The secret of the new housing and communal services standard is revealed: bills for April will surprise

Since March 1, the resources consumed for general house needs, homeowners began to pay in a new way. The amount is charged either on the basis of actual consumption, if meters are installed, or the standard is set based on the amount of resources consumed in another exactly the same house. The changes affected the costs of cold and hot water, sewerage and electricity. How will the amounts in the payments of tenants change as a result of these innovations? For an answer, “MK” turned to the experts.

Since the beginning of spring, a decree has entered into force introducing new rules for calculating utilities that are used for general house needs (ODN). Specifically, the calculation standards have changed. The changes apply to houses of all types – both those where common house meters are installed (and the owners pay for the actual consumption of resources), and those where they are not available (where the owners pay according to the standard). Accordingly, the amounts in payments for housing and communal services can increase for everyone.

Meanwhile, the standards themselves are determined by the state authorities of the subject of the Federation. Each specific region had its own standards, which were calculated by local managers in the housing and communal services sector. The standards were set for a period of three years. Moreover, the standards were not set by a single indicator for each apartment building in the region, but were differentiated with differences in the design and technical parameters of buildings, taking into account the degree of improvement and the capacity of the equipment connected to the house.

Previously, the regional authorities set the standards for payment for the use of communal resources for ODN, based on the calculation method – according to formulas, based on the capacity of the connected equipment, specific resource consumption and a number of other parameters, says Kirill Stus, specialist of the law firm Intercessia.

“According to these rules, the amount of payment for communal resources for ODN could not exceed the standards established by the regional authorities – the owners paid for utilities at common house meters or at a special rate, which was often underestimated. In case of overspending on utilities, the difference was paid for by management companies (MC), which often led to their bankruptcy,” the expert notes.

According to the interlocutor of MK, from March 1, 2023, after the changes that have come into force, the difference between the readings of common house meters and the total consumption of all apartments in the house will be distributed among all residents in proportion to the area occupied, which will lead to an increase in the amounts in payments for Housing and communal services.

“The standard is now set on the basis of the analog method: the calculation is based on the readings of metering devices in houses with similar design features and in similar climatic zones. Simply put, if earlier certain limits were set for the consumption of resources for the needs of the ODN, the exit for which was paid by the management company, now the owners themselves will pay for going beyond these limits, – continues Stus. – Even simpler – before, the owner paid according to his meters for what he consumed plus a certain percentage for ODN, and the rest was paid by the Criminal Code. Now he will have to pay his own bills and 100% of the utility bills for the ODN. The Criminal Code does not pay anything for anyone else.”

Meanwhile, de jure common house meters should be installed in all houses, but de facto this is far from the case. Often, in the old housing stock, common house meters are not installed, and residents pay according to the standards.

“We can definitely say that the amounts in receipts for housing and communal services will increase for everyone – both for those who pay according to the fact of consumption (since actual consumption was often higher than the standards), and for those who pay according to the standards (since the standards are calculated according to new analogue method),” concludes the lawyer.

Pavel Sklyanchuk, an expert of the Popular Front, a member of the Public Council of the federal project “School of a Literate Consumer”, thinks otherwise. In his opinion, unlike the indexation of tariffs, changes in payments for ODN will not affect everyone. Depending on the equipment of the apartment building with meters, fluctuations in the amount of fees for the maintenance of common property can be different – from 0 to 15%, and they relate to the volume of electricity, hot and cold water, and sewerage for the maintenance of common property.

“The formula remains the same: the amount of the resource multiplied by the cost per unit of the resource. However, the catch is that the amount received is distributed in proportion to the area of ​​square meters among all owners. If there are no common house meters in the house, then instead of the calculated standards, the analog method will be used – comparing the actual costs of the house in which such meters are installed. For example, you came to a store that does not have scales or broke down and want to buy a kilogram of apples. You need to go to a nearby store and use their scales! The main purpose of the changes is to bring together debit and credit, what is supplied and what is consumed. And the results can be the most unexpected,” warns Sklyanchuk.

Imagine, for example, that someone illegally connected a nearby kiosk, or connected to pipes in the basement to wash their car. Maybe this is the case – the person in the apartment organized cryptocurrency mining, and the meter was deliberately broken, knowing that he would still not be charged above the standard, and the losses would fall on the power grid company. But then who will have to pay for it? It is likely that the harmless neighbors of the intruder in the house.

According to the expert, we need to wait until April, then it will become clear what systemic flaws there are in the new approach to the methodology for accounting for the costs of ODN. The only pity is that, apparently, we will have to pay for these flaws out of our own pocket.