All citizens are obliged to pay utility bills on time based on receipts sent by the Criminal Code. But often for various reasons, people do not transfer funds for these services for a long time. This leads to a really significant debt, so the management companies are forced to take extreme measures, represented by a power outage or other communications. Therefore, citizens have the question: "What if the lights were turned off for non-payment?" You can take advantage of several features that allow you to quickly get rid of the problem.
Legislative regulation
Based on various regulations drawn up in the field of public utilities, the constant provision of numerous services to residents of different apartments and houses is guaranteed. Housing and utilities workers are not allowed to arbitrarily turn off the lights for non-payment of utilities, as the procedure is allowed only with the appropriate court decision.
The restriction of light and other resources may be subject to certain conditions listed in the following legislative acts:
- PP No. 354, on the basis of which utility services are provided to owners and residents of houses or apartments in high-rise buildings;
- PP No. 442 contains data on how the electricity market functions.
Based on these documents, a situation may arise when employees of the Criminal Code disable services to non-payers. Can they turn off the lights for non-payment of rent? If the debt is indeed significant, then a simplified judicial procedure is used by the public utilities, which allows the judge to make a decision without the presence of the debtor at the court session. In this case, an outage and the use of bailiffs to enforce debt collection may be applied.
Who can disconnect?
On the basis of various legislative acts, it is the contractor that can impose restrictions on the supply of electricity or completely stop providing various services to users. The contractor in this situation is the direct company providing services to the consumer.
Electricity is supplied to citizens by special energy-saving companies, so the employees of these companies can take drastic measures in relation to non-payers.
Can the UK turn off the light?
Most often there are situations when it is the Criminal Code that turns off the light for non-payment. It is with these companies that contracts for the supply of various resources are concluded, since the management companies are engaged in house management. Instead, HOA or housing cooperatives can do this process.
Therefore, in such a situation, the intermediary acts as the executor. The UK can turn off the lights if there is a significant debt to a particular consumer.
The grounds for applying such a harsh measure
The management company turns off the light for non-payment only if there are good reasons that can be proved by official documents. These reasons include:
- an agreement is drawn up between the parties, on the basis of which services are temporarily disconnected, and they are connected only after the consumer has paid off the debt;
- shutdown for reasons beyond the control of the consumer, for example, the occurrence of an accident or emergency, as well as the impact of various natural disasters or repair and preventive maintenance;
- the presence of reasons depending on the consumer, for example, large debt, poor condition of direct appliances or communications in the apartment and house, various violations of clauses of the contract drawn up with the Criminal Code.
Thus, turning off the light can be due to various reasons. At the same time, each person has a question: “What should I do if the light was turned off for non-payment?”, Since this type of communication is important for every citizen. To do this, you can use different methods to correct the situation.
When can they turn off the electricity for non-payment?
The minimum amount of debt to disconnect is represented by a fee for two months. It is the presence of debt that is the most common reason why electricity is cut off in apartments and houses.
If the apartment turned off the light for non-payment of rent, then you can be sure that the funds for utilities are not transferred for more than two months. Companies usually do not turn off the electricity for six months. If the debt exceeds this period, then firms have to act by drastic methods to influence debtors.
Rules for turning off the light
The procedure for disconnecting electricity should be performed by the employees of the Criminal Code only in the correct order, for which they are implemented sequential actions. Only in this case will the process be legal.
By all means, the employees of the Criminal Code must notify the residents of a certain dwelling about the upcoming blackout. To do this, a written notice is drawn up that is transmitted to residents in various ways:
- delivery of the document in person to the owner of the house;
- leaving relevant information on receipts;
- sending a notification by registered letter, moreover, a receipt notification is paid by the company;
- transfer of necessary information by phone;
- Email sending
- use of a personal account in the GIS housing and communal services system.
As soon as the debtor receives a notice, he must immediately pay off the debt. To this he is given 20 days. If this requirement is not fulfilled, the Criminal Code has the right to turn off the light for non-payment without trial. Such a shutdown acts as a suspension of the provision of a resource. If, within 10 days after the introduction of the restriction, there is still no payment from the debtor, then the light is completely turned off.
The nuances of the process
The procedure should not in any way violate the rights of neighbors, nor can it cause damage to the common property of the house.
It is allowed to turn off the light without warning, but there must be good reason for this. These include natural disasters, repairs or an accident.
Rules for drawing up an act
What to do if the lights are turned off for non-payment? In this case, it is important to make sure that the landlord had a warning about this action in advance by the employees of the Criminal Code. Additionally, the company must have a power outage certificate. When it is formed, the requirements are taken into account:
- three copies are made;
- certainly indicate the address of the apartment and the house where the light was turned off;
- given F. I. O. of the direct consumer who is the debtor;
- lists all actions taken to turn off the electricity;
- The execution date of this process is entered;
- the counter number and the latest readings of this device are indicated;
- the end contains information provided by the basis for turning off the light.
Often, consumers have objections, so they can leave appropriate notes in this act. The owner of the premises must be familiar with the document, and also one copy of the act is issued to him.
How do companies turn off lights?
Debtors can be not only private consumers, but also various enterprises represented by legal entities. They may be subject to measures represented by a blackout for non-payment.
The same procedure is used for companies, so initially you should notify the business owner of the upcoming disconnection of the service in a timely manner. But for firms it is allowed to send such a notice 10 days before the immediate shutdown.
What if companies turned off the lights for non-payment? The only solution for enterprises is the prompt repayment of debts, after which you can independently transfer the receipt to the UK or directly to the resource organization.
Illegal blackout
Criminal Code, wanting to turn off the electricity to any user, must accurately follow a certain procedure. If the company violates the process steps or the requirements of the law, then the blackout can be challenged.
What to do if the lights were turned off for non-payment in an illegal way? In this case, you can complain to the prosecutor or the housing inspectorate. Additionally, you can file a lawsuit and recover from the company material or moral damage.
It is considered illegal to turn off the light under the following conditions:
- previously, the Criminal Code did not send a notice to the owner of the premises about the application of these measures, so the debtor did not even know that he was facing a blackout;
- a minor lives in the apartment, since under such conditions it is not allowed to disconnect communications, since this can cause certain harm to the life and health of the child, therefore the Criminal Code itself can be held administratively liable, and the family can also recover compensation for moral damage from it;
- a person with a serious illness lives in real estate, so his life completely depends on the operability of electrical appliances, since under such circumstances the actions of the Criminal Code to turn off the lights can be considered at all under the criminal law.
If an illegal power outage is detected, the company can be held accountable, so it will be forced to pay fines, and often compensate moral or material damage to residents of the building. If the lights were turned off for non-payment, what should I do to repair the damage? For this, the owners of the apartment must have evidence of illegal actions on the part of the employees of the Criminal Code. Under such conditions, you can contact the prosecutor's office, housing inspectorate or court.
What to do when the lights are turned off?
Quite often negligent payers are faced with the fact that they are disconnected from communications due to lack of fees. If you turned off the light for non-payment of rent, what should property owners do? To fix this situation, you can use two methods:
- Debt repayment. You can use various methods for this, for example, using the help of postal workers or a bank branch. With the help of the receipt, you can pay for utilities through terminals or online banking. The check received from this process should be transferred to the employees of the management company so that they record the full repayment of the debt. After that, the light will be reconnected.
- Getting installments from the Criminal Code. Many companies meet their customers, therefore, offer the opportunity to arrange an installment plan. For this, a schedule is provided, on the basis of which the consumer must pay the utilities. Under such conditions, the debt is distributed for a maximum of six months, therefore it is repaid gradually. The Criminal Code cannot refuse such a request from the consumer. After registration of the installment plan, the seal is removed and the apartment is connected to electricity. When performing this process, an act is drawn up to connect the property to the resource. Electricity appears in the apartment during the day.
Many people prefer to connect their own electricity at all if the employees of the Criminal Code turned off the light for non-payment. How to connect the light itself? This process is not recommended to be carried out independently, since it is dangerous, and a citizen can be held administratively liable for such a violation. If the necessary skills are not available, then such actions can lead to a threat to the life or health of a citizen.
What to do in case of violations by the Criminal Code?
If the company’s actions are illegal, then a blackout can be challenged. To do this, the following actions are performed:
- Initially, a claim is drawn up in the Criminal Code itself, containing a requirement to resume the supply of electricity and make a calculation;
- if there is no answer within three days, then a complaint is drawn up to Rospotrebnadzor and the prosecutor's office, to which a copy of the claim is attached to the Criminal Code;
- to compensate for moral and material damage, a lawsuit is filed with the court, to which an act of inspection of the apartment and other evidence of the illegal turning off of the light are applied.
If a positive court decision is made for the plaintiff, then the service is connected free of charge. If you turned off the light for non-payment, how to connect it yourself? This process is carried out only with the necessary skills. Additionally, the Criminal Code may hold such a citizen liable for violation of the law. Therefore, it is undesirable to cope with the problem yourself if the light is turned off for non-payment. What to do in such a situation? It is advisable to pay off debt or arrange an installment plan.
Conclusion
If there is no payment for light, then the Criminal Code can disable it in an official way. If there is evidence of an illegal shutdown of the resource, then you can file a complaint with the Rospotrebnadzor and the prosecutor's office. It is possible to file a lawsuit. If turning off the light is legal, then to connect it you need to pay off the full debt or agree with the Criminal Code on the possibility of registering an installment plan.