The expert told the Russians about ways to save money when paying for housing and communal services

Dmitry Bondar, a public figure and housing and communal services expert, spoke about ways to save money when paying for housing and communal services. He told the Prime news agency about this on April 25.

According to him, veterans, the disabled, and large families can receive housing benefits, the amount of which depends on the region.

Also, in order to save money, you can apply for a subsidy if paying for housing and communal services consumes more than 22% of the family budget. However, in some regions the threshold is lower. For example, in Moscow it is 10%. You can apply for a subsidy by contacting social security with income documents, or to the MFC if you live in the capital.

In this case, if the lights, water or heating are turned off, you may need to recalculate.

"According to the law, the management company is obliged to compensate for substandard services. The main thing is to fix violations: to draw up acts on substandard services and write complaints," said Bondar.

The expert added that meters can also save money, because without them, fees are charged according to standards, and they are overestimated. Thus, citizens with individual water meters can pay 1.5–2 times less, he said.

"And most importantly: do not try to cheat, for example, by registering "poor people" in an apartment for the sake of subsidies. Article 322.2 of the Criminal Code provides for criminal liability for fictitious registration. You can be fined up to 500 thousand rubles or imprisoned for up to 5 years," Bondar warned.

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

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Andrey Gorobets, senior product manager at lighting solutions supplier ST Luce, told Izvestia earlier that day that modern technologies can significantly reduce electricity consumption and save on housing and communal services. Thus, the use of energy-efficient lamps, the correct distribution of light sources and regular cleaning of fixtures will help save money.