Electricity is included in utilities. What fees are included in the concept of “utility payments. On the provision of utility services for electricity supply

What is included in utilities? Utilities are the activities of individuals aimed at providing residents apartment buildings necessary conditions accommodation, comfort. As a rule, such activities are carried out by any housing organization represented in HOA form(homeowners association) or management company. Having an understanding of housing and communal services (housing and communal services), you can stop attempts by a housing organization to attribute debts or payments that accidentally entered there.

So, what is included in the rent? Homeowners associations or management companies may, at their discretion and in agreement with residents, provide services of various types. However, only those services that are designated as such directly in the legislation are recognized as utility services.

Today, the legislation defines the following as the services of housing organizations provided to residents of apartment buildings:
  1. Supply of residents with cold water. The only requirement for which this public service can be provided is a continuous supply of high-quality water in the quantity necessary to meet the needs of residents. Water supply can be carried out through centralized systems, individual water supply systems of a separate house or through a column that is installed outside apartment building.
  2. Hot water supply. The requirements for providing residents with hot water are the same as the requirements for cold water supply.
  3. Disposal of used water. Disposal of such water is carried out exclusively through centralized sewer systems. This utility service must be provided continuously. At the same time, access to sewerage must be in every residential building of an apartment building.
  4. Electricity supply. To be considered suitable for human habitation, each apartment building must have a connection to power lines. Electricity transmission is carried out continuously in the amount necessary to satisfy the household needs of residents.
  5. Supply of gas to residents. Gas supply must be available around the clock. If it is not possible to connect the house to gas supply lines, gas may be provided through gas cylinders that have been certified and suitable for use.
  6. Providing residents with heating. Heating is supplied to apartment buildings mainly in winter. However, depending on temperature changes, heating may be supplied at other times of the year. The main requirement for heating is the supply of heat in a volume that is sufficient to maintain room temperature in the apartment.

The issue of the list of services provided to residents is resolved through negotiations between the meeting of residents and the relevant housing organization. The agreements reached during negotiations are formalized in the form of an agreement for the maintenance of an apartment building.

The availability of a utility service depends on its availability in a particular apartment building. So, if an apartment building is not equipped with a sewer system, then, accordingly, this service will not be provided to residents. At the same time, the presence of certain utilities seems mandatory for the admission of a particular house to operation.


Utilities are what are included in the list established by law. In addition to housing and communal services services, which are designated as such in the law and without which permission to operate a house will not be granted, housing organizations, in agreement with residents, have the right to provide another list of services, in addition to utilities. Such services are called housing and are also mandatory for apartment buildings.

So, what is included in the list of housing services?

The list of such services that are included in the maintenance of housing and are not recognized as utilities is presented as follows:
  1. Lighting of non-residential premises in the house, which are recognized as common areas, as well as maintaining normal temperature in such areas.
  2. Maintenance of local areas and common premises in accordance with sanitary standards, carrying out activities aimed at this.
  3. Collection of household waste from residents and removal of it outside the locality. This service was previously provided by housing organizations themselves. Today, the provision of this service by housing and communal services has been centralized, and housing organizations now serve as intermediaries.
  4. Security fire safety. This service consists of providing residents and the residential building itself with a fire alarm system and fire-fighting tools. According to the law of the Russian Federation, any action or equipment that serves fire safety purposes can be included in this service.
  5. Activities included in the housing and communal services to create an environmentally friendly climate in the adjacent areas. Mainly represented by actions aimed at landscaping and improving the designated areas.
  6. Residential repairs of current and major nature. Funds are collected for this on a monthly basis, and the service itself is provided as needed and at intervals established by law.
  7. Preparing your home for a certain season. For example, in winter period it can be insulated. In the spring season, it may be necessary to update the gutters and check the roofs and other objects that are part of the house, and so on.
  8. Maintenance of property in the house belonging to all apartment owners on the basis of common ownership rights.
  9. Inspection of the condition of the house to determine the need for certain measures.

A similar list of rent maintenance services is, as a rule, provided only to residents living in apartment buildings. They are not provided to owners of private houses; therefore, they do not pay for such services.

On the other hand, they have to provide themselves with the appropriate services, which should be included as mandatory in the legislation. For example, the presence of fire safety systems is a mandatory condition for the admission of any residential premises to human habitation.

So what's included in the rent receipt? Residents are primarily interested in the question of the content of the receipts, the concepts included in it, which comes to them from the housing and communal organization in Russia and contains the amount for payment. Many people are interested in why certain items are included in the receipt and inflate the amount payable, as well as what makes up the final amount. However, many of them have no idea how to read it.

According to the rules of the law, a utility payment receipt must consist of the following information:
  • information about housing and utility services that were provided in the corresponding month, indicating the volume of consumption;
  • information about general services provided in the interests of all residents of an apartment building;
  • information about the tenant who must pay the utility bill;
  • information about the housing institution;
  • residential account;
  • bank account details in the utilities sector;
  • amount to be paid, advance amount and date of last payment;
  • table of tariffs for the cost of housing and communal services;
  • other information for reference;
  • information about the availability of recounts;
  • Reminders for consumers.
Information about housing and communal services in the receipt includes information in accordance with the following list:
  • cost of consumed cold and hot water;
  • cost of consumed electricity;
  • cost of gas consumed;
  • cost of provided thermal energy;
  • cost of house maintenance services;
  • amount of payments for repairs.

In addition, residents pay subsidies for services aimed at maintaining common house premises. The list of such services may include:

  • cleaning of staircases;
  • sanitary maintenance of local areas;
  • removal of household waste;
  • regular maintenance of engineering and technical equipment.

In addition to its informative function, the receipt serves as the basis for the residents’ obligation to pay for utilities.

For this reason, the receipt contains the following details:
  • total amount to be paid;
  • the date by which payment must be made;
  • consequences of failure to pay utilities on time.

The large amount of information on the receipt makes it confusing.

However, if you wish, spending just a few minutes, you can thoroughly understand it. Of course, it's better to know what you're paying for.

However, the receipt must show Additional Information.

The list of such information may include:
  • decoding of the amount to be paid;
  • reference Information;
  • description of the equipment used to calculate consumed utilities;
  • payment methods for utilities.

In turn, in terms of deciphering the amount to be paid, the following data must be included, which constitutes the final amount of the rent:

  • amount to be paid for the consumption of a separate apartment for communal services;
  • expenses for provision of common building facilities;
  • rates;
  • total payment amount;
  • recalculation;
  • benefits in living wage;
  • result.

Expenses for the maintenance of common premises are considered separately from the subsistence level of services consumed by a separate apartment. Thus, the consumption volumes of an individual apartment are calculated based on the indicators of special accounting equipment, and in the absence of such equipment, based on consumption standards established by regional authorities.

Expenses for common building facilities are calculated based on the result of subtracting the indicators of the accounting equipment of all apartments from the indicators of the common building equipment. This result is divided into all apartments in an apartment building according to the number of people living in them.

In addition, the utility company has the right to indicate some background information, which can be represented by the following data:
  • regulations, agreements, norms of law;
  • readings of accounting equipment taken in the corresponding month;
  • total consumption rate for the entire house.

The household reference information serves the purpose of verifying that residents have calculated the correctness of the utility bill. For this reason, most unscrupulous housing organizations do not provide such information.

Each consumer of utility services is assigned his own personal account, according to which, using special software, individuals will be able to check their debts and so on.

In addition, this software serves the following purposes:
  • individual determination of payment;
  • checking the settlement data of each personal account;
  • issuing a statement indicating the presence of an advance or debt;
  • availability of rights to benefits according to the rules of the subsistence minimum.

Typically, the receipt does not indicate the methods by which you can pay for the services of the housing organization. They include such information for the convenience of the consumer.

Today, housing organization services are paid in the following ways:
  • through payment terminals and ATMs;
  • through payment systems on the Internet;
  • specially developed mobile applications.

Of course, each consumer has the right to independently choose how to pay utility bills. However, they must be paid on time.

Timely payment of utilities is the direct responsibility of homeowners. Such services are the activities of housing and communal services organizations aimed at providing comfortable and safe conditions living in residential premises.

The main body involved in providing services is the Management Company, which carries out maintenance of the house. Residents of apartment buildings confirm their cooperation with her by signing an agreement, which specifies the obligations and rights of the parties, fees for the company’s work, and other issues.

The agreement also determines what services are included in the field of activity of the management company. When a significant amount of time passes after the general meeting and signing of the agreement, the residents of the house may forget what is included in utility bills, what they voted for at the OS. It is important for them to know why the payment for the apartment has a certain amount.

Standard list

ATTENTION! Consumers pay for utility services upon completion of the service. The list of services is usually the same for all apartment buildings, as it is related to ensuring proper living conditions.

For apartment residents, the concept of “utilities” includes the supply of water, gas, heat, cleaning of common areas, current and major repairs. This concept also includes garbage removal, lighting of residential and non-residential premises, maintaining necessary sanitary conditions - these are residential utilities.

The list may vary slightly due to the region where the MKD is located and its technical features, it may include some special types of building maintenance work.

  • Electricity is a utility service that must be supplied without interruption. And the consumer consumes electricity based on his needs.
  • Gas supply must also be provided on a regular basis. In urban areas, gas is supplied using a centralized gas network.
  • The rent also includes utilities such as hot and cold water supply. Water is supplied to the apartments around the clock, its volume is equal to the amount necessary to satisfy vital needs. All city apartments are equipped with cold water supply systems, most are also provided with hot water.
  • Water supply is related to wastewater disposal. Sewerage systems are installed to remove wastewater.
  • The standard utility payment is for heating. Now a large number of apartments are equipped with autonomous heating systems, their owners pay for services based on the consumption of gas or electricity (depending on the type of boiler). With centralized heating systems, the utility fee for this service depends on the heated area.

If you study the list of services included in the utility bill, you will note that all of them are indispensable and are aimed at creating comfortable conditions in the apartment. living conditions. The consumer must pay only for those services that he actually receives. If hot water supply is not provided, the payment system should not include payment for it.

To find out what the utility bills for a specific address are made up of, you need to re-read the service agreement with the Management Company and suppliers. The document must contain a list of services, tariffs for them, and other useful information.

The receipt also contains housing and communal services that are necessary to meet general household needs. They have nothing to do with utility bills for private houses.

Housing services

A house cannot do without services that are classified as housing, just as it cannot do without utilities. Their list is standard and may be slightly supplemented by local authorities in different regions.

  • Residential and non-residential premises the house must be illuminated, and there is also a requirement for supplying the required air temperature.
  • When performing such services, measures are taken to maintain sanitary standards in common areas and in the local area.
  • Housing services include the removal of solid and liquid waste.
  • Ensuring fire safety is of great importance.
  • Provides a range of housing services: excavation work near the house and landscaping. This also includes major repairs of common property, repairs and maintenance of elevators, and repairs of garbage chutes.
  • Every year there is preparation seasonal operation residential building. Regular inspection is also necessary.

Receipt and its components

The utility bill will have several columns, each of which represents payment for certain services. The consumer pays utility bills:

  • Hot and cold water supply.
  • Electricity supply.
  • Gas supply.
  • Water disposal (sewage).
  • Heating.
  • Major renovation.
  • House maintenance.

Also included in the receipt are columns with payment for cleaning stairs, cleaning the local area, removing liquid and solid waste, and maintaining internal communications. For the convenience of the consumer, the settlement department of the Management Company combines all these utility payments into one receipt.

If the owner of an apartment or another person paying for utilities is interested in what the payment consists of, he can study all the components of this document.

Account formation procedure

This document should contain not only the amounts of payment for utilities and housing services, but also information about the owner of the property.

Regarding the payer, his current account, surname, address, area of ​​housing, and the number of people registered on it are reported.

An important column is the service provider, usually the Management Company. It must be indicated Bank details, this is a mandatory requirement for the receipt.

The following columns relate directly to the amount of charges. A final invoice is given indicating the advance payment, debt, and the date of the last payment for utilities. The following are the amounts for the last month for each service. If a recalculation has been made, it must also be indicated on the receipt.

ATTENTION! If there is an agreement with the Management Company on restructuring, there must also be information about it in the payment order.

The table on payments for services is divided into two parts. The first contains amounts for housing maintenance and repairs, the second contains amounts for paying for expended resources.

General transcript

It includes several important parts - the current tariff, the amount of resources that were spent on individual and general needs, and the amount of payment.

The availability of benefits for the consumer is also indicated in the decoding. At the end the total amount is displayed. Indicators for calculating payments for utility services are taken from metering devices. If there are none, the regulated average monthly consumption standards are taken into account.

Meter readings and average monthly consumption rates must be indicated in the background information of the receipt. Important information also - the amount of resource consumption throughout the house.

Calculation of the amount

To increase the efficiency of utility bill calculations, for more accurate calculations and to eliminate the human factor, special software was developed in the country. It identifies the payment, correlates the calculated data and the actual receipt. Based on this, it determines the presence of overpayment or underpayment for utilities.

It is the consumer’s responsibility to transmit meter data in a timely manner; he must be informed of the deadlines for data transmission. You can report meter readings by phone, through a website for utility billing, or in other ways..

After receiving a receipt for the utility bill, you must pay the rent to the bank by a certain date. In this case, it is important to ensure that the receipt accurately indicates the name of the payer, his address, bank account, and the amount for each column. For the convenience of consumers, payment for utilities is provided through a terminal, the Internet, applications for smartphones, and other gadgets.

Despite the use computer programs to charge utilities, sometimes consumers receive bills with incorrect amounts or for services that they did not receive. Benefits may not be indicated, recalculation in favor of the apartment owner.

IMPORTANT! In order not to overpay for utilities, you should know which utility payments are correct and what services the service company provides.

Payment for utilities is closely related to payment for housing services. It is impossible to receive gas, water, electricity into the apartment and not need services that are related to home maintenance. Most often, both types of services are performed by one contractor and combined in one payment order. But the amount for each service is reflected separately, in different columns.

In accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, every citizen is obliged to pay for the provision of utility resources, which are provided to him in full and on time. These services can be provided by both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Everyone should understand the meaning of the definition of public services and what they include. It is important to understand which services are paid, what you need to pay for and to whom. The difference between the concepts of public utilities and housing services.

What are utilities and how do they apply?

The list of public services includes all types of creating comfortable living conditions for people - supply of water, electricity, gas and heating and wastewater disposal. The management company is responsible for providing the apartment building with all the amenities and comfort.

Important! Anyone can provide them entity or individual entrepreneur who has everything required licenses for the provision of services. They are obliged to purchase resources in a timely manner, carry out all necessary preventive work and in the event of a breakdown, they will be responsible for all intra-house communications. It is these services that are called if the service is not provided in full or on time.

Residents of each apartment building enter into a contract with the management company, according to which the service provider provides them, and the residents undertake to make payments on time and maintain the property in proper condition. Utilities include:

  1. Cold water supply. The provision of this service means the client’s ability to use water around the clock of proper quality. It can be supplied both from the central network and through the in-house network. In cases where there is no central or other water supply, the management company must install a street water pump to the house. The main thing is to provide residents with the necessary amount of water to meet their minimum daily needs.
  2. Hot water supply. It is provided on the same terms as cold water - the management company is obliged to provide round-the-clock and uninterrupted access to its use in the proper quantity and quality.
  3. Drainage. No house is designed without allotment Wastewater, The management company is obliged to provide each residential premises similar service. It is possible that sewerage will not be located in every room of the apartment, but it must be in two - in the kitchen and in the sanitary unit.
  4. Electricity. It is supplied from city electrical networks and must be supplied around the clock in the required volume. The use of electricity is paid depending on the amount spent, since a meter is installed in each apartment.
  5. Gas supply. It can be supplied to apartments both from centralized city gas networks and using gas cylinders from the management company. Paid by meter depending on consumption.
  6. Heating. Can be supplied via centralized gas networks, electrical appliances or alternative heating sources. It consists of supplying thermal energy directly to the apartment. As mandatory condition the use of housing and communal services indicates that it must be supplied in the volume necessary to maintain heat in the apartment, especially during the heating season.

Extra lines on the receipt

If, along with standard lines, there are vague lines for which the management is trying to force you to pay, but you must definitely understand what is happening. Above are all the utilities, which are no different in different houses. All other costs that the management may incur must be raised and decided at the meeting, because the management does not have the right to enter into paid contracts with third-party organizations without the consent and meeting of residents.

Important! Each expense item that the building management wishes to include in mandatory payments must be approved general meeting, after which concierges and parking security can be paid. Nebulous expenses include the imposition of cable Internet or television, radio, provision of concierge services, locking devices and other utilities provided.

Annually management organization can carry out repairs for an amount not exceeding that indicated on the administration website. Sometimes such companies deceive residents and say that this amount is not enough, they need to carry out additional work and order materials. Such behavior is illegal and must be stopped. “Additional” payment for work performed should not be allowed, even if the MA has paperwork confirming the costs. Any expenditure by the company must be approved at a meeting of residents by a majority vote. If this did not take place, then the Criminal Code has no objective reasons for such arbitrariness.

But do not confuse the general house repairs included in the general payment and those carried out in the apartment. If the owner or tenant calls a technician to repair a light or clean a pipe in a toilet, then such actions must be paid separately, like calling a technician and minor repairs. This is not planned for the craftsmen to perform on a monthly basis; it is done only upon request.

In the modern world, as always, payments for housing and utilities remain relevant. Constant housing wars between residents and their management company inexhaustible. This misunderstanding occurs due to the fact that the service provision sector is fraught with many ambiguities, residents do not know their rights, and there is no one to explain them to.

In payment for existing residential premises, there are many options for names: rent, maintenance, payment for all housing services, the rate of management organizations. The cost of major repairs and full maintenance of the premises includes various services and various works on the maintenance of public domains of an apartment building.

The existing non-residential premises of the entire apartment building are calculated in a similar amount. Quite often, management organizations inflate payments for the maintenance of non-residential areas, as well as general house needs, justifying themselves by the fact that these premises are visited by a large number of people. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation considers these actions unlawful and a direct violation of everything current law RF.

Housing utilities refer to activities aimed at creating the most comfortable living conditions for residents of apartment buildings. All consumers are required to know exactly what is included in the list of utility services provided and what satisfies their general household needs.

According to the requirements introduced in 2012, the following have the right to use the provided utilities:

  • all residents of the high-rise building and their families;
  • persons who received their housing from cooperative organizations;
  • all tenants of residential premises;
  • tenants renting a room or apartment.

The very concept of these “utilities” has the following general house needs:


The list of all utilities directly depends on the actual amenities of a particular apartment building. In the case where the room does not have a sewerage system, it should not be counted as a service already provided.

Payment for living quarters and utilities has some items that complement general house needs:

  • lighting;
  • cleaning and ensuring sanitation in all public areas (entrance, stairs) and the land adjacent to the house;
  • cleaning waste sites, removing wastewater and generated waste;
  • Implementation of landscaping of areas that are part of the house;
  • expenses for current, overhaul and full maintenance of the building;
  • preparing a high-rise building for seasonal use (heating, insulation);
  • costs involving the maintenance of public home property;
  • Payments also include inspection of all premises and all related activities.
  • Among other things, the disposal of wastewater occupies a separate place in its importance:
  • drainage, as well as collection of wastewater (rainwater, collector, sewer network, etc.);
  • wastewater treatment using various existing methods.

IN Lately Strict monitoring of wastewater disposal cost calculations is carried out. Wastewater treatment using various methods is provided in houses of any type. In multi-storey buildings, wastewater is removed continuously and properly.

Determining the amount of payment for housing services.

Payment for the maintenance of various premises should be established in accordance with the law.


In the event that the provision of services does not comply with the law or the provision of services with long interruptions, all changes in payment are calculated in accordance with the established procedure.

General household needs, certain utilities, the procedure for their payment. The article “payment for residential premises and utilities” was changed by law in 2012. Thus, if previously heating, its total consumption was divided by the combined sum of all areas of the premises, now heating, its consumption is divided by the sum of the areas of exclusively residential and non-residential areas, not counting public ones, as a result of which the standard has increased. If a heating meter is installed in an apartment building, the calculation is much easier. The costs do not include heating that went past the house. In this case, the owners pay for the received heating upon delivery.

Residents were charged for public heating (entrances). Also, from now on there is no need to pay for the volume of water that was used to water the lawns. General water standards suggest calculating services in a new way, taking into account certain standards: 90 liters per person monthly.

Companies are required to reduce service losses. General house needs in terms of volume must be used within normal limits, and if they are exceeded, then the management companies themselves must pay the entire difference, but in no case the owners. If the contractor is the resource supplier, the entire difference is divided equally between the residents of the house, taking into account the living space available to them.

How to determine improper provision of services? In a situation where housing services are provided of poor quality (there is no heating, the elevator does not work), the provider does not respond or there is no way to call him, any consumer can establish the fact himself gross violation consumer rights. For this purpose, an act is drawn up in the presence of the chairman of the house council of two more neighbors. The period of poor service provision is calculated from the very moment of signing this act.

If utility workers do not carry out repairs at the entrance or do not clean the area adjacent to the house, the following actions can be taken:


A correct contract for the quality provision of all utilities. Absolutely all residents are required to know what exactly is included in a correct contract for the provision of public services and the procedure for drawing it up.

The management company can enter into an appropriate agreement if the user intends to consume housing services or uses them. The rules establish a period when the contractor is obliged to provide all services or demand payment. Regardless of the type of property, each organization must provide the residents with high-quality general house needs and cannot prevent the user from including any services in the concluded agreement that would allow them to provide a high level of improvement of the given home.

For tenants of a certain premises, a lease agreement must be drawn up. If the contract does not comply with the latest innovations, it is concluded in accordance with all new rules and taking into account the necessary conditions.

Payment for housing and utilities: how to reduce utility costs

Situations often arise when it is no longer possible to remain silent in a dispute with your management company and you need to protect your consumer rights. A few simple steps can help here:

  • by requesting an official request regarding all tariffs for all expense items, you can find out what exactly is included in the specified list of provided utility services, as well as what exactly the consumer pays for and what services provided are not fully received;
  • draw up the necessary act for all housing services that were not provided during last month by inviting an employee of your management organization;
  • together with an employee of the organization (it is possible without him), it is necessary to draw up a certain act of claim and collect as many signatures of residents as possible;
  • submit a corresponding application to the organization for recalculation of all services, with the documents attached;
  • if utility companies refuse to carry out recalculation, you must file a complaint directly with the department specializing in the protection of all consumer rights;
  • Few people know that the owner has every right to completely refuse some housing services. One of these services is the care and cleaning of stairs.

Payment for living quarters and utilities is quite complex topic For common man, but knowing the rules, tariffs and your rights, you can reduce your costs for housing services, henceforth paying for the amount that was actually used.