Can the management company or housing office turn off the lights for non-payment?

Electricity is a critical resource used by billions of people and businesses around the world every day. Appliances, computers, kitchen equipment, factories - everything depends on the consumption of electrical energy. But the resource is not free - you must pay the management company monthly for the kilowatts used. Debt for utilities may entail the accrual of penalties for electricity, partial or complete restrictions on energy consumption in the form of shutting it off for an indefinite period .

Turning off the lights in an apartment: on what basis can residents be deprived of electricity?

Residents who are dishonest about fulfilling their obligations to pay for utility services, namely electricity, will receive a warning in the form of a power outage act.

The company’s decision to terminate the contract for the supply of utilities is made based on the following factors:

1. If residents have not paid for electricity for 2 or 3 months (or more). There are no strict sanctions for monthly non-payment of electricity bills - the debt is transferred to the next month.
2. If there was an unauthorized connection to utilities without notifying the house management.
3. Disruption of the power supply process. For example, due to termination of a contract.
4. The need for scheduled and emergency repairs. Power engineers are required to notify that they want to turn off the electricity at least 24 hours before carrying out repairs. The duration of work should not exceed 24 hours. During the year, specialists have the right to temporarily turn off the lights in the apartment no more than 3 times, notifying residents in advance before each moment. An office that turns the lights on and off more often than established limits violates the standards for the provision of housing and communal services.
5. By court order to terminate the supply of electrical energy.
6. Electricians are not allowed to access the meter. Checking the condition, payment or repair work are standard procedures on the part of the management company.

One of the most common reasons is debt for electricity in an apartment or private house. It doesn’t matter whether the debt for electricity is 2 thousand or more: according to the law, energy sales terminate the contract on the basis of non-payment for 2 or more months, after prior notice to the residents.

To know about their rights, citizens must study on the basis of what law the management company makes a decision to deprive their living space of light. Relations between the consumer of utilities (tenant) and the supplier (housing association, housing office) are regulated by Russian Government Decrees 354 of 05/06/2011 and No. 442 of 06/04/2012 .

The process of turning off electricity for non-payment: how does it happen?

No management company will turn off the lights without warning in a dormitory, apartment or private house. Before residents are deprived of the opportunity to use this type of housing and household services, the following actions are usually performed:

1. Debts for housing and communal services are recorded for 2 or more months.
2. The client receives a notification about the existence of a debt.
   The notification must contain:
   1. FULL NAME. payer;
   2. individual personal account number;
   3. address;
   4. name of the management company;
   5. information about the debt: amount of non-payment, for how long the debts were issued, repayment period;
   6. consequences of ignoring this notice.
3. The payer ignores information about the need to repay the debt for electricity consumption.
4. A repeat letter is sent a month after the previous one was sent. The deadline for payment is 3 business days from the date of receipt of the duplicate document.
5. The energy supply company contacts the resident to coordinate the disconnection of the utility service. If the payer disagrees with the supplier's requirements, the decision to turn off the light for non-payment is unilaterally made by the court. Without a trial, an organization does not have the right to turn off lights for non-payment. If residents do not mind the management company’s employees turning off the lights for non-payment without a resolution, then after agreeing on the date and time, the electricians block access to the power supply.

The management company is responsible for ensuring that the payer is aware of the need to repay debts for electricity. Information can be transmitted in one of the ways chosen by the energy sales company: by registered mail, via the client’s e-mail, courier delivery, by telephone, with a receipt for the next month, or during a personal visit by the payer to the housing and communal services office.

How to find out for what non-payment the power was turned off?

Residents whose electricity has been turned off for non-payment often do not know not only what to do and how to connect it back, but also have no idea what kind of debt they are talking about.

Citizens can find out all the information about the status of their personal account, the facts of payment and possible debts for utilities at the office of the Criminal Code. It is recommended to have with you an identification document (passport, foreign passport, military ID), payment receipts for the period of interest, checks or statements confirming the facts of payments.

Energy sales can answer for what period the fact of non-payment was established, what kind of real estate is meant (for example, residents forgot to pay for light in their country house).

If you don’t have time to visit the housing and communal services authorities, then you should study the payer’s personal account on the management company’s website. Customer account information is displayed after entering your login and password. The information in your Personal Account may differ from that provided by the company - the process of processing data and making some payments takes up to 2 days, this should be taken into account when considering recently completed transactions (no more than 3 days ago).

Online banking, which the client uses to quickly transfer funds to the supplier’s account, is also a way to check utility debts. If, when entering a personal account, a zero or negative value is displayed in the “debt” column, which means there is no debt to the management company (or overpayment).

In the absence of a response from the management company or the presence of an actual debt, payers have the right to go to court.

Electricity consumption was illegally cut off: what to do?

The payer, after receiving a document about the need to pay off debts for utilities, must check the correctness of the specified information - cases where the light was illegally turned off due to an error in the address or personal account are not uncommon.

Sometimes a company may send debts for non-payment without specifying the terms of payment. This is also a violation on the part of the supplier. Upon receipt of such notice, the customer should contact the energy company for clarification and specific payment instructions.

What should you do if the lights in your apartment are turned off for debt without a court decision?

If the light is turned off for non-payment without notice, the residents of the house have the right to apply to the court for the resumption of service. Without a court decision, it will be almost impossible to restore the connection. You can attract the violating office in several ways:

• under Article 330 “Arbitrariness” according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. If there is an abuse of power by the housing and communal services authority, the court will allow the lights to be turned on and will impose penalties on the violator;
• According to Article 15 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, turning off the light for debts without a court decision in an apartment building is a violation of the rights of residents and is punishable by compensation for moral damages to consumers. The payer can recover from energy workers for moral damages and demand the cancellation of the decision of the Criminal Code.

If the electricity was illegally turned off, but everything was paid for, then the management company must cover the cost of connecting the lights, paying for the electrician’s work, and, possibly, providing energy for several months in advance.

In 90% of cases, such a decision is made in court to clients of the management company who previously contacted energy sales and filed an appeal to the court on the basis of violations of the quality of service, suspicion of arbitrariness and compensation for moral damages.

What cases of turning off the lights of the Criminal Code are also illegal?

In addition to the lack of warning, it is considered illegal if the management company turns off the lights in a house where a small child (under 18 years of age) lives . But at the same time, it is necessary to prove that the fact of limiting electricity consumption resulted in harm to health or the creation of an extremely unfavorable environment (relevant for families with children under 3 years of age).

If the lights were turned off for non-payment, and this caused harm to the health of pensioners or disabled people, for example, those who depend on an electrical device, such a decision is also a violation on the part of the energy supply.

After a court decision, the management company has the right to deprive residents of electricity, warning clients about this at least 2 hours before the workers’ visit . Cases where electricians entered a house without permission and cut off the lights are not uncommon, but may serve as a reason to file an appeal in court.

The process of deprivation of electricity has its own nuances. Workers who come to turn off the lights for non-payment are required to introduce themselves and present their identification, a copy of the act and hand over one copy to the residents. Payers' complaints that unknown people came and cut off the power are justified in 30% of cases.

How to restore electricity after a power outage?

Residents whose electricity meters have been turned off due to legal proceedings often do not know how to reconnect the service.

If your electricity is turned off for non-payment, the first thing you need to do is pay off your debts. to pay the debt for light after the trial within the specified period: in addition to the measures taken to disconnect the power grid, residents should not shy away from the need to pay previously issued debts.

If payers do not have money, then the management company is obliged to offer installment payments, for example, for a period of six months. The offer of installment plans is also relevant if utility workers only threaten to turn off the electricity.

After payment, residents must notify the management company about the transfer of funds. Housing and communal services employees will set a date and time for a meeting with the electrician. If a seal was placed as a shutdown, it will be removed within 24 hours. If there is a delay in the restoration of electricity, it is worth contacting the energy supply to speed up the process.

Is it worth connecting the meter yourself? What does this mean?

The desire to connect the meter yourself is easy to explain - in case of delays on the part of the energy supply, residents are forced to do without electricity even after payment has been made. Houses in which the lights were cut off for debt are under the control of housing and communal services organizations, and in this case it is not so easy to connect to the power supply yourself.

If the power is cut off, you can temporarily solve the problem with electricity using a mobile power station. Affordable price and ease of use allow you to gain access to vital processes without waiting for a decision from the management company.

Attempts by residents to independently access the electricity meter on the part of the management company may be regarded as a violation subject to a fine.