The Ministry of Construction will be offered to audit the housing and communal services industry instead of raising tariffs

Instead of raising housing and communal services tariffs from July 1, the Ministry of Construction is proposed to conduct an audit of the housing and communal services industry. An appeal with such a proposal is being prepared addressed to the head of the department Irek Fayzulin by the head of the Fair Russia – For Truth faction, Sergei Mironov, on May 14, Izvestia found out.

The MP is convinced that the increase in tariffs will hit the population and the economy hard, while exacerbating the housing and communal services crisis.

"Starting from July 1 of this year, the average cost of utilities for Russians will increase by 11.9%. And starting from July 1, 2026, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, tariffs will rise to 9.8%. Previously, the government at least explained the "indexation" by rising utility costs due to inflation. Now officials are voicing the figures, not considering it necessary to hide that the population will suffer for the sake of monopoly income," Mironov explained.

According to him, according to the government's plans, from 2025, resource supply companies will allocate only 1.5% of revenue for modernization, and it is unclear what 98.5% of revenue will go to.

He also recalled the words of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin that it is possible to reduce costs in housing and communal services by 20% without investing money, through effective management, stopping theft and improving the quality of work.

"Therefore, we propose not to raise, but to freeze utility tariffs and conduct a detailed audit of the industry to identify bottlenecks and try to restore at least basic order in our utilities," Mironov said.

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

Alexey Yeresko, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Construction, talks about the indexation of utility bills, the timing of hot water shutdowns and wooden sidewalks in cities

Dmitry Bondar, a public figure and housing and communal services expert, shared on May 13 that bank accounts could be seized for large utility bills. In addition, according to him, they can withhold amounts from income and forcibly collect the debt by court decision. The expert recalled that penalties are accrued from the 31st day of delay - 1/300 of the Central Bank's key rate for each day, and stressed that at first the amounts are insignificant, but they increase rapidly and can significantly increase the total debt.