature: it indicates the shade of the light it produces.

If you see numbers in the range from 2700 to 3500, then you should know that such a light bulb will shine with a warm yellow color.

If you want a cool white light, then you need to buy a light bulb that has an interval between 4,000 and 5,000 on its packaging. If you want a daylight effect, buy a sweetheart with numbers over 6 thousand.

Savings on water

Water meters will help to significantly reduce the payment for water supply. Together with the installation, the counter will cost about 4 to 6 thousand rubles.

Despite the initial cash costs, in the future you can save up to 50% on water, depending on the region of residence. Thus, residents of Barnaul can reduce costs by almost 16 thousand rubles, while residents of Novy Urengoy will pay almost 80 thousand rubles less annually. Not bad!

To install such a meter, you need to contact the management company. There you will receive a water supply diagram, technical conditions for the installation of the named device, as well as contact details of organizations that have the right to install water meters.

The number of meters directly depends on the number of risers. It is not difficult to count them - see how many stopcocks you have in your apartment. For example, if there is only one shut-off valve, then you will need to purchase two meters: one for cold water, and the second for hot water.

In the event that we have two stopcocks, you need to buy four meters.

To install the meter on water, call a specialist, he will also make its sealing. Even if there is a factory seal on the purchased meter, the specialist will have to put his own seal without fail.

At the end of the work, a tripartite act is drawn up, which must be signed by the master who installed the device, as well as the owner of the home and the representative of the company that provides water supply services.

The last step is to contact the management company and conclude an agreement with it to pay for water supply services by the meter.

Do not forget that the water meter is checked once within 4-6 years. After installing water meters, you can save about 11 thousand rubles.

Savings on services that residents do not use

Take a look at your receipt. Sometimes it contains the price for services that you have not used for a long time. For example, an elevator in a multi-storey building. Everyone knows very well that they tend to break down and do not work for a long time.

Or maybe there are no garbage bins near your house or your house has long been in need of major repairs? Undoubtedly, it is difficult to return the money spent for the services not provided, but it is possible.

If the funds cannot be returned, then in the future you can stop paying for unnecessary services.

In addition, the receipt may include services that you are not even aware of. All old houses have radio points. Have you used them for a long time? But you pay for them. If your receipt contains an invoice for this service, contact the management organization with a written disconnect request.

If you often go on business trips or for other reasons are absent from home for more than five days, then you have every right to demand a recalculation for utilities.

Savings on heating

To reduce the cost of heating bills, you will also need to install a meter. Yes, its cost is quite large - about 150 thousand rubles. But you must admit that if all the owners fold for an apartment building, this amount will not seem so big.

By installing this device, you can save about 30% monthly. Why is this necessary? Quite often, the heat does not reach the end consumer in full. It can be lost in basements or boiler rooms with leaks or poorly insulated old pipes.

First, you need to obtain the consent of all apartment owners in the house. After that, you need to contact the management company, take a list of organizations that have the right to install such devices.

If the management company refuses to install a meter for heating, it is necessary to demand a written refusal indicating the reason. After that, you can safely go to court with a statement of claim.

It is best to assign all these litigations to a contractor who will install and commission a heat meter. It will not be superfluous to oblige the contractor to carry out work on the insulation of the house. Also check if all the windows in the entrance are intact, if the entrance doors are constantly closed. If not, it turns out that you pay for heating not only your house, but also the street.

Finally, we will give some advice to those who decided to save money on utility bills. As far as one apartment is concerned, there are no questions here. The owner himself makes this or that decision.

But the situation is somewhat more complicated when the consent of all apartment owners is required. If you live in an apartment building, then be sure to enlist the support of all apartment owners.

If at least one of them does not give his consent to carry out certain works, then all your efforts will be in vain. This is best left to the house manager.

Do not be afraid to contact the management company for clarification of certain issues. They are obliged not only to provide us with services, but also to explain why exactly this amount needs to be paid.

Study the legislation regularly. Changes are made to it with enviable consistency that will further reduce the financial costs of housing and communal services, which most of us are not even aware of.

In search of how to save the family budget, citizens often resort to extreme extremes, while ignoring the available ways to save their money. A striking fact of this can be the receipt of benefits and other indulgences in terms of payment for housing and communal services.

Many people find this way of saving money either completely impossible, or requiring a colossal investment of time and effort. Both positions are not correct - it is quite easy to save on the "communal", but, unfortunately, not in every situation.

More details on how to pay less for an apartment will be discussed in the article below.

Is it possible to reduce utility bills? Photo # 1

Most often, citizens seek to reduce their "communal" for an apartment for the following reasons:

poor quality of services provided (dirty tap water, lack of hot water supply, heating failures, etc.);
the cost of services is too high for them and they are not able to “pull” such financial expenses;
have already been notified of their privileged position and want to take advantage of it (there is a disabled person in the family, the family is recognized as poor, etc.).

Each of the above reasons is a good reason to reduce the cost of utilities. It is important to follow the procedure for organizing savings of this kind within the framework of the legislation and not try to get around it in order to save money.

Otherwise, there is a considerable risk of the need to bear responsibility to, and not always civil.

Ways to get benefits and various kinds of indulgences for the payment of "communal"

How do I get utility benefits or subsidies? Photo # 2

First of all, set the accounting items for the resources entering your home (electricity, water, gas, etc.). Often, housing and management companies (ZhUK) round them up with monthly bills, as a result of which citizens have to overpay for "communal services". By installing ordinary meters, you can not only control the honesty of the BEETLE, but also save up to 30% on utility bills.
Secondly, when leaving somewhere from your apartment for a long period of time (more than 1-2 weeks), be sure to notify your BEETLE about this either before leaving or after. For this purpose, you can use a travel ticket, an extract from the sanatorium, hotel bills, and the like. The BEETLE is obliged to recalculate for some services that were not used by you at the time of departure. As a rule, recalculation allows you to save up to 20% on utility bills.
Third, be sure to review your utility bills. If there are any services there that you do not use or do not provide to you, ask the BEETLE to remove them from the list from the next month. Very often, management organizations include unnecessary and unused radio points or cleaning entrances in public services, which bring them considerable profit, in fact, made out of thin air. By excluding unused or not provided services, it becomes possible to save up to 30% on utility bills.
Fourth, try to get benefits or subsidies for utility bills. The list of people who can count on this is quite wide. Most often, benefits for "communal" are used by:

from which utilities eat up 15% of their income;
families that include disabled people;
families with people with disabilities;
poor families who have officially received this status;
large families;
veterans or children of the Second World War and other military operations;
citizens who have lost their breadwinners or are in the public service.

The size of the exemptions varies from 10 to 60% of the total cost of services. You can get or find out about such an opportunity regarding benefits for paying for "communal services" in the ZhUK and the social protection authorities at your place of residence.

And fifthly, just carefully monitor the amount of consumed resources, save them as much as possible and make sure that the factors provoking the inflated cost of utilities are neutralized in the early stages of manifestation. For example, you can write out citizens from your own who do not live in it, not use those services that you do not need, and do such things. This approach to business will save up to 20% of the cost of "communal".

As you can see, it is not so problematic to reduce the cost of utilities. The main thing is to correctly approach the savings. Practice shows that it is quite realistic to save from 20 to 60% of the cost of "communal".

The nuances of saving money on housing and communal services

Tips for those wishing to save on utility bills. Photo No. 4

In fact, this one is quite simple to implement, but it is also not devoid of features. The most important of these are presented below:

Never be afraid to refuse those services that you do not use or those that are provided to you in poor quality or are not provided at all. The BEETLE is obliged to respond to such wishes and demands of citizens. If the employees of the organization ignore you, be sure to complain about them first to the local police department, and then to the prosecutor's office.
When issuing benefits for paying for "communal" or applying for its reduction in authorized organizations, do not forget that your position must be supported by documents. At a minimum, it is important to have an appropriate income tax return or statement, documents confirming your preferential status, and similar papers with you.
If you have any difficulties in the process of organizing savings on utilities, be sure to contact the professionals for help. An experienced lawyer, for a small fee, can provide a very high-quality consultation on the issue of interest to you, so much so that the costs for it will be "repulsed" rather quickly.

In general, it is not difficult to save on "communal" if you know all the features of such an event. You can get acquainted with all the nuances of reducing the cost of utilities in the material presented above. We hope this article was helpful to you. Good luck in asserting your rights!

You can find out tips on how to legally not pay for hot water supply and heating an apartment by watching the video:

Write a question to the housing lawyer in the form below see also Phones for consultation

27 Apr 2017 77

Discussion: 8 comments

I can save a lot on utility bills only thanks to the subsidy. It is a pity that it comes out only for the winter period, for the summer they do not give it. I also try to use water, gas and light wisely. Life is now expensive, it makes you save on everything.

To answer

With all sorts of departures, there are funny situations. Doctors say that some old women sometimes try to lie down in the hospital in order to save some period of their pension and not pay the communal apartment. Benefit from all sides, yes.
And we still can't figure out our benefits, which are due to families with disabled children. It is a pity that the authorities do not automatically transfer information to each other and have to run around to get what they want.

To answer

Great savings are obtained when installing metering devices and, indeed, economical use of water and electricity. Yesterday I compared my payrolls and those of my neighbors, it turns out that due to metering devices, our rent is lower than the neighbor’s one by almost a thousand rubles.

To answer

I do not see any other ways to save money, except for the installation of metering devices and control over the expenditure of utilities. Try to turn off the light, water, so that it does not flow anywhere, and you can save gas.

To answer

I applied for a subsidy, I am entitled to it, since my official salary is insufficient to pay for utilities. Plus, I installed meters for water and gas, the meter was already installed for electricity. I think that my savings came out significant.

To answer

Of course, you can save on everything, but this of course affects the comfort and convenience of using the same light or water. If earlier we turned on the light everywhere and did not count money, now the thought of saving will not allow doing this.

To answer

The cost of utilities is a constantly growing value. Sometimes, she eats up half of the family budget, and greedily encroaches on the remaining crumbs.

What to do in this case? How to pay less for utilities without denying convenience? What benefits and subsidies to use so that after payment there is more money left? This and not only we will discuss in this article.

Counters

Most of the apartment owners have long ago installed metering devices for consumed water and gas.

This solution allowed to save up to half of the payment for communal services, since the norms of the consumed resource are not always correct in relation to the actual volume of use.

This is especially true in cases where many family members are registered in the apartment, and only a few people live.

Two-tariff electricity meters are also beneficial. They allow you to reduce the cost of light, but only if you use the devices at night and in the evening. For example, on weekdays from 23.00 to 7.00 there is a night tariff, so the energy consumed will be almost two times cheaper than the same amount of resources used during the day.

ATTENTION! There are also three-rate electricity metering devices, they take into account the "half-peak zone" and help to reduce payments in the apartment.

Energy-saving lamps

Another method of saving resources, hence money. Many are skeptical about this method, because the cost of modernized energy-saving lamps is several times higher than that of classic bulbs.

The benefit is obvious: the energy-saving lamp has a power of 5 W, and it shines just like the outdated 25 W counterpart. Savings can be up to 80%!

Saving

If in the apartment the lights are constantly on in all rooms, water is constantly flowing / leaking / leaking, then the monthly amount of utility bills will plunge you into a real shock!

It is worthwhile to use resources wisely and economically, turning off the light in rooms where it is unnecessary, shutting off water that is not used, repairing plumbing equipment that is leaking.

Recalculation

If the apartment does not have energy metering devices installed, then the temporarily absent tenant is entitled to a discount when paying for utilities.

According to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 23, 2006, the rent is recalculated only if the registered tenant was absent from his living space for at least 5 days and has documents confirming this fact.

Prepare documents confirming the absence of the tenant in the apartment (a travel certificate, plane / train tickets in both directions, foreign passport with customs marks can be used as documents).
Apply to housing and communal services, housing and communal services, management company with an application for recalculation of rent due to temporary absence. Attach copies of supporting documents to the application.
Within a few days (at least) five, housing and communal services will recalculate utilities.
Residents will receive a receipt with the correct amount next month.

If water / gas / heating was temporarily absent in the house due to an accident or preventive maintenance, then the communal service is obliged to independently recalculate the rent. The main thing is to follow the management company and remember to check the receipt.

Subsidy, benefit

Several categories of our fellow citizens have the right to take advantage of the discount when forming the final amount:

citizens whose utility costs account for 22% or more of their total income;
orphans;
disabled people;
poor families;
large families;
participants of the Second World War.

A citizen can obtain more detailed information directly from the housing and utilities sector, since the types of benefits depend on the region of residence.

Communal tricks

Buy home appliances with A-class energy consumption.
Showering instead of pouring a full bath is twice as economical.
Disconnect your home phone or change your tariff to the simplest and cheapest one.
If you are leaving the apartment for a long time, then disconnect the refrigerator and other household appliances from the network.
The water after bathing can be used for cleaning, mopping.
Drinking water can be brought from springs and springs.
Use a pressure cooker to prepare meals.
Do not dry clothes on batteries - heat transfer decreases, so the room is additionally heated with a fireplace.
Wash after 11pm or before 7am.
Fill the washing machine to the maximum allowed to reduce the number of trips.

Utilities are the most expensive item in the formation of the monthly budget. However, it is possible and necessary to save on payment of resources, because no one wants to work for a communal apartment.

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