Does the SNT board have the right to turn off electricity to members for debts?
Since 2021, amendments to the “Rules for complete or partial restrictions on the consumption of electrical energy” have come into force. This regulatory act establishes the basis for the relationship between the management organization and the consumer related to power outages.
Important! According to the new rules, SNT has the right to cut off power to a garden plot if the subscriber has not only arrears in paying for electricity, but also in arrears in paying membership fees. This is possible if the contribution includes payment for electricity for the general needs of the community and compensation for energy losses.
How to register country houses in SNT?
What will happen to an illegal connection to electricity, read here.
How to arrange an individual payment for electricity in SNT, read the link: https://novocom.org/poleznye-stati/mozhno-li-v-snt-platit-za-elektroenergiyu-po-otdelnosti.html
The concept of losses and options for reducing them
If we consider practical activities on this issue, we can come to the conclusion that the management of cooperatives makes demands on participants that involve paying for the provision of electricity in the SNT territory at increased tariffs. The basis for establishing such prices is an indication of the need for additional payment for losses of a technical nature. It is important to understand how legal such statements are.
When an agreement is formed between a citizen who is a member of the SNT and a representative of a company providing services, this act specifies the possibility of losses. At the same time, the possibility of occurrence of several types of such losses is indicated.
These include:
- short, that is, when energy is distributed from the main type main line to individual panels;
- constant;
- variable - there is a dependence on the time of year and established temperature conditions, the presence of precipitation and their quantitative expression.
ATTENTION !!! When the participants in the relationship in question form an agreement, they need to calculate in advance the amount of approximate losses. It is this meaning that is reflected in this act. This suggests that by the time legal relations begin, the ruling composition of the partnership has an idea of the amount that will have to be paid from above.
This condition of the agreement is classified as mandatory. The legislation indicates that it will not be possible to avoid the losses in question when using public utility services.
This indicates that at the end of each monthly period, the SNT management receives less funds from its members than they spent on providing this range of services. The result is that SNT has to look for options that will cover the costs incurred in excess of the amount received.
Procedure for turning off electricity for non-payment
SNT has the right to disconnect the consumer from electricity if there is a debt in the amount of two standards. Please note that regulations vary by region. Their size needs to be clarified.
After the formation of a debt, SNT is obliged to notify the consumer of the need to pay a fee, otherwise the garden plot will be de-energized.
In 2021, new notification rules came into effect, making the procedure for management organizations and SNTs easier. There is no longer a need to obtain the consumer's personal signature on the notice. It can be sent via email or through your personal account in a special GIS housing and communal services system.
Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.
Who has such authority?
- If there is a decision of a judicial authority presented by a bailiff.
- If violations of the points specified in the contract are detected regarding light consumption - time of use, connection to the common system without a contract or without permission.
- The end of the resource supply period.
Legality
If the company is going to limit the supply of electricity, this must be communicated personally to the defaulter. In another situation, limiting the supply of resources will be illegal.
When managing SNT’s electrical facilities, questions always arose: “What to do if the consumer does not pay for the electricity consumed?”, “Is it possible to turn off/limit the consumer’s power?”, “How to follow the shutdown/limitation procedure so that everything is legal?” etc. Until recently, there was no clear answer to this question, and numerous disputes were resolved in the courts with mixed results. But, everything has changed. On November 10, 2021, “The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation signed Resolution No. 1351 “On amendments to certain Acts of the Government of the Russian Federation on increasing the accessibility of energy infrastructure in relation to certain consumer groups.”
How should the subscriber be notified?
The main factor for the correct implementation of the de-energization procedure is sending a notification. Changes to the law in 2021 have expanded the options for proper notice.
SNT can send a letter of claim in the following ways:
- personal transfer of the subscriber with receipt of a receipt,
- mailing by registered mail with notification,
- placing a notice on the payment receipt form,
- telephone conversation with a subscriber recorded on electronic media,
- sending a letter by email,
- sending a notification through the consumer’s personal account in the GIS housing and communal services system,
- others.
From the moment the claim is received, the payer is given a twenty-day period to repay the debt.
Connecting electricity to SNT.
If the consumer continues to use electricity without paying for it, then SNT has the right to de-energize the area after 10 days from the end of the period for voluntary repayment of the debt. Turning off the light occurs by installing special seals to prevent unauthorized reconnection by the consumer himself.
New rules introduced in 2021 provide for work to disconnect and reconnect the area to electricity at the subscriber’s expense. All expenses that the resource supplying organization will incur when carrying out work related to the limitation, temporary suspension and resumption of the supply of electricity and other resources are borne by the debtor to whom these measures are applied.
Is it legal
The rules for lawfully limiting the supply of electricity must be specified in the constituent documentation of a non-profit organization. ⇐ Despite this , as we wrote above,
In winter
- Document's name.
- Details of the parties (this includes the names of organizations and full names of individuals, their addresses valid today, telephone numbers valid now, etc.).
- The name of the document itself.
- Statement of the essence of the conflict that has arisen.
- A reference to the current legislation providing for liability and the procedure for bringing it to justice.
- Request to the court to protect violated rights and interests.
- List of documents included in the evidence base.
- Date of drawing up the act and signature of the plaintiff.
3. Absence for the 3 previous settlement periods of regulation of 3 facts of application by executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of state regulation of tariffs of reducing coefficients, allowing to ensure compliance of the level of tariffs established for the owner of electric grid facilities with the level of reliability and quality of goods supplied and services provided, and also adjustments to prices (tariffs) established for a long-term period of regulation, in the event that the owner of the electric grid facilities for which such prices (tariffs) are established presents unreliable reporting data used in calculating the actual values of indicators of reliability and quality of goods supplied and services provided, or failure to provide such data.
This position is confirmed, for example, by the conclusion contained in the Information Bulletin of judicial practice on civil cases of the Arkhangelsk Regional Court for the first quarter of 2013: “The legislation on the protection of consumer rights does not regulate the relations of citizens with gardening, gardening and dacha non-profit associations of citizens based on membership citizens in these associations.
Legal recommendations to the governing bodies of gardening partnerships on resolving the issue of “defaulters”, based on the above and established judicial practice.
of the partnership, such a measure must be enshrined in the Charter , because the duties of a member of a gardening partnership include the payment of membership and other fees provided for by law and the charter of the partnership, taxes and other payments. Failure to fulfill the duties assigned to a member of the partnership may result in his exclusion from the partnership with the consequences provided for individual users, i.e. This may result in refusal to conclude an agreement on the use of the relevant facilities and deprivation of the right to use such facilities. Since exclusion from the partnership is still an extreme measure, it is obvious that such a measure of influence as deprivation of the right to use electricity, water supply, etc. can be used in relation to the members of the partnership. with the possibility of restoring this right after repayment of the debt. In this regard, the judicial panel cannot agree with the court’s conclusion that the decision of the general meeting and the actions of the board to disconnect the plaintiff’s site from the power supply were illegal.”
I ask you to assist in understanding whether failure to pay membership fees in full or in part by me as a member of the SNT may be grounds for the board of the SNT to disconnect my site from the source of electricity.
It should be noted that the amount of membership fees was set for me at 5,200 rubles per quarter and has no financial and economic justification, i.e. From year to year, the general meeting of SNT members does not approve the income and expense estimate and its implementation at the end of each reporting year.
Federal Law of 04/15/1998 N 66-FZ (as amended on 07/03/2016) “On gardening, vegetable gardening and dacha non-profit associations of citizens” Article 8. Conducting gardening, horticulture or dacha farming on an individual basis In case of non-payment of fees for use established by agreements infrastructure facilities and other common property of a horticultural, gardening or dacha non-profit association, on the basis of a decision of the board of such an association or a general meeting of its members, citizens engaged in gardening, vegetable gardening or dacha farming on an individual basis are deprived of the right to use infrastructure facilities and other common property of a horticultural enterprise, gardening or dacha non-profit association. Non-payments for the use of infrastructure facilities and other common property of a horticultural, gardening or dacha non-profit association are recovered in court.
- there is no payment arrears;
- disconnection was used as a way to force a member of the partnership or the entire SNT as a whole to perform actions not provided for by the terms of the contract;
- the procedure for suspending the provision of services was violated, for example, the consumer was not informed in advance about the power outage;
- a seriously ill person lives in a country house, whose vital functions are provided by electrical appliances;
- The repair period has been exceeded.
What to do if your garden house is illegally cut off from electricity
If you find that your gardening area is without power, you must take the following steps:
- find out the reasons for the shutdown. This can be done by contacting neighbors, watchmen, or the SNT board,
- complain about illegal restrictions on the supply of electricity to the police department serving the area. In the application, indicate all SNT data and facts confirming the illegality of the measures imposed,
- file a lawsuit for illegal restriction or suspension of electricity supply. You can prepare it yourself or seek advice from professional lawyers.
Where can I complain about the chairman of the SNT?
To file a claim, you must follow the claim procedure. Send a request to SNT to restore the power supply. Deliver the claim in a manner confirming its receipt.
If SNT refuses to peacefully resolve the conflict, then you can go to court. Attach to the statement of claim a claim with evidence of its receipt, as well as SNT’s response.
Act on power outages in SNT
power outage act for free in word format
Restriction and suspension of electricity supply is formalized by a disconnection act. This document is prepared exclusively in simple written form. Any other type of deed makes it invalid.
Attention! Regardless of the organization issuing it, the following data must be indicated in the act:
- the name of the organization that issued it,
- Title of the document,
- date and time of drawing up the act,
- reasons for shutdown with specification of areas to which power supply is limited,
- methods and expected timing of resumption of electricity supply,
- signature of the person who drew up the act.
Documents specifying the blackout are attached to the act. For example, a SNT plan indicating de-energized areas and energy supply routes. At the request of the person drawing up the act, other information related to the procedure can be added.
ATTENTION! View the completed sample power outage report:
Contribution for the installation of a transformer in SNT.
