To whom to complain, and where to call if there is no heating in the apartment?

Every year, with the onset of autumn, apartment building residents enter a busy period. A variety of household heaters are used to heat residential premises. The level of comfort in city apartments during the cold season directly depends on the quality of heat supply services. The operation of the central heating system often causes fair criticism from the inhabitants of multi-storey buildings. Situations when there is no heating in the apartment, and the question is where to call at the same time, are quite common.

Let’s try to figure out the algorithm of consumer actions in cases where there are problems with heating in an apartment.

There is no heating in the apartment — steps towards solving the problem

In accordance with existing legislation, the temperature in city apartments during the cold season must comply with the parameters provided for by the standards.

For reference: The temperature in living quarters should not fall below 18⁰C, and in rooms with a corner location of at least 20⁰C. The corresponding norm is enshrined in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354 “On the provision of public services to owners of residential premises in apartment buildings” of 05/06/2011

The problem can affect all residents of your home. In such cases, the solution of the issue is of a public nature and vice versa, if the heating does not work only for you, then you will have to deal with the problem individually.

It is possible to independently identify the cause of cold batteries and fix the problem only in one case. We are talking about if you have an air lock in the radiators. You can let the air out of the battery on your own, or you can invite a locksmith from the management company or from the housing office for this. For more serious problems with heating, you should contact the following authorities:

• city, district housing inspection (JI);
• management company that services your home;
• homeowners association, which includes you, as the owner of an apartment in the same house.

Each of the listed authorities is engaged in solving problems with heating by virtue of its powers, areas of responsibility and duties. Your activity should be adequate to the scale of the problem. If it is not possible to eliminate the identified malfunction in the operation of central heating at the level of the service organization, it is necessary to connect higher authorities, which are in charge of the public service sector.

Important! To achieve this goal, it is necessary to apply immediately to all instances. Otherwise, the resolution of the issue may take time. Here we must take into account the sluggishness of the bureaucratic system and the human factor.

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Let’s start with filing a complaint at the very first level. If your house is serviced by a management company, call and write there, if the HOA, contact the chairman of the partnership.

When homeowners directly have direct service contracts with energy companies, the situation looks different. The affected person will have to deal with service providers. The contract must contain a clause providing for the procedure for filing a claim. For example, a heat supplier company is ready to consider subscribers’ complaints within the established time limits and only in writing. These points are worth paying attention to.

On a note: Any of your application (complaint, claim) to an official organization must have the details of an official document (date, incoming number). It is best to file a complaint in writing and in duplicate, one remains with the organization or company, the other remains with you. Without the appropriate details, without a mark on the acceptance of the document for consideration, your complaint will not have any legal force.

In cases where you are offered to leave a complaint over the phone, take the trouble to find out: who received your phone call and what number in the registration log was assigned to your appeal.

Complained — do not sit idly by

Regardless of where exactly you turn to in the absence of heat in the house, the complaint itself must be drawn up on the merits of the issue. In the absence of proper heating, it is worth indicating the actual temperature parameters of your apartment. If the temperature does not comply with SanPiN 2.1.2.2645-10, require an official temperature measurement. As a rule, such appeals, drawn up legally competently, with reference to legislative norms and standards, are accepted for consideration much faster.

In accordance with the current legislation, only a day is allotted for utilities to eliminate technical malfunctions in the house central heating system. Provided that the faults are local. More complex technical tasks must be solved within a week, otherwise fines may be imposed on the heat supplier, and business leaders may be held administratively liable.

In order to consider a complaint, a representative of the management company or housing office will come to you, who must establish the fact of a discrepancy in the quality of heating in the apartment or its complete absence. When the representative of the company does not agree with your reasonable requirements, raise the issue of the need for a re-examination of your apartment, only with the participation of a representative of the housing inspectorate.

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On a note: The law does not prohibit you from inviting an independent expert for such an examination — a specialist in the field of thermal energy.

Based on the results of the check, he draws up an act, which is an official document for your further fight against public utilities.

In the absence of a proper response to your complaint from the management company, the housing office or the service provider company, you need to call Rospotrebnadzor, the local antimonopoly service, city, district self-government bodies. Last resort — file a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office. When you already have a drawn up Act on the discrepancy between the temperature regime in the SanPiNam apartment, you can go to court with a claim for damages and moral damage.

To receive complaints and claims from citizens during the heating season, a hotline should operate in the housing inspectorate, calls to which are accepted around the clock. Today, many official authorities are implementing systems for electronic processing of documents received from citizens. Complaints about central heating operation can be submitted electronically. With Rospotrebnadzor, the situation is as follows. Only a written complaint, in which you indicate the reason for your claims and the details of the service company, will take effect. Rospotrebnadzor has quite a lot of levers of pressure on business entities that violate existing legislation in the field of public services. This is especially true for companies that provide heat supply to housing and infrastructure facilities in the winter.

Based on all of the above, when there is no heating in the apartment, you should not panic. Observance of the form, terms and order of treatment, you can achieve tangible results. Usually, public utilities try to quickly eliminate the interruptions in the operation of the central heating system, both at the apartment level and on a district or block scale. A collective complaint filed by the owners of an apartment building has a better chance of resolving the heating problem soon.