Where to call if water, electricity or heat is turned off 

Where can I find out why there is no water supply at home, who to call?

In the event of a water outage, you must call the management company (MC), the homeowners association (HOA) or the emergency dispatch service, where the subscriber’s complaint about the lack of utility service must be recorded and information about the reasons for the outage must be provided.

As a rule, contacts of the control room, management company or HOA are available on the notice board of the entrance or house. The telephone numbers of the management company and the homeowners association are also on receipts for payment of utility services.

If representatives of these organizations were unable to provide specific information, you must call the city Vodokanal. Many cities have special emergency services that you can also contact in case of lack of water.

The following table shows telephone numbers for federal cities.

Finding out the reason for the lack of hot or cold water

The duration of the absence of water in the house directly depends on the reason for its shutdown. That is why many residents first want to know why there is no water and where to call in such a situation.

In most cases, water stops flowing into the house due to an accident. Pipelines are experiencing serious overload. Therefore, sometimes they cannot stand it and simply break. To prevent such problems, utility workers are forced to regularly carry out scheduled work to help prevent the occurrence of an accident. Repairers must inform all residents of this in advance by posting notices on houses.

If there was no notification about the shutdown, then an accident that could have occurred on the site is to blame for stopping the water supply. In this case, you need to call the emergency service and report the problem. If the incident is already known, the dispatcher will tell the caller the approximate time frame for completing repair work and restoring water supply.

In Moscow, this issue can be clarified by calling the telephone number of the dispatch service.

If the dispatcher on duty does not have accurate information about the accident, then contact the housing inspectorate or the local water utility.

Do they have the right to disconnect without warning residents?

According to paragraph 1 of Article 21 of the Federal Law of December 7, 2011 No. 416-FZ “On Water Supply and Sewage,” the organization providing this water supply has the right to turn off both cold and hot water supply without warning. The reasons for such a disconnection may be:

• accident or elimination of consequences of an accident in the water supply system;
• significant deterioration in water quality;
• the need to increase the water supply to the fire site.

In this case, the organization is obliged to notify subscribers within 1 day from the day the water shutdown begins (clause 2 of Article 22).

You can find out more about the reasons for turning off hot and cold water here.

Hot water supply

In the case of hot water supply, the shutdown is carried out by the organization that supplies hot water using centralized and non-centralized hot water supply systems and with which the subscriber has an agreement on the supply of hot water (clause 1 of Article 24 of the Water Supply Law).

This is either an organization that directly supplies heat, or an organization that takes cold drinking water from the water supply and heats it in an additional heat exchanger. As a rule, hot water is supplied by private companies with which the owners of the residential building have an agreement for the provision of services.

Cold

Drinking water can be turned off by an organization that supplies the subscriber with cold water using a centralized cold water supply system under a service agreement (clause 1 of Article 23 of the Water Supply Law).
As a rule, the supply of cold drinking water is carried out by the city utility company Vodokanal.

Responsibility for illegal disconnection of hot water supply

The consumer may be directly responsible for the lack of hot water and heating. If a citizen does not regularly make payments for the received utility resources, then the management company and the RSO have the right to disconnect the apartment from the hot water supply.

In all other cases, the local management organization is responsible. Even if the co-owners of the apartment building have entered into a direct agreement with the resource supply company, the final answer regarding quality and interruptions remains with the management company.

The law establishes a time limit of three calendar days for a response when filing a complaint. If this is not the case, we must boldly contact higher supervisory authorities.

Acceptable time of absence of this service

Possible time to turn off water, both cold and hot:

• No more than 8 hours in total during the month.
• 4 hours straight.
• In case of an emergency, the time depends on the diameter of the pipeline (minimum - about 2 hours, maximum - 24 hours). The exact estimated time is indicated in table 25 of the Code of Rules 31.13330.2012 “Water supply. External networks and structures.”

The specified parameters are contained in Appendix No. 1 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2011 No. 354.

We talked in detail about the standards and timing for turning off hot and cold water supplies in 2021 here.

Consumer rights

The list of rights and powers of each owner is determined by law. Residents should know them and use them fully:

1. The right to use water supply without interruption.
2. The law allows the absence of hot water from the tap for no more than eight hours a month, not taking into account shutdowns due to emergencies.
3. A one-time shutdown of hot water should last no more than 4 hours.
4. In the warm season, in the summer, when planned restoration and maintenance work is carried out, water may be absent for up to two weeks.
5. The management organization must notify residents in advance of each planned shutdown of hot water supply, at least ten days before the termination of its supply.
6. Natural disasters, emergencies, and unplanned situations are considered exceptions to all rules.

Management organizations tend to violate the rights of residents or take advantage of their ignorance.

What to do and where to turn if the problem recurs?

If the water supply in a residential building is often turned off without warning, the subscriber must draw up an act establishing the fact of failure to provide utility services or the provision of utility services of inadequate quality. The act is drawn up in free written form.

Be sure to indicate the reason for drawing up the act and information about witnesses (at least 3 residents of the house), the person in charge of the house and the resource supply company. This act will help in further defending the right to high-quality provision of public water supply services.

Who should I complain to?

1. First, you need to make a written claim addressed to the supplier.
   The easiest way is to send it by registered mail with return receipt requested, then the subscriber will have a receipt in their hands confirming their contact with the organization.
2. If the organization does not respond, you must contact the city department of Rospotrebnadzor, since the service occurs in accordance with the service agreement and is subject to consumer protection legislation. The complaint can also be sent by mail or email. Rospotrebnadzor must check the actions of the supplier and send the citizen a response based on the results of the check.
3. If this appeal is unsuccessful, you should contact the district or regional department of the prosecutor's office. In the pleading part of the complaint, you can indicate the need to conduct a prosecutorial review of the actions/inactions of the utility service provider.
4. The subscriber also has the right to file a claim in court.

Whether to contact Rospotrebnadzor, the prosecutor's office or the court is up to the tenant to decide for himself. But consistent contact with each of these organizations allows you to accumulate a sufficient number of documents confirming the plaintiff’s good faith in court.

Based on these documents, it is possible not only to achieve a recalculation of payment, but also to recover compensation for moral damage caused by the unlawful actions of the supplier company.

Drawing up a complaint

In a complaint to any of the designated authorities, you must indicate:

1. name of the body to which the application is made;
2. information about the applicant (full name, postal address, telephone, email);
3. name of the document (complaint);
4. in the content - the reason for the application, the timing and time of turning off the water, whether the citizen contacted the service provider, etc.;
5. in the attachment - copies of your appeals, receipts confirming the sending of letters, responses to appeals, an act of establishing the fact of lack of water and other materials as necessary;
6. number and signature of the citizen.

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 350-14-90

Terms of consideration

According to paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Federal Law of May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation,” any of these organizations must provide the citizen with a response within thirty days. Otherwise, the organization will face a fine under Article 5.59 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in the amount of up to 10,000 rubles.

No body has the right to forward a citizen’s complaint for consideration to the organization whose actions are being appealed (clause 6 of Article 8 of the Law on Citizens’ Appeals).

The planned shutdown of hot water supply, although a rather unpleasant phenomenon, is still quite short-term and necessary. However, organizations involved in water supply are required to strictly follow the letter of the law and not exceed the maximum permissible shutdown periods. We recommend that you look at our articles about whether an HOA or management company can shut off water for non-payment and whether such a measure is legal.

Complaints about illegal actions of the water utility

Before filing a complaint, you need to find out why there is no water in the house.
If such a circumstance is related to factors provided for by law, filing a complaint will be useless. Otherwise, the consumer can protect his rights. What to do and where to call if there is no hot water? First of all, you can contact the head of housing and communal services.

You should make a phone call first. If this does not help, a statement is drawn up addressed to the manager, which outlines the essence of the problem and the demand to correct the situation.

Residents of apartment buildings are recommended to draw up a collective statement. Who can you complain to if there is no hot water and the head of the housing office is inactive? You can contact a higher authority.

This authority is the State Housing Inspectorate. The powers of this department include supervision of life support systems connected to residential buildings. You can also contact Rospotrebnadzor, whose employees are required to monitor the quality of services provided to the population. Regardless of which department citizens apply to, they will need to make a written application.

Submission order

What to do if the water is turned off? After the calls, a written statement should be made. It is issued on paper (A4 format). It contains the full name of the organization to which the citizen is applying, as well as the personal data of the applicant. After this, the essence of the problem that has arisen is described (no hot and cold water), and demands are made (to resume its supply).

It is recommended to include references to the legislative acts described above. It is worth noting that if the housing office did not send a warning about the disconnection, this should also be stated in the complaint.

Attention! An application submitted to government agencies must necessarily contain the applicant’s full name and registered address.

Anonymous applications will not be considered.
After the document has been drawn up, you must personally visit one of the branches of the selected department and submit the paper. You can also use the “Government Services” service. To do this, you need to register in the system, and then use the “Send an appeal or complaint” option.

It is recommended to contact the authorities in the following order:

1. Housing office management.
2. Housing inspection.
3. Rosportebnadzor.

The department will consider the complaint within a few days, after which a written response will be sent to the applicant. He will come to the address specified in the citizen’s application.

What to do if there is no hot water

• the total time per month should not exceed 8 hours for cold and hot water;
• no more than four hours in a row if this is an emergency for cold water;
• for hot water no more than four hours in a row in case of an accident, but if the accident occurred on a dead-end main, the time increases to 24 hours.

Reasons for shutdown

If the excess shutdown of hot water and cold water occurs over several hours, then every 60 minutes - minus 0.15% of the total amount in the payment receipt. If the water is not heated well, then the tariff for it should be considered as for cold water, and if the pressure is low, for each hour the consumer has the right to pay 0.1% less than in the receipt.

for each hour exceeding (in total for the billing period) the permissible period of water supply interruption, the monthly fee is reduced by 0.15 percent of the fee determined based on meter readings or based on utility consumption standards - taking into account the provisions of paragraph 61 of the Rules provision of public services to citizens

There is a certain form of contacting these companies. The dispatcher is obliged to record your call, write down personal and contact information, time, and assign a unique number. In addition, he is obliged to introduce himself and answer the question.

Telephone numbers for Moscow residents to contact

Each management company is required by law to have its own website. Of course, in reality, not everyone fulfills this requirement. But if there is a website, residents have the opportunity to write an appeal to it. There they can find records that will explain the reason for the lack of water.

1. The consumer illegally crashed into the cold or hot water supply network.
2. The power of consumer devices that consume water exceeds the permissible load on the network.
3. Vodokanal received an order from the executive body.

Anonymous applications will not be considered. After the document has been drawn up, you must personally visit one of the branches of the selected department and submit the paper.

Resumption of water supply - how to find out?

In warm seasons, turning off hot water may be due to prevention. In this case, you will have to wait several weeks before water supply is restored. Also, short-term prevention can be carried out before the onset of winter and a decrease in temperature (to check all systems). In some cases, shutdowns are carried out at the direction of local authorities.

May 14, 2021 gmurist 31

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Contact Rospotrebnadzor

Rospotrebnadzor is obliged to protect the rights and defend the interests of ordinary citizens.

When filing a complaint, its employees also conduct an inspection to study all the evidence, as well as the measures that were taken to resolve the issue.

Based on the results of the inspection, a report is also drawn up. It reflects the list of actions performed, the final result of the measures taken. One copy of this document is sent to the applicant.

Every apartment owner at least once in his life is faced with a lack of hot water supply. It is very important to understand your rights and defend them if they are violated.

IMPORTANT! Apartment owners pay in full for all services in good faith. Therefore, they have every right to use them in accordance with the law.