Management companies can turn off cold water in the houses they service. But there must be good reasons for this. They are fixed in law. Management companies are required to notify residents about the shutdown of cold water.
Cold water can be turned off for a specific period of time. What kind of shutdown it is - planned or unscheduled - plays a role. If the supply of cold water is interrupted, residents are advised to proceed according to plan and, if necessary, complain to the appropriate authorities.
Everything you need to know and do if your cold water is turned off can be found in this article.
Why is cold water supply switched off?
Management companies have the authority to stop water supply to houses . In some cases, they must warn residents about this in advance.
But there are situations when the management company is allowed to turn off the water in houses without notifying the residents. One of them is accidents.
Termination of supply with warning
The management company must notify residents in advance about the shutdown of cold water in the house only in one case.
It concerns the need to carry out scheduled repair work on pipeline sections.
If residents have a debt for cold water, and they have not paid for the water supply service in full, then the management company cannot stop supplying cold water to their apartments (unless it is a private house, which will be discussed below).
But the company warns them in advance about the presence of debt. If it is not repaid, the management company may sue the defaulters.
And without him
Management companies can turn off the cold water supply to homes without notifying consumers in advance in the following cases:
- the occurrence of an accident in the water supply network;
- the threat of an emergency in the water supply network;
- the occurrence of a natural disaster or any emergency;
- confirmation of the fact of illegal connection of any consumer to the water supply network;
- the resident's use of appliances that create an excessive load on the water supply system;
- there is a need to urgently send water from the system to extinguish the fire;
- the entry of harmful or dangerous substances into the water supply system, which resulted in a deterioration in the quality of water supplied to apartments.
The management company may stop cold water supply to houses if there is an order from government agencies.
This applies to cases where the authority decides that the water supply systems in houses are in poor condition, and this poses a threat to residents.
Are organizations required to notify consumers about upcoming power outages?
Clause 30 of Section III of Government Decree No. 442 of the Russian Federation states that consumers (owners of houses and apartments) must be notified of the upcoming planned interruption of electricity supply. Moreover, the network organization can do this directly (in one of the ways specified in the contract) or through the supplier of this utility service, that is, through the energy supply company.
According to paragraphs. b) clause 117 of section XI of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354, in the case of planned preventive work, residents of apartment buildings and private households are required to notify about the upcoming event at least 10 days in advance . However, specific methods of sending a notification are not defined in the current legislation. However, the most common include:
- placing an appropriate announcement in the entrance of the house;
- notification via SMS or email;
- publishing a message about a power outage on the website of a resource supplying organization or utility data provider;
- automatic calls to the telephones of electricity consumers.
Announcement due to temporary power outage
Under the current legislation, an official sample of a notification about an upcoming power outage has not been approved. At the same time, regardless of the method of sending, the announcement of a temporary interruption in the supply of electricity must include the following main points:
- address to residents (usually written as follows: “Dear citizens”);
- the reason for interrupting the supply of electricity;
- schedule: the exact date of the power outage and the period of time during which it will be absent (for example, from 13.00 to 17.00);
- a polite apology for any inconvenience caused;
- name and contacts of the network or energy supply organization.
Cold water cut-off announcement
You can usually find out about the cessation of water supply on the city administration website . A few days before the shutdown, information appears on it about houses where water supply will be suspended.
Information can also be found from news on regional TV channels. Outages are notified there through a ticker or news release.
Management companies can also announce water outages on their official websites. The most common form of notification is a written notice posted on the doors at the entrances.
The law requires the Criminal Code to post such information at least one day before disconnection . This is stated in paragraph 3 of Art. 21 of the Law of December 7, 2011 under number 416-FZ.
The announcement usually records the exact date and time when the water supply to the house will be turned off. The reason is also stated. In most cases, it indicates the need for repair work on the pipeline section.
The advertisement contains a date and time before which there will be no cold water in the house. The notice also indicates the name of the management company servicing the house.
Can they be disconnected for non-payment?
The law allows the management company to stop the supply of hot water to the apartments of debtor consumers. But this rule does not apply to cold water supply.
Even if a tenant has a debt for cold water, he does not have the right to stop its supply . This exception is specified in paragraphs. “B” clause 119 of the Resolution numbered 354.
The same Resolution indicates that turning off cold water, like stopping heating, can damage the property of other residents, violate their rights and make living quarters unusable.
This is recorded in paragraph 122 of the Resolution number 354. But management companies cannot turn off cold water only in apartment buildings . There is a special instruction about this. In private homes, the law already allows turning off the cold water supply for non-payment of services.
More information about turning off cold water for non-payment can be found here.
Deadlines
Cold water may be turned off for different periods. Its duration depends on the nature of the suspension of water supply.
If the shutdown is planned, then the cold water supply in the house can be turned off for a total of 8 hours during the month, but no more. If the interruption in the supply of cold water is one-time, then its duration cannot exceed 4 hours. This is recorded in Appendix 1 of the Resolution under number 354.
If the cessation of water supply is unscheduled, then it must be restored within two days from the day the accident was eliminated (clause 120 of Resolution No. 354).
Read more about shutdown periods here.
Residents' actions
If there is a sudden cessation of water supply in the house, then residents are recommended to act according to the following scheme:
Find out in advance whether there was an announcement about turning off the cold water supply in the house. It is necessary to check the availability of information on the doors at the entrances, go to the website of the administration or management company, if it has one.- If there was no announcement about the termination of cold water supply in the house, then you need to call the management company or the emergency dispatch service.
Usually all information about outages is contained there. It is enough to call the company secretariat and find out about the situation. If necessary, you can call the city or district administration. These authorities also have information about possible water supply shutdowns in homes. - During the call, ask about when cold water supply is expected to resume in the house.
- If, after the expiration of the period fixed by law for eliminating the accident, the cold water supply has not been restored, then it is necessary to complain to the appropriate authority.
A complaint about the lack of cold water supply can be sent to different organizations. The first of these is the Criminal Code itself.
If the company does not respond to the complaint or refuses to resume the supply of cold water, then it is necessary to contact the state housing inspectorate, which controls the work of city management companies.
An application to the housing inspectorate can be drawn up in a free format. The complaint must contain the following information:
name and address of the housing inspectorate;- Full name of the applicant and contact information about him;
- a full description of the nature of the application, indicating the exact dates when the HVS was turned off and should be resumed;
- a specific requirement to the Criminal Code to restore water supply in the house with reference to legislative acts;
- date of writing the application;
- signature.
If necessary, the tenant can attach documents to the complaint that will additionally confirm the fact of the violation. Not only one citizen, but also a group of residents can complain about the Criminal Code. They have the right to send a collective complaint to the housing inspectorate.
Residents can complain if the water is turned off not only to the housing inspectorate, but also to the prosecutor's office . It is also allowed to submit applications to Rospotrebnadzor.
The last resort may be a lawsuit against the Criminal Code. It is recommended to contact this body when these authorities have not contributed to solving the problem. You can find out where to go if there is no cold water from this article.
An appeal, a letter to the neighbors at the entrance about cleanliness, so as not to litter
As you know, littering the entrance, as well as the surrounding area, with garbage is a direct violation of sanitary and epidemiological requirements, and sometimes fire safety. However, you can often see bags of household waste, cigarette butts, pieces of paper, etc. in and around residential buildings.
So, when such a problem arises, the first thing you need to do is prepare an appeal asking your neighbors not to litter in the entrance and, if necessary, to clean up after themselves.
The approximate content of such a message might look like this:
- Address to neighbors. In most cases, it begins with the word “Dear.”
- A call to maintain cleanliness and order both inside the residential building and in the surrounding area (in the courtyard). In addition, here you can list specific types of violations of order (throwing garbage from the balcony, bulls on the canopy of the entrance, etc.).
- We kindly ask you to respect the work of the cleaner and janitor.
Recalculation of fees
Residents can expect a recalculation of their cold water charges in most cases. Even if the cold water supply was turned off within the period permitted by law, residents still have their service fee reduced.
If the supply interruption was too long, the consumer can count on complete exemption from payment. This is stated in paragraph 98 of Resolution No. 354.
If a resident’s house or apartment does not have a water meter, then the payment for cold water supply is recalculated for the volume of service that was not provided (clause 99 of Resolution No. 354).
Recalculation for the time period when the cold water supply in the house was turned off is done by the management company independently on the basis of legal requirements. If the management company does not recalculate, then it is necessary to submit an application for this procedure. It is submitted to the address of the management company’s location.
The company recalculates and sends bills with a reduced amount for cold water in the next billing period after the outage occurred.
Recalculation is not done if the management company does not maintain the water supply system inside the house. Payments for cold water in this case will be reduced only if there was a break in the water supply before the section of the intra-house water supply system.
If in this case a break in the supply of cold water occurs in the water supply system inside the house, then the recalculation of the criminal code is not done. But the tenant can demand compensation for losses, citing the fact that they paid for a service that was not provided (clause 103 of Government Decree No. 354).
Own premises
My bedroom is not particularly big, but it has everything I need. Immediately next to the door on the left side there is a folding sofa that my parents bought for me quite recently. Next to it is a closet. The top section is where I store my clothes. There are drawers at the bottom where I put different things, such as CDs, board games, books, art supplies, camera, headphones and much more.
Opposite the closet by the window is my white desk. It is quite large, so I not only do my homework on it, but also play computer games. Nearby there is a bookcase on which I store my textbooks and school notebooks. I put all my writing utensils in a convenient drawer. My parents recently bought me a gaming computer chair, which is very comfortable to sit on. It does not spoil my posture, which is very important for a student.
The walls in the bedroom are painted blue. The window from the room overlooks the courtyard. When it is open, I can hear my friends frolicking outside, sitting on benches and children's swings.
How is water supply restored?
The management company must react immediately in the event of an accident on a section of the pipeline for the serviceability of which it is responsible. Typically, companies immediately send repair teams to the scene of an accident after receiving a report from residents.
Management companies notify consumers about an accident from the very moment it occurs or is detected. After completing repairs to the water supply system, the management company is given two more days to restore water supply to the house.
If the outage was planned, then the team can carry out repairs for a long time. However, work can only be carried out on weekdays. In apartments, there may be no cold water during the day for a maximum of 4 hours in a row.
Typically, crews work intermittently, restoring water supply to apartments during this period . Upon completion of the planned repair work, the management company must completely restore the water supply to the apartments.
How to obtain information about the planned termination of DHW supply at the address
To stop the water supply legally, the management company must have a reason - preventive or repair work. The management company must notify the residents using letters or a notice posted on the notice board.
Some utility organizations send SMS messages to all citizens living in the house. Other management companies have their own Internet portal where they post similar advertisements.
Vodokanal is obliged to provide detailed information in the public domain.
