How long can you turn off hot water in 2021?

Regular shutdown of hot water in apartments with central water supply is a real housing and communal scourge that annually ruins the lives of millions of our fellow citizens.

This problem becomes especially urgent in the summer, when in hot and stuffy weather hot water is turned off for 2-3 weeks. For many people, this state of affairs is akin to a natural disaster.

What is the situation with turning off hot water from a legal point of view? For how long can it be turned off and how many times per season? Let's try to understand the intricacies of housing and communal legislation!

Main reasons

There are not many reasons for shutting off the water supply, and they are divided into two groups: unexpected and planned. Unforeseen ones include:

• Accident among water supply networks.
• Interference with water supply equipment.
• Natural disasters such as thunderstorms, fires, tsunamis, hurricanes and others.
• There is an emergency or threat of serious water supply failure. In this case, the services go into emergency mode and can cut off the hot water supply in entire areas as long as necessary to prevent a possible disaster.

Services warn in advance about planned outages and how long they will last, and they either apply to the entire house or only to specific apartments:

• preventive shutdown of hot water, which traditionally takes place in the summer;
• non-payment of utilities by a resident of an apartment. Services have the right to temporarily turn off hot water until the debtor undertakes to pay his bills;
• fraud and manipulation of meters by apartment owners.

In the last two cases, residents are not warned for how long the water may be turned off, since it depends only on how long it will take to pay the debt or fine.

What to do, is it possible to appeal the disconnection of services and resources for non-payment?

Undoubtedly, the apartment owner has every right to appeal the decision to terminate the supply of resources for non-payment. However, this requires compelling reasons, which may include the following:

• shutdown of water, gas, electricity or other services in the presence of debt, less than 2 months;
• suspension of the supply of resources without prior written notice to the owner of the premises;
• introduction of such sanctions earlier than 20 days (from the moment the warning was sent), etc.

To appeal the illegal actions of the utility service provider, the apartment owner can file a written complaint with the following authorities:

• territorial housing inspection;
• Rospotrebnadzor;
• prosecutor's office

In addition, the owner of the premises whose rights have been violated has the right to file a claim with a judicial authority to declare the actions of the resource supplying organization illegal.

To summarize the above, it should be noted that, indeed, utilities can be turned off for non-payment. However, according to the official point of view of the state, this measure can only be implemented in exceptional cases when other methods of influencing the debtor do not produce results. In addition, it will not be possible to stop the supply of cold water supply (in apartments) and heating.

How long can cold water be turned off by law?

In accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, by law, it is possible to turn off cold water only for 8 hours a month, but no more than 4 hours a day. If after this time there is still no water, you can officially submit paperwork to recalculate your utility bill - each additional hour removes up to 0.15% of the monthly fee.

Power supply problems

The stability of the power supply system is characterized by two indicators: the quality of electricity and its reliability.

GOST 29322-2014 sets network parameters. They may deviate from the norm within certain limits: frequency - 50 ± 0.2 Hz; phase-neutral voltage: 230 V ±10%; phase-to-phase voltage: 400 V ±10%.

Minor or significant deviations from the specified characteristics must be eliminated urgently. In some regions, outdated power supply systems with different network parameters (220/380 V and 240/415 V) continue to operate.

The interruption of electricity supply should not exceed the specified limits:

• if there are two redundant power sources, then the repair duration is no more than two hours;
• when there is only one source, the elimination time is one day;
• if a short circuit occurs, repair work must be carried out immediately;
• The malfunction in the lighting system of the common area will be corrected within 7 days.

Failures of this system occur when there is a significant change in the characteristics of the mains voltage. The reason for this may be: instability of magnitude, shape and frequency, lack of sufficient current power, unreliability or complete loss.

How long can there be no hot water according to law?

Hot water must be present in all houses connected to public services, according to Russian Government Decree No. 354.
Moreover, the water supply must meet the requirements described in the GOST parameters. For hot water supply, the same rules apply as for cold water - it can be absent for no more than 4 hours per day, and no more than 8 per month in general. However, we must not forget about the existence of a preventive annual shutdown of hot water.

By law, the duration of prophylaxis can last for two weeks, that is, no more than 14 days. In 2018, a bill was submitted to the Duma that proposed reducing this period to 10 days, but it is still under consideration.

Should there be a recalculation?

If the consumer uses hot water meters, then the amount of payment is calculated based on these readings. In this case, no recalculation is made - only the volume of water that was consumed is paid.

When is it possible?

If there are no water supply meters, and the water supply is carried out with interruptions exceeding the established norms, the fee should be reduced.

As for planned interruptions in water supply for maintenance, these interruptions are already taken into account when calculating the tariff for hot water supply for the year. No additional recalculation is required.

How to request a recalculation?

To receive a deduction, you must:

1. Document the shutdown of water supply from a certain date until the date of its elimination.
2. Submit a package of documents to the management company or resource supplying organization in person or by registered mail.

The applicant must be recalculated within 5 working days after receiving the documents. The tariff reduction will be reflected in the next receipt for payment of housing and communal services.

If the applicant has all the grounds for recalculation, the necessary documents are submitted and executed properly, they cannot refuse a payment reduction. But if, nevertheless, the recalculation was refused, then you can file a complaint with the State Housing Inspectorate or a lawsuit in court. To do this, you must have a written refusal to recalculate.

How to find out about the planned termination of supply to a specific address

Now there are several ways to find out in advance about the standard shutdown of hot water supply and how long the water will be shut off.

• Announcements at the entrance. Utility services are obliged to notify residents of houses about impending inconveniences, therefore, a couple of weeks before the prevention, messages appear in entrances and on notice boards about the period during which there will be no hot water supply and how long it will be.
• On the website of public services of your city. These web pages include a feature to “learn about water outages.” There you just need to write the name of your street, and the server will show the maintenance schedule for all houses, as well as how long you will not have hot water.
• Via SMS. In some cities of Russia there is also an SMS alert system. To receive information, you need to send the message “GOR WATER P” to number 7377.

How to file a complaint

The complaint is made to an official of the management company. There is no particular unified form. You can write by hand. The header contains the name of the organization, surname, first name, patronymic, address, contacts of the applicant, the essence of the claim + a link to the law (Resolution No. 354). It is important to reflect the reason for the unauthorized disconnection of the service. It happens that payment was made partially or there was no notification about the disconnection. The date and signature of the applicant are placed at the bottom of the business paper.

It happens that after filing a claim, the management company still admits its mistake and decides to supply water to the apartment again. If he ignores the consumer’s demands or gives a negative answer, then the next authorities for filing a complaint are the Prosecutor’s Office, the Housing Inspectorate.

The application is written to the manager. The details of the applicant, the name of the organization, the circumstances of the case, the fact of illegal water shutoff, the date, and the signature at the bottom of the document are written down. You should definitely attach the answer received from the Criminal Code. If the regulatory authorities also issue a negative answer, and the problem remains unresolved, and the applicant has suffered particular harm, then it is worth contacting the district court. The claim is made as follows:

1. The header contains the full name, telephone number, address of the applicant, name of the judicial organization, details of the defendant, legal address, telephone number.
2. The body of the document sets out the claims. The circumstances under which the water was turned off and the date when the management company, after filing a claim, issued its verdict are stated.
3. The date and signature are placed at the bottom.

It is important to attach to the statement of claim copies of claims with responses received from regulatory organizations.

It is important to draft your claim correctly. It might make sense to contact a lawyer.

The court will establish justice. Perhaps the plaintiff will be able to win, obtain water connection, and compensation for moral damages. Although it will be necessary to prove that utility services acted negligently, deliberately violated the rights of residents, and created a threat to life and health. Measures to cut off the water resulted in damage to their property.

When disconnected without warning

Expert opinion

Mironova Anna Sergeevna

Generalist lawyer. Specializes in family issues, civil, criminal and housing law

If the hot water supply was stopped without warning, this may indicate accidents or emergencies in the water supply system. To obtain information about the timing of the resumption of water supply and the period for which it was stopped, you can go to the state website. services of your city, in the “News” section. If there is no mention of the incident, then the problem is local, and emergency services in your area or the property management company can answer your questions.

Often, residents, if there is no water due to major problems, are notified half an hour after the shutdown - either via SMS or by calling their home phone. Unfortunately, in such cases, specialists can rarely tell you exactly how long it will take to fix the problem.

Is there any point in complaining?

Expert opinion

Stanislav Ershov

Qualified lawyer. Ready to answer any of your questions! Ask them right now!

Write to an expert

As practice shows, it does. And the point is not even that the prosecutor’s office or the Housing Inspectorate, if violations are detected, will issue a fine to the head of the management company. Any verification of the legality of a long-term water outage, as a rule, greatly speeds up the process of preventive repairs or elimination of an accident.

Step-by-step instructions for the procedure

Before disconnecting communications, a number of measures are applied to debtors that can serve as a warning and motivate them to pay the receipts received. The first acceptable measure is the accrual of penalties. Each day of late payment allows for the accrual of penalties:

• in the period from 31 to 90 days, 1/1300 of the refinancing rate is charged;
• after 90 days , the rate increases to 1/130.

The accrual of penalties creates a precedent for the accumulation of debt obligations. The next step will be to notify the debtor, followed by stopping the supply of hot water.

The algorithm for legal actions of housing and communal services, which must be applied to the debtor when communications are disconnected, is specified in paragraph 119 of PP No. 354. It consists of the following mandatory actions:

1. The supplier draws up an official notification of the debt, indicating its amount.
2. Here it notifies you of the need to repay it within the prescribed period and warns about the permissibility of turning off the water in case of non-payment.
3. If the debt is not partially or fully repaid, then the supply of hot water is limited, followed by termination.
4. If it is technically impossible to limit its supply, the water is shut off without prior limitation.

The hot water supply limitation is valid for one calendar month, after which its supply is stopped.

Stopping the supply of hot water can be done in several ways:

• by installing a plug in the water pipe;
• by welding the drainage pipe leading to the debtor’s apartment;
• installing a special plug from the basement of the MKD.

All work to stop the flow of hot water is carried out at the expense of the debtor. Their value is added to the amount of the total debt. Shutting off the water must be accompanied by sealing the water supply source in order to avoid unauthorized establishment of the water supply. After disconnection and sealing, a service deactivation report should be drawn up.

Since the supplier’s goal is to collect funds, stopping the supply of services is only an interim measure. In the future, if the money does not arrive in the company’s account, it has the right to go to court to collect the full amount of the debt on the accounts, taking into account the accrual of penalties and costs for technical work to terminate the service. Obtaining a court decision allows you to collect the full amount of debt obligations through the Bailiff Service.

Notification to the debtor

Notifying the debtor consumer must be taken extremely seriously, since the slightest procedural violation can lead to the disconnection being declared illegal. The notification procedure has mandatory criteria that must be adhered to:

• timeliness;
• written form;
• presence of the signature of an authorized person and the company seal;
• confirmation of the fact of notification.

The debtor must be notified by a special document received by him against signature no later than 30 calendar days before the date of suspension or termination of water supply. In addition, he must be notified 3 days before the service is disconnected.

The text of the document must contain the following mandatory information:

• information about the performer and sender;
• information about the recipient and debtor;
• the fact of debt for the supply of water (other services), indicating the amount;
• admissibility of suspension or termination of water supply;
• obligation to repay debt;
• the number by which to pay the service provider.

In conclusion it should be stated:

1. signature of the head of the company;
2. Date of preparation;
3. round stamp.

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 350-14-90

The notice is given to the owner or responsible tenant against signature. If he refuses to sign for its receipt, the document must be sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

It is imperative to obtain an inventory of the attachment from the post office operator in order to further confirm that a notice was sent to the debtor.

Only a notice drawn up by an appropriate organization has legal force. According to the provisions specified in paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 354, such an organization can be:

• resource supply company;
• HOA;
• UK.

The second notice may be made by regular mail, by telephone or orally. It serves as a reminder that the provisions specified in the initial notification have come into force.