How to turn off the light from a private house

Advice from lawyers (updated 01/22/2021)

1) My family lives in the Kaliningrad region city of Bagrationovsk. We have a debt for electricity. The family has 3 minor children. My husband lost his job due to the pandemic and is forced to work wherever he can. We are paying off the debt as best we can. Today we were disconnected. It's terribly cold at home. Yantar Energo told us that we need to pay 50% of the debt and they will turn on our lights. Could they turn it off without notifying and knowing that there were small children in the house?

2) I have a debt with the management company and the energy supply company, I am on shift, I have a 13-year-old child and a husband at home, I pay the debt for electricity every month on the 23rd, on December 26 they came from the management company and said that they had been issued an order by the energy sales company to turn off the electricity on January 3rd. Is it legal for me to be?

3) In TSN, the bills are not divided by electric energy, there is one meter for three houses, a common one. One house left TSN and went to the Criminal Code. They don’t want to pay their electricity debts, and they don’t want to pay their current ones either. Is it possible to disconnect the house from electricity? And how to do this?

4) By court decision, the land was divided. plot and house between spouses. It is also necessary to partition the metering unit. a year has passed. new plots have been registered. the ex-wife refuses to pay for the electricity that is supplied to her half of the house through my metering station. and does not connect its metering point. The energy supply company explains that I have no right to disconnect my neighbor’s electricity. What should I do?

5) The neighboring house is in disrepair; part of the roof lies on the input wires. An electricity supply contract is for a person who died more than 20 years ago, but they pay for electricity. How to disconnect this house from electricity.

Electricity supply is one of the types of services that are provided to residential property owners. In some cases, electricity supply may be temporarily interrupted. The owner of the property can also initiate such a procedure.

Can the owner refuse electricity supply?

The owner of the apartment can initiate the procedure for turning off the power supply if there are legal grounds for doing so. Such reasons are reflected in section XI of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 No. 354 “On the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings.”

First of all, this is arrears of payment. This reason is relevant in cases where the owner rents out his apartment, and the tenant does not fulfill his obligations regarding its maintenance. In these cases, the owner has the right to initiate a procedure for turning off the current (how is electricity cut off for non-payment?).
Another reason is the performance of repair work when it concerns the replacement of wiring and electrical equipment. In such cases, tension poses a threat to life. Therefore, the power supply must be turned off.

Is it legal to cut off electricity for non-payment of rent?

Unfortunately, the legality of this action is justified and is aimed at suppressing cases of negligence in paying for utility services.

However, there is one BUT here! For the final action, there must be at least several attempts by the management company to reason with the debtor and return the funds:

The light can be turned off only if the debtor has evaded payment for 3 calendar months.
During this period, he must receive at least 3 notices of debt, 1 of which must be delivered personally.
The defaulter is usually given up to 1 month to repay the debt.

If all these measures were not taken seriously, then there is reason to believe that the debtor is arbitrarily avoiding depositing funds into the accounts and therefore has the right to disconnect it.

The natural question here is whether the HOA can turn off the electricity in the house? Of course not. This will be considered arbitrariness and the court will side with the debtor.

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Thus, in matters of the possibility of turning off electricity for non-payment of utilities, one can note the fact that a person, during the time the debt arises and until the moment of turning off the power, must be inundated with various notifications, including those that come to him personally. The reasons for not responding to these notifications will be the reason to consider the debtor to be arbitrarily evading the legal requirements of the management company.

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This is also important to know:
Timing for checking hot and cold water meters, cost, replacement of meters

If during the above period of time, you have not received a single notification, then you have the right to sue the company responsible for providing electricity and demand that it legally comply with all measures to collect the debt.

Important
The statement of claim to recognize illegal actions to stop the supply of electricity can be downloaded here

In what cases will actions be unlawful?

The homeowner's actions to turn off electricity are not always legal. In some cases, such a procedure cannot be initiated. These include:

Absence of payment arrears on the part of the tenant of the apartment.
Blackout of housing in winter, the source of heat for which is electrical appliances.
A power outage will affect the rights and interests of neighbors.
Lack of electricity supply will have economic, social and environmental consequences. For example, a seriously ill person lives in an apartment, whose vital functions depend on electrical devices.
The procedure for suspending the service has been violated. For example, there is no statement from the apartment owner.
The owner turned off the electricity without permission.

What does uninterrupted supply mean?

Electricity consumers have the right to claim uninterrupted, high-quality and safe supply. When there is electricity in a house, this does not always mean that the quality of the supplied energy meets the standards. The most common problems are:

frequency and voltage do not correspond to the specified values;
voltage non-sinusoidality, voltage asymmetry;
Voltage dips, voltage pulses, periods of overvoltage.

All these disturbances in the uninterrupted supply of electricity are not always obvious to the consumer, as is the case with a complete blackout. Signs of poor quality power supply are:

occasional flickering of light;
rapid burnout of light bulbs;
malfunctions of electrical appliances.

As a result of such deviations, the service life of household appliances is reduced, and sometimes they may even fail.

In addition, flickering lighting contributes to decreased vision and a deterioration in overall health . If electricity is supplied of inadequate quality or intermittently, its cost should be proportionally reduced, but for this, the consumer should immediately report the fact of the violation to the emergency service.

Turning off the lights when there are minor children

Life situations are different. The topic of turning off the lights in an apartment where small children live is especially acute. Fortunately for such citizens, let us say that the law is on their side and they can seek the truth at the legislative level.

In practice, energy sales always meet such citizens halfway and offer conditions under which both parties will be satisfied, such as in the situation with installment payments. The whole point is that organizations understand their responsibility in this matter, and if you subsequently go to court and prove that your children’s health has seriously deteriorated due to a power outage, the energy workers will be found guilty and seriously punished.
If the case goes to court, then most likely he will be on your side, because he will not allow the power to be turned off in the house where a minor citizen lives.

This is also important to know:
Transferring residential premises to non-residential premises: step-by-step instructions

Thus, in conclusion, I would like to say that the best solution to the conflict with power engineers will be its absence or the search for alternative options that will suit both sides.

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Reasons for turning off electricity

The reasons for a power outage in a private home can be different. The grounds for this are repair work, emergencies, arrears in payment for this service, as well as unauthorized connection to the power transmission network.

Planned and repair work

This clause is usually found in the electricity contract, which also stipulates the total duration of the planned outage per year, usually 72 hours. Before carrying out work, the consumer must be notified of a power outage.

Emergency situations

If the power supply system is completely or partially out of order, then this is an emergency. In such cases, the electricity is turned off without warning (but with subsequent notice) and for an indefinite period until the breakdown is repaired.

For non-payment

The consumer is obliged to pay for the electricity received within the established time frame ; this is the main subject of the electricity supply contract. If a subscriber violates his payment obligations within 2 months, the electricity supply organization can disconnect him from the power grid, but only after taking all preventive measures.

For unauthorized connection to the network

Unauthorized connection to the power transmission network is illegal; the power supply organization has the right to disconnect such consumers immediately after notification. It can act in the same way in the event of detection of unaccounted consumption points, gross violation of the terms of the electricity supply contract, unsatisfactory condition of the consumer's networks and electrical equipment, which can lead to an emergency.

How to turn off the electricity in an apartment in an apartment building?

In order to temporarily suspend the provision of such a service, you must perform a number of simple steps:

prepare the necessary documents;
fill out an application;
contact an authorized organization.

Please note that disconnection fees may apply.

Where to contact?

The interested party should contact the service provider. Not always - this is an energy sales organization. This could be a management company or another legal entity with which the owner entered into an agreement on power supply (can the management company turn off the lights?). You can apply in person, by mail or through a legal representative.

Required documents

In order to get a positive result from his application, the owner needs to prepare a number of documents. These include:

Passport of the interested person.
The basis on which a person occupies an apartment is a certificate of ownership or inheritance, an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, a contract of sale, lease, exchange, gift.
Certificate of arrears in payment of utility services. It is necessary if the reason for disconnection is non-payment.
Agreement with a contractor. It will be required if the need to turn off electricity is caused by repair work.
The court's decision. It is necessary when shutdown is forced. That is, a person previously applied, for example, to a management company, but his request was denied.
Power of attorney of the legal representative, if he takes part in the procedure.

Documents can be submitted in originals or as certified copies.

Compiling an application

The application is made in simple written form. Some organizations provide applicants with ready-made forms. The text should indicate the following:

Name and address of the organization to which the applicant is applying.
Initiator’s details – last name, first name, patronymic, place of residence, contact phone number.
The applicant’s status in relation to the apartment is owner or tenant.
Reasons for contacting.
Duration of shutdown (for how long can electricity be turned off by law?).
Date and signature.

An application for power outage can be made in two copies, one of which the applicant will keep for himself.

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

8 (800) 350-14-90

Timing and cost

The company fulfills the client's order within the time limits agreed upon by the parties when submitting the application. In practice, the requirement is fulfilled within two to three days.

Legislative acts do not approve clear prices for services of this nature. The cost must be clarified with the organization to which the initiator applies. It is determined based on the price list valid at the time of application. The average cost will be 1,000 rubles.

If a power outage occurs due to an accident or scheduled repairs without warning or justified reasons, this causes inconvenience for consumers and natural indignation on their part. What to do in the event of an illegal power outage, where to call if there is no power or frequent interruptions, and whether the chairman of SNT can stop the supply of electricity - we told in our material.

How do they turn off the lights for non-payment?

Shutting off the power supply in a private home for non-payment does not happen suddenly. The power supply organization has a clear algorithm of actions for such cases:

If the consumer does not pay for the consumed electricity within 2 months, he is required to warn him about the shutdown.
30 days after the warning, if the debt is not repaid, a notice of disconnection is issued against receipt.
3 days after notification, if the consumer has not paid the debt, representatives of the supplying organization turn off the electricity in the house and seal the electricity meter to prevent unauthorized connection.