Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Vol'fson said residents could request the recalculation of certain housing and utility charges calculated according to the number of people living in a home if it remained vacant for more than five full days.
Vol'fson said the measure could cover charges calculated based on the number of residents, rather than services measured by individual meters. He cited prolonged stays at a country home, extended business trips, vacations and hospital stays as examples.
Applications must be submitted within 30 days of returning
A request for recalculation must be submitted to the management company or the resource-supplying organization within 30 days of returning to the home. Transportation tickets, business-trip documents, hotel bills, a hospital report or documents obtained from a country-home association may be attached as evidence.
Service standards may lead to lower charges
Vol'fson said charges should apply only to services that are actually provided and meet the required quality standards. Insufficient heating in a home during the winter or hot water remaining lukewarm for an extended period were cited as service-quality problems that could require a recalculation.
Under the criteria cited by Vol'fson, hot water must be between 60 and 75 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in living areas must reach at least 18 degrees Celsius in winter. The lower limit is 20 degrees Celsius for corner apartments.
The charge could be reduced by 0.15 percent for each degree below the standard and for each hour the violation continues. If the temperature falls below 40 degrees Celsius, the hot-water charge may be calculated at the cold-water rate.
Official records recommended for service interruptions
To have a service-quality problem accepted as grounds for recalculation, residents were advised to report the fault or contact the call center and have an official record drawn up. This document would serve as the key evidence that the service was not provided in line with the established standards.
Cold- or hot-water outages must not exceed a total of eight hours in a month or four hours in a single interruption. If these limits are exceeded, the relevant service charge could be reduced by 0.15 percent for each additional hour.
Meter inspections and calculation errors
Meter inspections and the correction of calculation errors were also cited as grounds for recalculation. If a meter inspection is delayed or readings are not submitted on time, the charge may first be calculated based on average consumption and later according to a higher tariff standard.
Vol'fson said any overcharged amount should be deducted from subsequent payments once the meter inspection is completed or a verification reading is obtained.
