New tariffs for housing and communal services in 2026: the authorities talked about upcoming changes in payments

Tariffs for housing and communal services in 2026 are projected to increase by almost 10%. Despite the fact that the renovation, concierge and intercom are not included in the utilities, the fee for them may also rise, experts say. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

How much will tariffs increase in 2026

Next year, the indexation of the total utility bill will amount to 9.9%. This was reported to Izvestia with reference to the macro forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development by State Duma deputy, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing Roman Lyabikhov.

Previously, tariff growth for 2026 was projected at 9.8%.

The payment will increase by 8.7% in 2027 and by 7.1% in 2028, according to the forecast of the socio—economic development of the Russian Federation for 2026 and the planned period of 2027 and 2028.

Recall that in 2025, the indexation of tariffs for housing and communal services amounted to 11.9%.

— The government approves the upper limits of the increase in utility bills. With comparable consumption, if the number of family members does not change, if they consume approximately the same amount, their payment as a whole should not grow more than the corridor that is set for the region," Svetlana Razvorotneva, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, told Izvestia.

How will tariffs increase in the regions

The government approves indices of changes in utility bills, but the regions themselves determine how to increase or decrease the amount. Each subject should be guided by indexes. It is still unknown how tariffs will change in the regions in 2026.

"The actual change in tariffs in the regions takes place within the framework of marginal indices prepared by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, taking into account the forecast and proposals of the regions themselves on the application of the index of citizens' wages for their subject," the Ministry of Construction commented to Izvestia.

As Razvorotneva explained to Izvestia, the cost of each type of resource within the region is determined by regional tariff services. The cost can "vary greatly" because the cost of heat is increasing in one region and water is increasing in another. According to the deputy, even in different municipalities of the same region, the cost of the tariff for the same services may be different.

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The regions, based on the federal standard, approve their differentiated indexes by municipality, Sergey Sergeev, head of legal support for disputes in the field of public utilities and real estate management at Yakovlev and Partners Law Group, explained to Izvestia. According to him, the subjects take into account the economic validity of tariffs of resource-supplying organizations, the cost of infrastructure modernization, the level of collection of payments, the income level of the population in the region, the climate, and the state of public utilities.

Why are tariffs going up?

Utility tariffs are rising regularly. According to the Ministry of Construction, this is necessary, among other things, for the modernization of infrastructure.

—The planned and reasonably justified indexation of tariffs for water supply, sanitation and heat supply is dictated by the need for timely financing of operational activities for the uninterrupted provision of public services and is aimed, among other things, at developing urban infrastructure, taking into account the costs of repairing and modernizing communal infrastructure," the Ministry told Izvestia.

Deputy Lyabikhov believes that the indexation of services is due to rising prices for energy resources and contractor services, imported components and equipment, and the need to repair infrastructure, which is 40-80% worn out in some regions.

The forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development says that the indexation is formed depending on the projected inflation. However, housing and communal services prices often rise faster than inflation. The head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated in June 2025 that the Central Bank was concerned about the increase in housing and communal services tariffs above inflation, but the regulator had already taken this increase into account. In turn, Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, said earlier that tariffs were justified: from 2019 to 2024, the indexation rate lagged behind inflation by 15 percentage points.

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— Tariff increases are effective when the increase in fees actually goes towards network repairs, boiler room replacements, and the introduction of digital accounting and dispatching. The increase in tariffs should be offset by significant investments in housing and communal services. Ideally, tariff indexation should go hand in hand with infrastructure modernization and increased energy efficiency," said Sergey Sergeev.

Will services that are not included in utilities become more expensive in 2026

The government approves tariffs for public services, including heating, water, electricity, gas supply, sewerage and garbage collection. However, for example, fees for major repairs, concierge fees, intercom, and maintenance of common property are not included in this list, so the indexation of utility tariffs does not apply to them.

Prices for these services are set by the region or the owners themselves. Nevertheless, experts believe that the rates for major repairs, concierge and intercom will also increase next year.

— Services that are not included in utilities will rise in price, but not automatically. These payments are not regulated by the "index of changes in citizens' fees," so their growth depends on decisions of general meetings of owners (regarding maintenance and repairs) or on approved contributions for capital repairs by regional operators. Usually, the growth in these articles occurs within the range of inflation or slightly higher. The managing organization cannot quietly increase the payment, bypassing the meeting," Sergeyev said.

Lawyer Dina Akhmetova previously noted that prices for such services usually rise along with higher utility bills.