Where to call if there is no gas in the apartment: reasons for shutdown + procedure for the absence of gas

In what other cases can the service be suspended?

In practice, users are faced with non-standard situations. They include:

• disconnection in the presence of debt without a court decision;
• selective suspension of the service;
• disconnection due to absence in the residential area;
• suspension due to the presence of debt from neighbors;
• shutdown of one apartment;
• suspension in the absence of the homeowner.

For debts

Let's find out whether the gas workers have the right to suspend the provision of services in the house without a court decision, whether they can not warn the owner of the apartment, what the gas service is guided by in this case. In the presence of payment arrears within 2 billing periods in a row, Gorgaz has the right to terminate the provision of services unilaterally, without a court decision (clause 45). But it will be necessary to notify the debtor 20 days before the disconnection.

Suspension of the service in such cases will be illegal. This violates the requirements of paragraph 122, which states that the disconnection should not violate the rights and legitimate interests of the consumer, who performs his duties in good faith. The exceptions are:

• accident cases;
• natural disasters and repair work.

due to lack of neighbors

Consider whether the gas workers have the right to cut off the gas, because some residents were not at home. The absence of neighbors is not a reason to suspend the service. Legislative acts, such as, provide lists of reasons for disconnection. The absence of neighbors is not attributed to them.Otherwise, the requirements of paragraph 122 of PP No. 354 are violated.

In a communal area

Let's find out if the gas in a communal apartment can be cut off if the neighbors do not pay for it. In fact, a suspension of this nature will be illegal if the apartment is in shared ownership and personal accounts are separated. That is, in this case, the shutdown would be a violation of the requirements of paragraph 122 of PP No. 354.

If a general receipt is issued for an apartment, then the service provider can unilaterally turn off the gas. To avoid problems, conscientious tenants need to go to court and collect compensation from the debtor, or raise the issue of evicting the latter.

Only in one apartment

This option is acceptable, if there are legal grounds for this. Whether prior notice is required depends on the nature of the situation.

Without the presence of the owner

In such cases, you can turn off the gas if an emergency occurs. Also, the presence of the owners is not required if the owner was informed in advance by the gas workers about the fact of notification. But in this case, you can turn off the gas only if there is free access to the equipment. The specialists of the gas company do not have the right to break the door of the house.

Punishment

The right to stop gas supply is clearly regulated by Decree No. 549 of July 21, 2008. According to this document, the supplier has every right to refuse to provide services by cutting off the gas supply.

Grounds for stopping the gas supply

1. Refusal of the subscriber to provide living space for verification.

2. A violation of the agreement by the client was recorded, as a result of which the supplier was misled about the given volumes of gas consumed.
3. The client independently purchased and actively uses equipment that is not provided for by the agreement. You will learn about what fines he faces in such cases from this article.
4. Unpaid services for more than 2 billing periods (two calendar months).
5. The subscriber does not have an appropriate maintenance agreement with an authorized company.
6. The supplier received an alarm signal that the subscriber uses faulty gas equipment (not complying with current regulations).

This means that he must send a notification in advance, in which all the circumstances and reasons for such an action must be recorded. After receiving the letter and personally familiarizing the client with it, the gas supply can be completed after twenty days.

The gas supplier may not notify the subscriber if:

• a serious accident has occurred and urgent repairs are required;
• the commission, after checking the gas equipment, issued a verdict on the unsatisfactory condition of this equipment (therefore, in order to avoid emergency situations, it was necessary to urgently turn off the gas);
• A gas leak has been detected in the subscriber's living quarters.

After the repair work, the subscriber has the right to contact the gas service and demand a gas connection. Gas supply will be resumed after the subscriber pays the supplier for the service of the process of disconnecting / enabling the subscriber to the gas grid. The connection service is paid separately by the owner to the authorized organization with which the agreement has been concluded.

At the same time, the gas supplier is obliged to complete the connection within three days after how they got it a letter of notification from the owner, where he prescribes that the causes of the breakdown have been eliminated.

We talked in more detail about the grounds for turning off gas in various life situations here.

Illegal reasons: non-payment and others

1. The termination of the filing occurred due to non-payment and debt, but in fact there is no debt.
2. In the absence of the owner of the housing and the possibility of inspecting the premises.
3. Termination of supply after repair due to an accident (repaired and turned off again).
4. If you did not complete the connection process upon completion of the repair work (disconnected for the duration of the repair, but did not connect back).
5. If in a private house, divided into several parts, which belong to different families (owners), the gas was completely turned off due to the debt of one of them.

We talked about the cases in which shutting off gas can be considered illegal and what to do in such situations here.

Reasons for shutting off gas

The law clearly regulates in which cases gas can be turned off in a private house or apartment.

According to the Government Decree, this must occur with prior notice to the client in the following cases:

• The consumer does not comply with the terms of the concluded contract. We are talking about the failure to provide information to the resource-supplying organization about the volume of the consumed resource.
• The landlord does not let in the employees of the gas company who are authorized to verify the meter reading with the information submitted.
• Payment for current consumption is not made for 2 consecutive months.
• The client uses equipment that differs from what is specified in the contract.
• Service providers have received information that a consumer is using equipment that does not meet current regulations and is dangerous.
• There is no contract with the company that maintains the equipment.

What to do in case of illegal actions?

Illegal shutdown of gas entitles the consumer to resume the service and compensate for the damage caused. In this case, two methods can be used - pre-trial and judicial.

pre-trial

This option involves the appeal of the interested person to the authorized authorities. To do this, you need to prepare a complaint and supporting documents.

It would be correct to first apply with a claim to the supplier himself. The latter will have to give a reasoned answer within 3 working days (paragraphs "k", paragraph 31).

Where to complain?

If the claim does not give the desired result, then you should contact:

• management company;
• housing inspection;
• prosecutor's office;
• Rospotrebnadzor.

Required documents

The interested person will need to prepare:

• the passport;
• service agreement;
• the claim that was sent earlier;
• received response.

Drafting a complaint

The complaint is made in writing or electronically. The text states:

1. Name and address of the organization to which the complaint is directed.
2. Information about the consumer and supplier.
3. Reasons for applying. In this case, it will be an illegal shutdown of gas.
4. Applicant's requirements.
5. List of attached documents.
6. Date and signature of the applicant.

The complaint is sent by mail, the Internet, transmitted in person or through a legal representative.

When do you have to respond to a complaint?

The complaint must be considered within the period specified by the applicant. It is calculated from the moment the application is received and should not exceed 30 days ().

Litigation on a claim

If the complaint did not give the desired result, then the person concerned must file a claim with the court.

You must follow the pre-trial procedure. If this condition is not met, the court may refuse to consider the case.

The appeal must indicate:

1. Name and address of the court.
2. Information about the plaintiff and defendant.
3. Reason for referral.
4. Plaintiff's claims.
5. List of attached documents.
6. Date and signature.

The claim must be accompanied by:

• claimant's passport;
• a copy of the application for the defendant;
• service agreement;
• claims and complaints that were sent earlier;
• receipt of payment of the fee;
• power of attorney of the legal representative, if he takes part in the procedure.

The statement of claim must be considered within two months from the date of receipt of the appeal, if the claim is filed with the Magistrate's Court, then within a month (Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The amount of the fee will be 300 rubles for an individual and 6,000 for a legal entity (clauses 3, clause 1, article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

How to do it?

Procedure denial of gas supply consists of the following steps:

1. preparation of necessary documents;
2. filing an application;
3. contacting a service provider;
4. consideration of the application;
5. decision-making;
6. carrying out the necessary work;
7. execution of the act.

Where to apply?

In order to turn off the gas, you must contact the service provider, that is, the company with which the consumer entered into an agreement. You can apply in person, through a legal representative or by mail.

Required papers

In order to turn off the gas, the person concerned must prepare:

• the passport;
• contract for gas supply;
• a certificate of the place of registration, if the disconnection is related to living at a different address;
• permission from Rostekhnadzor on the use of electrical installations as an alternative source of energy;
• a document confirming the ownership of the apartment - a certificate or an extract from the USRN;
• certificate of absence of gas payment arrears.

Before turning off the gas supply in the apartment and transferring the housing to electricity, you need to obtain permission from the company, housing fund managerto which the MKD belongs. In addition, it is necessary to obtain the consent of all the owners of the apartment, if it is in common joint or shared ownership.

The consent of the residents of neighboring apartments is not required.

Drawing up an application for a temporary refusal

The application must be made regardless of the reasons and timing of the gas shutdown. This rule also applies to repairs. In this case, the application must indicate the following:

1. The name and address of the company to which the owner applies.
2. Information about the applicant - last name, first name, patronymic, passport details, place of residence, contact phone number.
3. The address of the apartment or house where you want to turn off the gas.
4. The reason for petition. In this case, it will be a repair.
5. The period for which it is necessary to turn off the gas.
6. List of attached documents.
7. Date and signature of the applicant.

If you do not live at the address permanently

The application for disconnection will be similar in its content due to the fact that the owner does not actually live in it. It will only be necessary to indicate that the applicant does not use the premises.

Timing

Legislative acts do not provide for clear deadlines for such cases. Only paragraph 52 states that the contract is terminated at any time, by agreement of the parties.Terms can be negotiated by the supplier and the consumer. They also depend on the internal rules of the company. In practice, the time for the provision of services consists of two stages - the study of documents and the execution of work.

• At the first stage of the procedure, all information is subjected to a detailed analysis for its reliability and completeness.
• At the second stage, the parties determine the date of the work. On the appointed day, the specialists of the gas company supplier perform the necessary actions.

On average, the shutdown period will take from 5 to 20 days.

What is the price?

Shutting off gas is a paid service, that is, it is provided on a paid basis. The amount of payment depends on the region of residence of the initiator and the price list of the contractor, valid on the day of the work and their complexity. On average, the amount will be from 1 to 6 thousand rubles.

On what grounds can they give a negative answer and what to do in such a situation?

A clear list of reasons why the applicant will be denied a gas cutoff is not approved by the current legislation.

An interested person may receive a negative answer in the following cases:

• Turning off the gas will violate the rights and legitimate interests of other residents who conscientiously fulfill their obligations to pay for gas (how to calculate the payment for gas by the meter in 2019?).
• Suspension of the service may endanger the life and health of others.
• Gas heating is the only source of heat. In this case, the conclusion of Rostekhnadzor is required that alternative heat sources, such as electrical appliances, cannot be used in the room.
• The applicant is not the owner of the property.
• The consent of other owners of shares in the property, as well as the management company of MKD, was not obtained.
• There is an outstanding debt for payment of utility bills.

These facts must be documented.

Shutdown procedure

The provision of housing and communal services is suspended without the consent of the non-payer. But before shutting off gas for non-payment, the resource supplying organization is obliged to follow a certain procedure. Otherwise, the debtor should apply for the protection of his interests to the court.

Owner notice

The document can be sent to the debtor in several ways:

• sent to an email address;
• personal transmission of a notification of the suspension of gas supply for non-payment against signature;
• sending via Russian Post with notification of receipt;
• the text of the warning can be printed on the form of the receipt for payment for the service;
• if the non-payer is registered on the housing and communal services web resource, then the notification can be sent to the personal account of the portal.

The document must contain information about the amount of debt. It is also necessary to indicate the provision of a 20-day period for the debtor to pay the debt. The consumer of the communal resource needs to record the moment of receipt of the notification. This will help you avoid unnecessary complications in the future.

The reply is in process

In the absence of payments during the period indicated above, the debtor is given an additional 10 days. If the money has not been transferred, then the housing and communal services specialists have every right to turn off the gas for non-payment.

overlap

If the subscriber has not taken any action to eliminate the debt, then the resource supplying organization will carry out the procedure for shutting off the gas legally.After the suspension of gas supply, a plug and a seal are installed on the intra-apartment branch of the gas pipeline. This operation will help to avoid illegal use of blue fuel by the non-payer.

Compliance with the above sequence of actions will make the work of the resource supplying organization legal. In the absence of a notification of a suspension of gas supply or a belated warning, the consumer has the right to appeal the shutdown in court. It is also worth remembering that minor malfunctions of the equipment in operation cannot be a reason for suspending gas supply.

Is it possible to turn off the gas without warning the consumer

In the event of certain situations, subscribers may be cut off from the gas supply service:

• technical malfunctions at the gas distribution station;
• blue fuel leak detected;
• failure of the intra-house gas pipeline, fittings and mechanisms near the MKD.

Expert opinion
Mironova Anna Sergeevna
Generalist lawyer. Specializes in family matters, civil, criminal and housing law

Only in the above cases, the gas supply to the consumer is suspended at the right time without prior notice. If there are no such circumstances, and the reason for the suspension of gas supply is non-payment for gas or the inability to inspect the intra-apartment branch by gas service employees due to the absence of owners, then prior notification is required. Without it, the actions of the resource supplying organization can be appealed in court.

Where to contact if the service is suspended

If the gas supply was stopped in accordance with legislative norms, then to connect (if the gas was turned off for non-payment) it will be necessary to eliminate the debt. When blue fuel has ceased to flow into the house due to circumstances that do not comply with legislative standards, the subscriber can do the following:

1. Send a written claim to the resource supplying organization. The text will need to indicate the fact of repayment of the debt with confirmation checks. If the reason for the shutdown was a malfunction of gas appliances, then you will need to attach evidence confirming their elimination.
2. You can file a written complaint with the prosecutor's office. The document can be personally taken to the reception or sent by e-mail. The letter will also need to attach evidence confirming the correctness of the subscriber (checks, technical documentation).
3. Submit a claim to the court. But before that, you need to contact the police to fix the fact that the consumer has no gas. Next, you need to send a complaint to the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights and to the Housing Inspectorate. At the final stage, you can apply to the world or district court.

Properties and features of household gas

In order to better remember the algorithm of actions in case of a sudden gas leak and understand why such an extreme situation is possible at all, it is worth understanding what fuel is so familiar to us. Indeed, under certain circumstances, the gas, even during an emergency outflow, begins to ignite, but does not explode. What is the reason for this and what is needed for negligence or a technical malfunction to turn into an explosion?

The gas supply systems of residential buildings and institutions contain natural gas that has undergone serious pre-treatment. Unnecessary impurities are removed from it and enriched with special substances in order to maximize the efficiency and safety of operation in everyday life.

In the composition of natural gas, the largest share among all substances falls on methane. It is flammable, has no color or odor, and weighs less than air, so it moves to the top of the room when it leaks.

The lightness of methane is one of the reasons why the ventilation system openings are placed at the top. With this location of the grate, gas and combustion products easily go into the ventilation system

To make it easier to detect the fact of an emergency outflow of gas, special odorants are added to methane, which endow the mixture with such a familiar smell. Therefore, you can detect a leak not only with the help of a gas alarm, but also thanks to your own sense of smell. Often, the etching jet of gas makes a characteristic hissing sound.

In addition to methane, household gas contains other substances: ethane, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen sulfide, propane and butane. The last two types of gas are quite toxic.

Surprisingly, with an incredibly powerful gas explosion, which can be compared in strength to the detonation of more than 10 kg of TNT, the volume of fuel leakage can be only a few liters. Why is household gas so destructive?

The detonation of gas is in many ways reminiscent of the principle of operation of a vacuum bomb, and the explosion itself is more appropriate to call the burnout of the gas-air mixture, since only one spark is needed to start the process. The movement of gas molecules is chaotic.Depending on the external conditions and the density of the gas, the speed of movement of its molecules can increase, exceeding the wind speed in powerful hurricanes by tens of times.

In the room, oxygen from the air binds with the fuel, in the most gassed volume a zone of very rarefied air is formed. At the moment of ignition, the pressure drops almost instantly, due to which the air rushes in one wave to the discharged epicenter.

At the epicenter of the explosion, the air becomes too dense and rushes back to the periphery, forming a shock blast wave. Since the volume of the room is quite limited, as is the volume of air involved in the detonation, the force of the shock wave becomes incredibly destructive.

In fact, gas detonation is possible at a methane concentration in the room at the level of 5.3 - 14%. And for propane-butane, the explosive range is from 1.5 to 10%. If the concentration of explosive gas exceeds the upper limit, then instead of an explosion, a fire occurs, which is no less dangerous for consumers.

Is it forbidden to turn off the heating in the whole house in winter?

"Rules for the provision of public services to citizens" provide for a ban on the suspension or restriction of the provision of public services if consumers fully comply with the obligations established by law.

Nevertheless, the legislation provides for possible interruptions in the supply of heating, and the following acceptable standards are fixed in the "Requirements for the Quality of Utilities". The reasons may be emergency or preventive maintenance. In particular, the following breaks are provided:

• no more than 24 hours in total during a month;
• no more than 16 hours at a time (at air temperature in living quarters from +12°C);
• no more than 8 hours at a time (at air temperature in living quarters from +10 to +12°C);
• no more than 4 hours at a time (at air temperature in living quarters from +8 to +10°C).

Batteries ran out - what to do?

Should the management company eliminate traces of leakage in the apartment?

Private practicing lawyer Victoria Suvorova (Pyatigorsk) answers:

Of course, you can not turn off the heating in winter. But here it should be noted that if this happened as a result of an emergency shutdown, that is, there was a pipe break, an accident, a flood, etc., then a temporary restriction of heating for the period of emergency work and elimination of the leak is permissible.

It's not clear from the question what happened to you. If the neighbor is changing the heating system, then this is not true.

You can file complaints with the Criminal Code, the HOA, the emergency service, the Teploservis, the Housing Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office, and with a lawsuit against a neighbor for compensation for moral harm and damage caused by the lack of heating in the apartment in winter.

The head of the legal support department Ksenia Buslaeva answers:

Formally, the contractor providing utility services (today, in the vast majority of cases, this is a management company, that is, a management company), has the right to suspend the provision of a service (in this case, heating an apartment building, that is, MKD), but only for scheduled or emergency repairs. The maximum allowable period for turning off heating in an apartment building during the heating season is 24 hours per month, or no more than 16 hours at a time, provided that the temperature in the residential premises is not lower than +12°C.

In fact, the owner of an apartment in which repair of the heating system is planned during the heating season applies to the Criminal Code with a request to allow work to be carried out that may lead to a cessation of heat supply to all or part of the MKD premises. The final decision on further actions of the Criminal Code is taken independently - either to allow and carry out repair work, or not.

Purpose: replacement of radiators

How to reduce the heating fee if the batteries are barely warm?

The legislation does not prohibit turning off heating in order to repair the heating system, since the lack of repair can lead to even more negative consequences (breakdown of the entire system). Therefore, it is even necessary to implement it.

However, the owner of the apartment where the work will be carried out is obliged to carry out repairs in such a way that it causes as little inconvenience to the neighbors as possible: it must be as efficient and silent as possible, a warm day must be chosen for work, and so on.

What to do if this citizen does not respect the interests of neighbors (for example, works in 30-degree frost)? You can complain about it to the prosecutor's office. It is desirable to attach written explanations of other neighbors to the application.

The prosecutor's office will have to bring the violator to administrative responsibility. In addition, compensation for non-pecuniary damage can be recovered from the culprit in court if the violation caused significant suffering. To do this, you need to prepare a well-founded statement of claim.

But judicial practice shows that the amount of compensation will be small.

Yulia Dymova, director of the Est-a-Tet secondary real estate sales office, answers:

The living quarters must be landscaped, and appropriate regulations must be established for these works. Independent replacement of the heating system is impossible - it is carried out only with the consent of the management company, which will notify all residents of the house. During the cold season, the period for turning off the heating should not exceed three hours.

How to choose heating radiators?

When is the best time of year to renovate?

How is the supply restored?

When gas is turned off for non-payment, everything possible must be done to again provide housing with normal gas supply. Debts need to be paid off. If not immediately, then with the help of installments.

The Management Company draws up an individual payment schedule, signing a new contract. To the amount of debt that needs to be taken into account, the amount for performing work on disconnection and connection, removal of seals, and other services will also be added.

After registration of the payment of the debt in installments, you can draw up an application for the resumption of supplies. It should be reviewed within a few days. The masters will connect, put a new seal on the meter, draw up an act of checking the indicators. In the future, it is necessary to pay in-line payments for gas, as well as installment payments, in a timely manner.

Why might the gas be turned off?

Gas supply can be cut off for many reasons. However, any disconnection from the main network must take place with prior notice to the user in writing, with the exception of accidents, natural disasters, emergency situations.

Failure to comply with the established rules leads to litigation.

Please note! Gas supply is regulated by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation N 549 of July 21, 2008. Blue fuel enters the house on the basis of a preliminary agreement between the client and a specialized service. After signing the contract, all relations are regulated in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation N 549 of 2008 states that the supplier has the right to stop supplying services only with prior notice to the client in writing. The notification shall be sent by registered mail or delivered in person against signature.

Factors that cause gas shutdowns include:

• violation of the terms of the contract by the recipient of the service. For example, evading the timely transmission of data on fuel consumption to the gas service, which is the reason for the non-calculation of the amount of the contribution payable by the client;
• refusal by the customer to allow an authorized inspector to access the gas volume reading device to take readings;
• lack of payment for services by the client within two reporting periods, that is, two months;
• use of equipment that does not correspond to that specified in the contract, violation of safety rules;
• expiration of the contract. Consumption of a resource without a contract. Receipt of information from the management company about the misuse of equipment, as well as violation of fire safety rules.

Attention!

There are cases where the supply company has the right to suspend the gas supply without prior notice to the user.

These include reasons for which neither the consumer nor the supplier is responsible, but which can lead to unpleasant consequences:

• industrial accidents;
• natural disasters, emergency situations;
• accidents on the main pipe;
• detection of equipment that can lead to an accident.

Payment for the replacement of the gas meter.

Thus, the gas supply can be turned off without prior notice only in case of emergencies, when further consumption of the resource will lead to disastrous consequences and harm property and people's health.

Voluntary refusal of gas

Clause 51 of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 549 states that consumers have the right to terminate gas supply agreements unilaterally. Customers only pay for all the gas for which they have not yet paid, and work to turn off the equipment.

Consumers also inform all parties and responsible authorities. Failure is usually associated with a switch to electrical equipment.

The legislation does not allow self-dismantling of gas equipment, because this is a risk for the whole house: inconvenience, accidental shutdown of foreign apartments, in the worst case, an explosion. It is impossible to interfere in the operation of the system in a private building. Violation of this rule will lead to the fact that a fine will be added to the costs.

Over the past 10 years, electric stoves have partially replaced gas stoves, but electrical appliances have enough disadvantages: when there is no light, food cannot be cooked

To suspend the gas supply to the apartment as quickly as possible and without violations, you should contact the HOA or the management company. The competent authorities will provide information about the legality of certain manipulations.Only licensed workers have the right to cut or move gas pipes.

Where should you start?

The first step is to contact the management company or HOA. They will help you draw up an application for refusing gas, talk about the nuances of replacing gas devices with electric ones. There you can also get acquainted with the procedure for suspending gas supply for residents of MKD.

Then you need to go to Gorgaz with a completed application and the following documents:

• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• receipts proving that there are no gas payment arrears;
• documents for an apartment where gas is supplied.

Refusal of gas is sometimes accompanied by difficulties. Apartment buildings are part of the housing stock, so permission from the management company is required: usually employees meet and help in resolving issues, but different things can happen. Without the consent of the co-owners of the apartment, the case will not budge at all.

How long will the shutdown take?

This will take a little more than a month, if there are no delays.

The main process consists of 4 steps:

1. Inspection of equipment by a gas service worker.
2. Drawing up a drawing.
3. Conclusion of a contract for the performance of work.
4. Account payment.

After that, the work itself begins - already a purely technical moment. Sections of the pipe are removed, and the remaining holes are tightly welded. The arrival of the brigade is expected on average 20 days. At the same time, it takes 5 days for the more difficult stage of coordinating documents.

The work of specialists in the dismantling of gas pipes will also slow down the transfer of housing to electrical equipment. These two processes usually run simultaneously.

gas shutdown cost

The cost will vary from region to region.The order of prices can be found in the territorial department of the gas service at the location of the MKD or on the official website. The gas supplier takes money for the departure of the brigade and trimming the lowering on the gas device - the part of the pipe through which fuel is supplied to the stove or other device.

Conclusion

Timely payment of utilities is the direct responsibility of the subscriber, his signature on the contract with the gas supply organization testifies to his consent to pay money on time.

If payments were repeatedly overdue and the gas was turned off, you should consistently take the necessary actions and continue to try to prevent such negligence - reconnecting gas is quite expensive and takes time.

Careless attitude to urgent utility bills entails unpleasant consequences, while the legislation fully supports such actions of resource providers.