Is it necessary to enter into a contract for servicing gas equipment?

Housing and communal services

From time to time, news reports appear about household gas explosions, leading to tragic consequences. To prevent such situations, gas workers began to conduct inspections to identify problem areas in the use of gas equipment.

In 2021, all gas appliances are checked: stoves, boilers, water heaters, which are located in apartments and private homes of citizens. At the same time, gas services oblige homeowners to enter into an agreement for the maintenance of gas equipment, within the framework of which scheduled preventive checks of the equipment must be carried out to eliminate possible problems.

Gas Equipment Maintenance Law 2021

Speaking about the obligation of the consumer of a natural resource to enter into an agreement for the maintenance of gas equipment, the appropriate structure must be guided by the regulatory act, Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 410 (unchanged in 2021).

He also approved the Rules for the Use of Gas, which explain:

principles for ensuring safe operation of VDGO;
the procedure according to which contracts for maintenance and repair work of any gas appliances are concluded.

This means that homeowners are now responsible for ensuring that their gas appliances are working properly. Therefore, should you consider whether to enter into an agreement or not?

Otherwise, gas workers have the right to refuse to provide the consumer with the service of supplying the resource , in other words, to suspend the supply of gas to the apartment or house (subparagraph e, paragraph 45 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 21, 2008 N 549).

No amateur performances!

At first glance, the above list does not contain anything particularly complicated. It may seem like a job that any homeowner can do. But this impression is very misleading. An inexperienced person may miss the smallest signs that the boiler, water supply and gas pipeline do not meet strict requirements.

In the event of an unforeseen situation, not everyone is able to quickly respond in order to prevent irreparable consequences. At the same time, the specialist not only has the necessary qualifications and experience to carry out such work, but also bears personal responsibility for the quality of the inspection. This is confirmed by his signature on the documents for the boiler, which you must require from him upon completion of the maintenance.

Should I enter into an agreement for the maintenance of gas equipment? Is this legal?

The rules that establish the legislative basis for owners of gas appliances in an apartment or private house state in paragraph 80 that in the absence of an agreement, the resource supplier has the right to suspend its supply to the premises. Since gas is a source of increased danger, maintenance of the relevant equipment should not be neglected.

In an apartment building, failure to maintain and repair gas appliances significantly increases the risk of various leakage problems and subsequent explosions. This can cause enormous damage not only to the property of the irresponsible owner, but also to many other residents in the neighborhood.

Question: Should I conclude a gas service agreement or not?

The answer is obvious, we must conclude! Refusal to conclude an agreement for the maintenance and repair of equipment, both intra-house and intra-apartment, entails the application of the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

What happens if you don’t sign a contract for servicing gas equipment?

According to Article 9.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences, a fine may be imposed in the amount of:

The person who committed the violation	First violation, rub.	Repeated violation, rub
Owner	1 000 – 2 000	2 000 – 5 000
Job title	5 000 – 25 000	10,000 – 40,000 or removal from position from 1 – 3 years
Legal	40 000 – 100 000	80,000 – 200,000 or suspension of activities for up to 3 months

In advance, a notification is sent to the owner about the need to check the appliances and enter into an agreement for the maintenance of gas equipment in the apartment. If it is ignored, then after 40 days the supply of natural gas to the apartment building is suspended.

If, by ignoring gas equipment checks, an accident occurs and the residents of an apartment building are injured, then the fine against such a person will be:

for citizens – from 10 thousand to 30 thousand rubles;
for officials – from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles;
for legal entities persons – from 100 thousand to 400 thousand rubles.

Be on the lookout

The entire variety of gas boilers available differs not only in brand, appearance and set of parameters, but also in their design solutions. And therefore, for the maintenance of a specific model, the list may differ from another similar one.

That is why there is no point in providing an exact list of operations. But it is necessary to know their approximate composition in order to monitor the conscientiousness of the specialist’s actions. The list of necessary operations is given in the documentation supplied with the unit.

Gas equipment subject to inspection

All gas equipment of an apartment building is divided into the following groups:

general house , which includes all gas communications to taps and meters located in apartments;
intra-apartment – these are any devices using a natural resource that are located in a specific apartment.

Moreover, for the first group of services, the contract is concluded with the management company, in whose department the apartment building is located, and for the second group - directly with the owner of the premises.

In a private house, all VDGO equipment, including stoves, columns, boilers, must be subject to periodic inspections and repairs under an agreement concluded with the owner of the house.

What does the law say about this?

In the spring of 2013, the Government signed Resolution No. 410, which talks about the division of responsibility for the use of equipment and clarifies some new rules. A few years later, in 2015, some amendments were made to it. The document focuses on the fact that private individuals must enter into a service agreement with the gas service. This procedure is mandatory. All types of repair work, support and maintenance are possible only after documentation. The management organization of an apartment building also enters into an agreement with the gas company, but only for the installation of special units on the facade up to the gas stove. Owners pay for the work and maintenance of the equipment themselves. If an agreement is not concluded with the gas service, gas workers will not carry out inspection procedures in relation to gas appliances. In this case, they are automatically recognized as dangerous. And since there is unsafe equipment in the apartment, the gas distribution organization has the right to stop the gas supply.

Routine inspection of gas equipment in the apartment

During the term of the contract, gas workers are required to carry out scheduled inspections of equipment and all connecting systems. The frequency of such inspections may be established by agreement. In this case, the consumer is given a corresponding act. In addition to such visits, they are obliged to respond as soon as possible and go to the owner’s address if he reports a detected malfunction. On-site inspection and work to eliminate it is carried out.

If gas appliances are used correctly, one check for the entire term of the agreement is sufficient. If the equipment’s service life has expired, gas workers recommend replacing it or carrying out diagnostics in a specialized organization. If the period is extended in conclusion, its service becomes annual.

Organizations servicing gas equipment prepare documentation for each room indicating all the devices located there, indicating the date of installation and service life.

Responsibility

At the moment, the area of responsibility is divided:

The management organization controls the condition of internal property.
Homeowners are responsible for their own equipment (tanks, gas stoves and heating appliances).

According to the authorities, such a division should increase the degree of control over the maintenance of gas appliances.

Gas equipment maintenance cost

When you decide to enter into an agreement, you are interested in the question, how much does a contract for servicing gas equipment in an apartment cost? When calculating the price of the agreement, the appropriate tariffs for such work are applied. The legal basis for tariffs is established by the rules for calculating the maintenance and repair of gas equipment in-house and in-apartment, approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation. To set the cost of maintenance and repair of VGO, recommendations from FTS Order No. 269-e/8 are used.

Payment for repair work performed is made at the rate that is indicated in the application on the date of the customer’s application. The rules for paying fees for repairs are specified in the contract. If no special conditions are provided, the deadline is set no later than the tenth day of the month following the day when the work was performed.

The cost of maintenance depends solely on the gas equipment installed in the apartment or house. It includes:

emergency dispatch support;
THAT;
repairs of any complexity;
preventive measures to prevent accidents.

As an example, here are the prices for servicing GOs by Mosoblgaz:

gas stove – 1400 rubles;
instantaneous water heater – 2000 rubles;
gas boiler - on average 3,600 rubles.

Also read : Gas tariffs from July 1, 2021 for the population

During the entire period of validity of the contract, minor work to eliminate gas leaks, as well as sealing connecting elements, is carried out free of charge. Malfunctions that entail major repairs or replacement of failed parts are eliminated at the expense of the owner.

Price issue

Unfortunately, within the framework of a separate article, we cannot provide the reader with detailed information regarding the specific prices of a particular supplier organization. As already mentioned, due to competition in the era of a market economy, the number of providers of such services is not one or two. And each of them has a price list consisting of a long list of items.

You can navigate this issue by comparing the prices of private suppliers with those that can be found on the website of the familiar and most in-demand JSC Gazprom Gazoraspredeleniye according to a unified price list for the population. We repeat, we do not have the opportunity to provide the entire list of tariffs (23 sheets) - the reader can easily find the relevant information by visiting the supplier’s office or the corresponding Internet resource.

But for general orientation, we present standard prices for maintenance of in-house or in-apartment gas equipment. The exact amount contained in the contract will depend on the composition of household equipment that is used in each specific case (gas stove, gas instantaneous water heaters, gas meter, internal gas pipeline, gas tap, etc.). The cost of maintenance services is:

for the hob – 334.74 rubles;
for the oven – 203.56 rubles;
for a stove with two burners - 334.74 rubles, with three - 389.02 rubles, four - 443.31 rubles;
for a water heater – 890.06 rubles;
for a boiler with a power of up to 30 kW - 913.37 rubles, from 31 to 60 kW - 1079.87 rubles, from 61 to 140 kW - 1079.87 rubles.

Additional work

In addition, after concluding an agreement with the gas service, the masters are required to carry out the following work:

Checking the quality of installed devices (everything must comply with current standards).
Checking the tightness of hoses and connecting elements.
Checking the functionality of all equipment, valves, hoses and meters.
Inspection of the functioning of ventilation shafts and channels.
Conducting instructions on the safe use of devices.

If a need is identified, gas workers can carry out repairs. Minor defects in the operation of devices can be corrected for a fee. When concluding a service agreement with a gas service, repair work is not required, since it is not required in all cases.

The cost of additional actions is determined according to the organization’s price list. This amount includes compensation for the time spent by the gas service employee and consumables (if parts need to be replaced).

Agreement with a gas company: advantages and disadvantages

So, why does the gas service force you to enter into an agreement? This, first of all, is a guarantee of safety. The main advantages are considered to be the following:

Systematic checks by qualified specialists of gas equipment for proper functioning - absence of leaks and other malfunctions.
High-quality repairs if necessary.
Fixed prices specified in the contract for repairs, maintenance and testing of all existing equipment.

But along with all the advantages of entering into a service contract with a gas service, there are also some disadvantages. For example, unscrupulous gas organizations. In this case, naturally, there can be no question of qualified service. In addition, complaints about scammers who enter into contracts only for the purpose of receiving a subscription fee have recently become more frequent. They do not provide any services.

In this situation, you should know how to behave. You can file a complaint about a violation of the terms of the contract with law enforcement agencies or file a claim with the courts. These measures can influence an unscrupulous organization and force it to fulfill its obligations.