The lawyer talked about ways to save money on housing and communal services

One of the ways to save money on housing and communal services may be to eliminate unnecessary options, Andrei Fradkin, a lawyer and expert on urban infrastructure and housing, told Izvestia on April 22.

"Unfortunately, it will not be possible to significantly reduce the bill in the payment system — most items are still required for payment. However, it's worth trying to reduce the financial burden a little," he added.

According to him, residents can turn off the radio — they are still found in old Soviet-built houses. As a rule, no one uses them, not even the elderly. But the bill still comes every month, even if the radio was hidden by a false wall during the repair.

"In order for the subscription fee to stop accruing, the apartment owner needs to contact the Management Company or the HOA. There you will be given an application form, additionally you will need to attach a document on the ownership of housing and confirmation of the absence of arrears in payment. In some regions, a person may be sent from the Criminal Code to submit documents to the MFC," Fradkin explained.

Another option that you can opt out of is a landline phone. According to the expert, to do this, you need to contact the company that serves it with an appropriate statement. The data of the communication provider is indicated on the receipt. You will have to pay off all debts beforehand, if any.

"You don't have to pay for additional services that are illegally imposed by the Criminal Code. For example, video surveillance or concierge work. Such items are approved at the general meeting of homeowners and only after voting are included in the payment document. If nothing like this happened, but incomprehensible lines suddenly appeared on the receipt, go to the Criminal Code and demand clarification," Fradkin said.

"Housing and communal services tariffs are underestimated in many localities"

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In addition, he noted that sometimes the management company starts to cheat and adds work to the bill that is already being done and paid for in another way, such as garbage collection, although the regional operator is dealing with this issue. If the employees of the Criminal Code behave strangely and avoid direct answers, then you can complain about their actions to the Housing Inspectorate or Rospotrebnadzor.

At the same time, the lawyer recalled that it would not be possible to refuse basic utilities such as water, heating, and electricity.

"Theoretically, you can avoid paying for water: now most have meters installed, and if at the end of the month they show that you have not used the resource, then the receipt will have 0 in the corresponding column. Another option is to invite a plumber and ask if there is a technical possibility to put plugs on the riser outlets, cutting off only your apartment from the water supply and not affecting the interests of the neighbors," the expert concluded.

On February 18, Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services Irek Fayzullin said that the department considers it rational to introduce a single payment document for housing and communal services in the Russian Federation. According to him, there should be a single fund-raising operator in the region and there should be no direct contracts with resource supply companies.