Stop Blaming Neighbors for Rising Utility Bills
The management company is responsible for handling persistent utility debtors.
There are widespread myths about how utility bill amounts are calculated. One is that residents overpay because of neighbors who don«t pay. Our article explores the real reasons and who is responsible.
Can You Be Forced to Pay for Someone Else«s Debt?
The first and most important answer comes from housing legislation. Lawyer and Synergy University lecturer Anton Palyulin explained to Gorodskiye Media how the system works.
«Each owner independently fulfills the obligation to make payments and is not responsible for the obligations of other owners. This is a direct rule of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation,» said Anton Palyulin.
This means that a resident«s personal debt for their apartment cannot simply be »spread out« among the building»s tenants. The Russian Ministry of Construction (Minstroy) also confirmed in its clarifications: debt for consumed resources, including for common needs, is not distributed among residents.
«The legal tools to influence a debtor are the prerogative of the management company and resource suppliers: charging penalties, restricting services, and court collection,» added Palyulin. Vigilante action by neighbors is illegal.
Why Payments Are Rising
The increase in amounts on bills is not due to redistribution of others« debts, but to the peculiarities of calculating common house needs (ODN), says Ilya Rybalchenko, strategic management expert at ISC Consulting.
«The problem is not that you are being charged someone else»s debt, but that ODN is often calculated opaquely,« the expert said in an interview with Gorodskiye Media.
ODN (common house needs) refers to costs for hallway lights, elevator operation, and pumps. They are calculated for the entire building. If there are losses due to old networks, leaks, faulty meters, or illegal connections, these losses are distributed among all owners in the form of increased bills.
According to Rybalchenko, the management company«s inaction in debt collection only exacerbates the feeling of injustice, but is not the direct cause of the rising amounts.
What Residents Can Do
The problem of debts is not about «bad neighbors,» but about a weak building management system, emphasizes Ilya Rybalchenko. It can be cured not by emotions, but by rules, control, and responsibility. How to achieve fairness:
Demand transparency. The management company is obliged to provide detailed breakdowns of ODN charges.
Find and fix «holes.» Initiate an inspection of networks and meters. Finding what is inflating ODN is strategically more important than chasing a single debtor.
Control the management company. Demand that the management company work clearly on debt collection through legal procedures.
Use your rights. If the management company is inactive, it is grounds for complaints and discussing a change of management.
