The rent consists of utility bills and additional expense items. It often accounts for the majority of citizens' monthly expenses. Property owners are always looking for opportunities to reduce the amount of payments for this part. This issue is especially acute when no one is registered in the apartment. When calculating monthly amounts in such premises, there are special rules and rates that owners need to study.
Knowing the initial standards, you can calculate future costs and find options for legally reducing them.
Rules for calculating rent
By purchasing real estate, the owner undertakes obligations for its maintenance and timely payment of all current expenses. Obligations of this kind arise from the moment ownership is established. Rent is an invariable condition for any private property. It is calculated depending on the initial data of the premises itself. What is important is the square footage of the living space, the form of service, the presence or absence of housing and communal services, such as water, gas, electricity, heat and much more. An important factor is the presence of registered residents in the premises.
According to the law, the owner himself has the right to decide how to dispose of his property. But at the same time, he cannot violate existing legislative norms, which allow the use of residential premises exclusively for human habitation and not for commercial purposes. No one can oblige the owner to register in the apartment on his own or register other citizens there, but the difference in the final amount of the rent may influence his decision-making.
If there is registration
In most cases, apartments are purchased for the purpose of further living in them. After registering the property, the owner can register in the premises himself and register his relatives and friends there. The number of registered residents affects the final amount of rent in terms of utility bills. There are two main strategies for calculating payouts:
- In the absence of individual metering meters, the number of registered ones is taken into account; the more there are, the higher the payments.
- If metering devices are available, calculations are made for actually consumed resources.
Individual metering meters can significantly reduce utility bills. The fact is that in their absence, payments are charged according to average rates per person. These figures are usually quite inflated when compared with actual consumption, which is why you end up paying more.
Based on the number of registrations, the removal of household waste will be paid. There are also items in the rent that do not depend in any way on the people living, but are calculated based on the square footage of the premises. These include:
- Maintenance of common areas.
- Major renovation of the building.
Also, amounts may be withheld from the owner for cleaning entrances and surrounding areas, security, parking and much more.
If no one is registered
It would be a mistake to assume that if there are no people registered in the premises, payments for the apartment will be abolished. It's not like that at all. According to the law, payment for utilities if a person is not registered and the premises are considered empty, is calculated based on the fact that one person still lives in them, although in fact this is not the case.
To determine the amount of rent it is important:
- Availability of individual meters.
- The size of the total living area of the room.
- Related services provided by management companies or HOAs.
The owner of an empty property will be able to save only on utility bills and only if he has meters.
If resource consumption readings are zero, you will not have to pay for them. But only those who have installed special batteries with heat regulators can turn off the heating locally in winter.
If no one is registered in the apartment and there are no meters, then a monthly fee will be charged for gas, hot and cold water based on the average consumption per person.
How to charge utility bills if the apartment is empty
In the temporary absence of citizens, payment for certain types of utility services, calculated on the basis of consumption standards, is carried out taking into account the recalculation of payments for the period of temporary absence of citizens in the manner and in cases approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Part 11 of Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, non-use of premises by owners, tenants and other persons is not grounds for non-payment of payment for residential premises and utilities. Thus, regardless of the fact of residence, tenants and owners of residential premises are required to bear the costs of using and maintaining the premises.
Rules for successful judicial collection of fees for housing and communal services for management companies and homeowners' associations
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Features of payment in the presence of IPU
Individual metering devices allow you to accurately calculate consumed utility resources. Electricity for all consumers is accounted for through special meters. But cold and hot water, as well as gas, can be calculated differently. Based on the savings in consumed resources, installing meters is very profitable. But the procedure for their installation and commissioning is not always possible for purely technical reasons. Some housing and communal services do not have the opportunity to carry out installation work; the main reason is considered to be outdated supply systems. This problem is especially relevant for water pipes.
Another problem for many consumers is the lack of sufficient material resources to install metering devices. Housing and communal services offer such owners interest-free installments.
For water
Water is the most consumed resource, it is calculated per cubic meter. Cold water is relatively inexpensive, but when consuming hot water, you should also take into account the costs of heating it, which significantly increase the final payment amount. When installing water supply meters, two meters are installed at once - one for cold and the other for hot.
Having splurged on metering devices once, the savings can be calculated monthly. This is convenient both for those premises where no one lives, and for those where there are registered people. Payment is calculated solely upon actual payment. If the meter readings are zero, you will not have to pay, even if there are five people registered in the apartment.
For gas
Gas is not consumed so actively and the tariffs for it, if we talk about consumption exclusively through a gas stove, are acceptable. But even in this case, it is beneficial to install a meter. If no one is registered or living in the premises, and accordingly does not use it, then there will be no payment. When using gas, it will be taken into account after the fact, and this, as practice shows, is much more economical than paying at average tariffs.
For those owners who have gas heating and water heating systems, they cannot do without a metering device at all.
A gas meter will allow you to seriously save on payments for this expense item. And consumers themselves are much more respectful of resources if they have metering devices.
For electricity
Electricity meters are available in all residential premises, regardless of the form of ownership. But significant changes are also taking place in this area, which are pushing consumers to replace old appliances with new models. Today, manufacturers offer improved electronic models with a lower level of error. New electricity meters are being introduced that will be able to take into account electricity consumption at different times of the day and apply different tariffs to them, which will also help save money.
Electricity meters imply payment for this resource upon delivery, but sometimes apartment owners pay for electricity consumed in common areas - in the entrance, elevator, courtyard.
Payment in the absence of IPU
In the absence of individual metering devices, monthly payments are calculated according to the general scheme:
1 average * number of registered.
Average values are calculated individually for each resource - gas, cold and hot water. Gas consumption is calculated separately for rooms where only a gas stove is used and those living spaces where it is needed for heating water or heating. When it comes to water supply, the nuances of ownership may be taken into account. For example, in private homes, cold water tariffs may rise during the summer. This is due to the need to water the land and, as a rule, significantly increase consumption.
Should non-residents pay?
Often, when paying utility bills, residents doubt whether they should pay for people who are registered in the apartment, but actually live elsewhere. To answer, you must first assess whether these people really influence the amount of payments. If the premises have all meters, then such residents are not reflected in the final amount of the rent.
Please note that when registering temporarily, a certificate issued at the place of residence is the basis for not charging utility bills to the address of permanent registration.
Uninstalled metering meters can negatively affect the size of the communal apartment for those owners who have registered property owners who do not actually live in it. But for the resource provider, the presence or absence of a tenant does not play any role - he must receive his money.
In a privatized apartment
Rent in privatized housing is borne by the owner of the premises or distributed among co-owners, provided that they have divided personal accounts. It doesn’t matter who is registered in the premises, who lives or does not live in it, all responsibility falls solely on the owner. It is he who enters into contracts with suppliers of electricity, gas, hot and cold water. For this reason, he will have to be responsible for expenses and timely payments.
If a tenant is registered but does not live, then utility bills will not be charged for him in the following cases:
- Metering devices have been installed.
- The person is registered temporarily at another place of stay.
You can also recalculate if there are papers proving the person’s absence, for example, sick leave, travel documents, etc.
In a municipal apartment
Municipal real estate is not the property of residents, but belongs to the state. While living in such apartments, registered residents are exempt from payments for the maintenance and repair of the house, but are required to pay the amounts established under the rental agreement. As for utility bills, they are calculated in the standard way:
- According to the counters.
- Based on average consumption per resident.
Actual non-occupancy does not relieve the registered person of responsibility for timely payment, especially since in municipal property all residents have equal rights and responsibilities.
Is there liability for living without registration?
From the point of view of the law, every Russian must be registered somewhere. But this does not mean that registration must be issued at the address of actual residence. The only limitation is that a registered citizen must appear at his place of registration at least once every 90 days. Obviously, tracking this is almost impossible.
On the other hand, actual living without registration affects the fact that expenses for general household needs increase, but are not paid in full. This may raise fair questions from neighbors who will not want to pay for outsiders.
In this situation, they can contact the Criminal Code to resolve the issue of recording the actual number of citizens living in the apartment. An employee of the management company will come to the apartment and draw up a report. In extreme cases, the case may even go to court, but the prospect of trial will be extremely doubtful. The fact is that in court it will be necessary to prove that within 90 days the citizen living in the apartment never visited the place of intended permanent residence and lived exclusively at the actual place of residence. Obviously, this is unrealistic and there is no significant judicial practice in such cases. Another thing is if the apartment is rented out and the owner evades taxes, this situation is more promising for litigation.
