Can the management authority charge residents an additional fee for replacing the ODPU

ODPU is established at the expense of capital repairs or additional contributions from owners

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 9 No. 279-FZ, in all apartment buildings, if technically possible, a common building heat energy meter must be installed and put into operation. The organization managing the house should inform the owners about this.

According to Part 2 of Art. 166 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, it is possible to install a common house meter, including thermal energy, as part of a major overhaul of the common property of the owners. If the owners do not depend on the timing of the regional program, accumulating funds in a special account, then they can conduct an OSS and approve the installation of the ODPU on it as part of the overhaul.

The owners, whose contributions go to the operator for major repairs, will have this opportunity only when it is their turn to carry out capital work. Otherwise, at the OSS, they must decide from what funds the purchase and installation of ODPU heat will be financed.

If the owners of the OSS do not decide to install the meter and finance the work, then the RSO has the right to install the ODPU independently until January 1, 2021, and then recover the cost of the device and installation from the owners of the premises in the house.

What the RA needs to know about the installation of common house metering devices
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Why do you need a communal metering device?

A common house metering device allows you to monitor the actual consumption of resources within the house and record the actual volumes of supplied resources - water, electricity, gas and heat. Therefore, first of all, ODPU is established in order not to overpay for the volume of losses on the supplier’s backbone networks.

Utility costs are determined by 2 factors: the volume of resource consumed and approved tariffs. Tariffs for housing and communal services grow every six months, and the consumer has no opportunity to influence their growth. However, by influencing the second factor - the volume of resource consumed, the management company and apartment owners have a real opportunity to save costs.

Installing ODPU allows you to:

• pay for resource consumption after the fact;
• to differentiate losses for losses on backbone networks between RSO and owners;
• record the loss of resources.

Thus, the presence of ODPU is the only way to determine the real consumption of resources in the house.

Is a communal meter needed if apartments have individual metering devices?

If individual metering devices (IMU) are installed in apartments, the owners pay for what they actually consumed. However, in addition to individual consumption, receipts for payment for utilities also include general household expenses (CHO).

What is ODN and how is it calculated?

Ideally, the category of general house expenses should include resource consumption for maintenance of common house areas. But in practice, this category includes the entire resource that was not taken into account by individual metering devices - including all kinds of leaks. As a result, the volume of resource written off in the ODN column can grow to abnormal sizes of 30% of individual consumption and more. While “normal” is considered an ODN not exceeding 1.5-2%.

In the absence of a common house meter, it is impossible to determine where the leaks are. They can be both in the system of the house itself, and in networks from the resource organization to the house.

The presence of general house accounting makes it possible to pay only for the resource that was actually supplied to the house.

The presence of a common house meter in itself does not save you from an overestimated ODN - there are still leaks inside the house itself and about a dozen other reasons that influence the growth of this expense item.

Large ODP for water: causes and methods of reduction

However, installing a common house meter is the first step towards reducing costs.

In which houses is it necessary to install a common house meter?

The installation of common house metering devices depends on the degree of improvement of the house. Household meters for water, electricity, gas and heat must be in houses connected to centralized power supply networks, as well as to the systems:

• centralized heating;
• centralized water supply;
• centralized gas supply;
• other systems of centralized supply of energy resources.

However, such requirements do not apply to dilapidated, emergency facilities, and to facilities in which:

• power consumption of electrical energy is less than 5 kW⋅h;
• the maximum volume of thermal energy consumption is less than two tenths of Gcal/h;
• The maximum volume of natural gas consumption is less than 2 m³/h.

Replacing a failed ODPU is work on the maintenance and current repair of common property

After installation, the ODPU is included in the general property of the apartment building and the organization that manages the building or the HOA is responsible for its working condition (Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, clauses 5-7 of the RF PP No. 491, clause 18 of the RF PP No. 290).

Its maintenance and repairs must be planned by the management as part of the work on maintaining the common property of the owners of premises in the apartment building and carried out at the expense of the funds that the residents of the house pay monthly for the maintenance of the residential premises (clause 5, part 1.1, article 161 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court RF dated September 29, 2010 No. 6464/10).

If a common house heat meter fails, then its functionality and technical characteristics must be restored no later than two months after the fact of the breakdown has been recorded (Part 12, Article 13 No. 261-FZ).

The work of the management authority to maintain the ODPU in proper condition includes not only repairing the meter if it is faulty, but also replacing it if it is impossible to restore the functionality of the device through partial repairs. In this case, a report on the failure of the ODPU is drawn up.

Features of repair and maintenance of ODPU by management organizations
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The essence of the false theory

Article 13 of Federal Law No. 261-FZ of November 23, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as Law 261-FZ) establishes the obligation of resource supply organizations (hereinafter referred to as RSO) “to carry out activities for the installation, replacement, operation of metering devices for energy resources used, the supply or transmission of which they carry out " and "to take actions to equip facilities with metering devices for the energy resources used, the supply and transmission of which the specified organizations carry out, the engineering and technical equipment of which is directly connected to the engineering support networks belonging to them and which ... were not equipped with metering devices for the energy resources used within the prescribed period."

From the presented norm, conclusions are drawn that common house metering devices (and some people talk about individual metering devices) must be installed by RSO.

Subparagraph “k” of paragraph 11 of the Rules for the maintenance of common property, approved. RF PP dated August 13, 2006 No. 491 (hereinafter referred to as Rules 491), the maintenance of common property includes “ensuring the installation and commissioning of control centers.” Consequently, the corresponding responsibility for installing the control center falls on the persons performing maintenance work (UO/HOA/housing cooperative).

Thus, according to the supporters of the false theory under consideration, communal metering devices are required to be installed by either the RSO or the management unit/homeowners' association/housing cooperative, while all the costs of installing the RSO must be borne by these persons themselves; the false theorists do not allow such costs to be imposed on the owners of the premises.

Unauthorized introduction by the management of an additional contribution to replace the ODPU is considered a violation

If the ODPU fails, the management organization is faced with the question of a source of financing for its replacement, because the cost of such work can reach hundreds of thousands of rubles. Some management organizations simply change the meter and add an additional fee to the payment receipts.

Let's consider an example from judicial practice, where the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation expressed its point of view on the issue of replacing the management organization of a failed ODPU. The plaintiff in case No. A75-4110/2018 was the same management organization from Khanty-Mansiysk.

The MA, having drawn up a report on the failure of the common house heat meter, replaced it with a new one and, in addition to the cost of servicing the common property, included the cost of these works in the bills.

The owners did not agree with this situation and complained to the State Housing Authority, which carried out an unscheduled inspection. As a result, the Administration received an order to eliminate the violations. The GZHN body obliged the organization to exclude additional payments from receipts, return the money already received from residents for replacing the ODPU and recalculate the heating fee without taking into account the readings of the new meter.

The management organization did not agree with this position of the supervisory authority and filed a lawsuit demanding that the order be declared illegal. The plaintiff indicated that the costs associated with replacing common house metering devices should be borne by the owners.

The management office insisted that the installation of a heating and power supply unit does not relate to the maintenance of the property of an apartment building and is not included in the payment for the maintenance of residential premises. The corresponding work is not in the list of works and services under the management agreement.

Why should the UO hurry up with the installation of thermal power distribution units?
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The fee for replacing the ODPU must be included in the amount of the fee for maintaining the residential premises

The courts of all instances - first, appeal and cassation - sided with the State Housing Supervision Authority. The RF Armed Forces also confirmed their correctness. When making decisions on the lawsuit not in favor of the management organization, the courts proceeded from the following theses:

1. ODPU is part of the common property of the owners of premises in the apartment building and, when concluding a management agreement, responsibility for its proper maintenance rests with the management authority (clause 6 of the RF PP No. 491, part 2 of article 162 of the RF Housing Code).
2. The owner bears the burden of maintaining his property, including common property, and is obliged to pay fees for the maintenance of residential premises, contributions for major repairs (Articles 210, 249 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Parts 1, 2, Article 39, Part 1 of Art. 158 Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
3. The amount of payment for the maintenance of residential premises is approved by the OSS, taking into account the proposals of the management organization on the list, volume and quality of services and work. Such proposals of the MA must be drawn up taking into account the composition, design features, degree of physical wear and technical condition of the common property (part 7 of article 156 of the RF Housing Code, clause 31 of the RF PP No. 491).
4. The management authority does not have the right to unilaterally change the procedure for determining the amount of payment for the maintenance of residential premises and charge a fee for the maintenance of residential premises in an amount exceeding the amount of such payment determined in accordance with the concluded agreement for the management of apartment buildings (part 7 of article 156, part. 1 – 3, 8, Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1, Article 310, Part 1, Article 432, Articles 450 – 453 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
5. All current and urgent mandatory seasonal work and services are considered provided for in the management agreement and must be carried out by the management authority, regardless of whether they are mentioned in the management agreement and whether there is a separate decision of the OSS on this issue (Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated September 29, 2010 No. 6464/10 ).
6. Determining in the contract the proper amount of payment for the foreseeable under normal conditions, normally necessary maintenance and current repairs of a residential building, taking into account its natural wear and tear, is an entrepreneurial risk for the management organization.
7. Additional compensation by the owners for the expenses of the management company for urgent work and services is permissible only if the need for them is caused by circumstances that the management company could not foresee and prevent and for the occurrence of which it is not responsible.

Procedure for replacing and checking meters

Since the ODPU belongs to all residents of the house, the responsibility for its control, repair and possible replacement also applies to them. But, of course, it is not the residents themselves who fulfill these requirements, but the management company, which appoints qualified specialists to carry out the work. And as a result, the management company bears responsibility for the technical condition of the devices.

Each meter has its own verification interval - the period during which the readings of the meter are considered reliable based on the information obtained during the previous verification. The calibration interval is determined by the manufacturer of the metering device based on a combination of factors that may affect its operation: design, principle of operation, operating conditions.

The manufacturer indicates the verification interval for the metering device in its documentation. For example, domestic manufacturers of water meters indicate in the device passport the calibration interval of 4–6 years. Imported meters last longer – up to 15 years.

It is worth noting that the company hired to service the meters must have the appropriate certificate. After all, in the future she often checks the condition of the meters and replaces them if it is impossible to repair the old one on an ongoing basis.

During an external inspection of the device, the specialist checks:

• device documentation;
• the condition of its paintwork;
• clarity of inscriptions and symbols on the case, numbers and marks on the dial and rollers of the reading device;
• the presence of stains, cracks and chips that affect readings.

After each event, a report must be drawn up that describes the current state of the device and further actions if, for example, the need for replacement has been determined. The act is signed by the employee who conducted the inspection and a representative of the management company.

The MA must take into account possible expenses for replacing the ODPU when approving the list of works and services

Courts of all instances, based on the above norms and theses, concluded that the replacement of ODPU refers to current repairs, the payment for which is included in the monthly payment of owners for the maintenance of residential premises. The management organization should have provided in the amount of payment per 1 sq.m. housing fee for replacing a failed ODPU.

All the documents accepted in the case indicate that the management authority had no grounds for charging additional fees from the owners of the premises for replacing the ODPU. The order of the GZHN body was recognized as legal, and the claim of the MA was rejected.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, to which the management organization filed a complaint, agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts. The resolution in case No. A75-4110/2018 noted that the amount of payment for the maintenance of common property is subject to determination taking into account the costs of ensuring the readiness and serviceable condition of the ODPU. Situations with the possibility of its failure due to wear and for technical reasons beyond the control of the owners should also be taken into account.

Keep in mind

Management organizations must remember that all apartment buildings where there is a technical possibility must be equipped with a common building heat meter. The issue of its installation and source of financing must be brought to the attention of the OSS.

If the ODPU is installed for the first time, then such work can be included in the list of works on major repairs of the common property of an apartment building. If the owners of the OSS refuse to install the heat distribution system, the resource supplying organization will do so forcibly and recover costs from the owners.

Replacing a failed common building meter refers to routine repairs and work to maintain the common property of the apartment building in proper condition. The management organization has the right to collect additional contributions from the residents of the house to replace the ODPU only if the owners of the OSS make an appropriate decision.