Community services can cut off electricity even if you regularly pay for it
Inhabitants of a 2-room flat in Partyzanski Avenue have acquired first-hand knowledge about it recently. They were deprived of electricity regardless of the fact they had no indebtedness. It turned out electricians were making money this way.
ERB decided to find out whether the community services department had the right to do it.
The director of Minsk housing and community services department #86 Svyataslau Dzinisik says that it had probably happened because cutting off the electricity was the easiest thing to do. Then he added that it was not totally legal:
“If he pays for electricity… well it’s not actually illegal but we do not have the right to cut off electricity”.
Cutting off the electricity is the easiest thing to do”.
An employee of Minsk housing and community services department #100 says that cutting off the electricity is the last way of making people pay:
“It is a measure of struggle because all the other ways haven’t helped. We do not know what to do about them. People do not want to pay”.
Her colleague from housing and community services department #2 responsible for the flat in Partuyzanski Avenue mentioned above says: probably the thing is electricians are paid for the number of flats they cut off electricity in. So they just come and cut it off “indiscriminately” to make more money:
“You know, we do not have set wages… Say, an electrician makes money himself. He gets as much money as many flats he leaves without electricity”.
To return the light, the host has to pay 6 thousands for the connection. 6 thousands per flat is the electrician’s wage”.
According to community services, the sum of the indebtedness does not matter; it may be a small one. They have the right to deprive a host of community services if he has not paid for them for at least a month (according to a regulation of the Council of Ministers #1466).
Svyataslau Dzіnіsіk: “If a lodger does not pay he should be warned. It means he has not paid for at least a month. The owner of the flat has to be warned and if it does not help we can cut off communal services three days later – water, electricity, sewerage - according to an order of the Ministry of community services”.
The director of the housing and community services department complains about the legislation and adds that they cannot cut off electricity if there are children below the age of 18 in the family… What should they do about non-payers in such a case?
“If there are minors in the family we do not have the right to cut it off. If a flat has several accounts and one inhabitants pays regularly while the other one has not paid for years there is practically nothing to do. There are some gaps in the legislation”.
Minsk housing and community services department #113 thinks that cutting off the hot water supply is the way out:
“We cut off the hot water supply if there are children”.
An employee of the housing and community services department #100 say that there is no clear regulation indicating what they can cut off:
“There is no regulation indicating what we can cut off. Regulation #1466 says that we can suspend the provision of some community services and that’s it”.
She added that electricity supply was not a community service. “But we do not cut off the electricity, we just stop maintaining the electrical control unit”, - she noted.
This is the loophole. Community services have the right to suspend the services people are not paying for. From this point of view, they did not have the right to cut off the electricity. However, they can suspend “the technical maintenance” of community services. The result is the same – people are left without electricity and their refrigerators get defrosted”.
ERB decided to find out whether the community services department had the right to do it.
The director of Minsk housing and community services department #86 Svyataslau Dzinisik says that it had probably happened because cutting off the electricity was the easiest thing to do. Then he added that it was not totally legal:
“If he pays for electricity… well it’s not actually illegal but we do not have the right to cut off electricity”.
Cutting off the electricity is the easiest thing to do”.
An employee of Minsk housing and community services department #100 says that cutting off the electricity is the last way of making people pay:
“It is a measure of struggle because all the other ways haven’t helped. We do not know what to do about them. People do not want to pay”.
Her colleague from housing and community services department #2 responsible for the flat in Partuyzanski Avenue mentioned above says: probably the thing is electricians are paid for the number of flats they cut off electricity in. So they just come and cut it off “indiscriminately” to make more money:
“You know, we do not have set wages… Say, an electrician makes money himself. He gets as much money as many flats he leaves without electricity”.
To return the light, the host has to pay 6 thousands for the connection. 6 thousands per flat is the electrician’s wage”.
According to community services, the sum of the indebtedness does not matter; it may be a small one. They have the right to deprive a host of community services if he has not paid for them for at least a month (according to a regulation of the Council of Ministers #1466).
Svyataslau Dzіnіsіk: “If a lodger does not pay he should be warned. It means he has not paid for at least a month. The owner of the flat has to be warned and if it does not help we can cut off communal services three days later – water, electricity, sewerage - according to an order of the Ministry of community services”.
The director of the housing and community services department complains about the legislation and adds that they cannot cut off electricity if there are children below the age of 18 in the family… What should they do about non-payers in such a case?
“If there are minors in the family we do not have the right to cut it off. If a flat has several accounts and one inhabitants pays regularly while the other one has not paid for years there is practically nothing to do. There are some gaps in the legislation”.
Minsk housing and community services department #113 thinks that cutting off the hot water supply is the way out:
“We cut off the hot water supply if there are children”.
An employee of the housing and community services department #100 say that there is no clear regulation indicating what they can cut off:
“There is no regulation indicating what we can cut off. Regulation #1466 says that we can suspend the provision of some community services and that’s it”.
She added that electricity supply was not a community service. “But we do not cut off the electricity, we just stop maintaining the electrical control unit”, - she noted.
This is the loophole. Community services have the right to suspend the services people are not paying for. From this point of view, they did not have the right to cut off the electricity. However, they can suspend “the technical maintenance” of community services. The result is the same – people are left without electricity and their refrigerators get defrosted”.
