How to pay for utilities in an HOA and do you need an agreement with the owner?

How are tariffs determined and what do they depend on?

Residents of an apartment building consume 2 types of services: housing and utilities. Let's look at how tariffs for each of these groups are determined.

Housing

These include the management activities of the HOA and the performance of maintenance work on common property.

Management expenses include:

1. maintenance of the HOA as an organization;
2. payment for the services of a settlement center, whose responsibilities include processing readings from individual metering devices and generating invoices for housing and communal services.

Funds for maintenance and overhaul include maintaining in suitable condition:

• common property;
• including entrances;
• basement;
• roof.

Garbage removal

Maintenance of intra-house communications and various common devices, including meters, intercoms and elevators.

Care and improvement of the local area

The amount of expenses for the maintenance and repair of a residential property is determined by the members of the HOA and depends on the volume of work and with what frequency it will be carried out. Based on these data, the monthly payment amount is calculated.

Utilities

Such services include uninterrupted supply of electricity, cold and hot water, natural gas and other benefits. Tariffs for utility services are set by resource suppliers and are additionally controlled by the state. The cost of some services may be increased at the regional level.

How are they calculated?

According to Article 157 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, utilities are paid depending on the volume consumed. Calculations are made based on the readings of individual metering devices.

The amount of resources spent on the general needs of residents is calculated using a common building meter and distributed equally among the owners. The obtained data is multiplied by the current tariffs established by federal or municipal authorities.

What is required for rent?

In addition to cash, payment for housing and communal services requires an agreement with the provider of these same services.

How are tariffs formed and on what do they depend?

Many owners living in different houses are perplexed as to why the numbers on their bills differ so much. Why can one house be cheaper than another? Unfortunately, we have not yet moved away from the Soviet past, where everything and everyone was equal.

And you will agree that in many ways the false impression that all payments should be the same is due to the fact that we all use the services of resource companies , and they often set approximately the same tariffs.

Tariffs for the services of management organizations vary in the most incredible way.

The partnership, consisting of a board and a chairman, is authorized independently, but based on certain regulatory legal acts, to set tariffs for utility services .

Before talking about payment schemes, we will briefly tell you what a homeowners’ association is.

This is an organization that is recognized as a non-profit, although this statement is quite controversial, because the partnership works with residents’ funds .

In addition, the partnership appears before us as a full-fledged legal entity, since it is a taxpayer, has the right to hire citizens, and also has a leader in the person of the chairman.

The organization is formed from residents of the house who have ownership rights to this or that real estate.

The partnership is obliged to carry out actions for the maintenance and management of the apartment building, for which, in turn, the residents are obliged to pay monthly funds.

Find out how the reserve fund of an HOA is formed from our article.

The regulatory framework for calculating tariffs for the maintenance of residential premises is the following acts:

• methods of planning and accounting of public utility services No. 303;
• benefits for housing maintenance and repairs;
• rules for maintaining common property of owners No. 491;
• rules and regulations for the operation of apartment building No. 170.

The calculation is carried out using the following formula. First, a list of necessary works , their frequency, and quality are determined.

After which it is necessary to move on to collecting data on the condition of the house - technical and functional.

Next, the wages of workers involved in carrying out the work (for example, a manager), prices for necessary materials, components, fuel, resources spent on work, taxes and other expenses are calculated.

Next, the costs of labor, materials, information about the house, taxes and other items are added up.

After this, the received amount is adjusted, modified and presented to the board for discussion.

You can find out about which objects of the local area and common property are on the balance sheet of the HOA, as well as who has the right to provide technical and other services to the HOA on our website.

Service Agreement

Having decided on an external resource supplier, each apartment owner enters into an individual service agreement with the HOA, including the provision of utilities. As part of this document, the property owner instructs the Partnership to:

• organize an uninterrupted supply of the required resources to the resident’s apartment;
• maintain the common areas of an apartment building in proper condition (you will find out what common areas are and what other areas should be serviced by the HOA in a separate material);
• carry out repairs and maintenance of in-house engineering systems.

In order to effectively organize the housing economy, the Partnership is obliged to build contractual relationships with all owners of the apartment building, including those who did not want to become members of the HOA.

The Partnership enters into a separate agreement with such residents, the subject of which is the provision and payment of utility services, as well as the procedure for interaction on issues of maintenance and repair of common property.

If you are just planning to start organizing an HOA or are already a member of it, the following articles from our experts may be useful to you:

• What is the principle of operation of the HOA and who is the chairman?
• What does bankruptcy of a partnership mean and how to carry out reorganization?

How do you pay for utilities?

Payment for utilities within a homeowners' association can be carried out in several ways, the specific choice of which is carried out at a general meeting of owners of premises in a building managed by such a legal entity.

Payment options to consider:

• non-cash payment for services received on the basis of an agreement with the partnership by transferring funds to special accounts, from which funds are subsequently transferred to resource supply organizations;
• payment for services by making the necessary payment using cash payments to the partnership cash desk;
• direct transfer of funds to the accounts of resource supply organizations based on the conclusion of a direct agreement between the consumer of certain public services and their suppliers.

If the transfer of funds for consumed resources and utilities is carried out to a resource-supplying organization through a homeowners’ association, the association, as a representative of the premises’ owners, is obliged to make all payments in a timely and efficient manner, and in the case of debts on the part of consumers, to carry out work aimed at repayment of such debts.

If the choice of the owners of premises in an apartment building fell on the HOA as an intermediary in the transfer of funds to resource supply organizations, special accounts must be opened in the partnership from which funds will be transferred to a specific supplier of utilities and resources. At the same time, in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation in the field of housing and communal services, the homeowners’ association does not have the right to redistribute the funds received (for example, funds that were paid for garbage removal by residents of the house cannot be transferred to electricity suppliers even if, according to article payments for electricity have accumulated a significant debt).

If the choice fell on the independent conclusion of contracts by the owners of premises with resource supply organizations, then a special procedure is provided for this option.

Where can I find out my personal account?

Personal account information is reflected in the receipt sent to the apartment owner to pay for services. The account number is located in the payment details field.

Also, the current account must be indicated in the service agreement mentioned above. If the required information is not found in the specified documents, contact the HOA office - this is the most reliable way to find out the personal account number.

Next, in the photo you can see a receipt for payment of utilities, where information about the personal account and other data is located.

How are utility bills paid?

The amount is written down in the receipt that homeowners receive every month.

The receipt is the main payment act for residents .

It confirms the right of the HOA to receive payment from apartment owners for the provided utilities (CS).

Associations of homeowners that provide services in the field of public utilities must indicate on the coupons they send the following indicators:

• name of the service provided;
• the amount required to be paid;
• volumes of resources used;
• tariff rates;
• consumption standards;
• details of the apartment owner;
• availability of benefits;
• the time period for which the payment was accrued;
• account number.

The procedure for paying for housing and communal services is prescribed in Article 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

According to the article, regular deposits of funds into the account of the management organization for the CG is the direct responsibility of the owners of property in an apartment building.

Article 155 of the Housing Code specifies the period during which payments must be made - monthly until the tenth day . You will also need to know the personal account number of the management organization, which is written on the receipt.

Sample agreement with HOA for the provision of utilities.

A sample claim from a homeowners association for the collection of utility bills.

Find out on our website how to determine which HOA is servicing your home, as well as how to complain about it or leave the community.

Methods and terms

In accordance with Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, payment for housing and communal services is made monthly until the 10th day of the month following the consumption of resources. At the same time, the term and procedure for payment may vary depending on decisions made at the general meeting of HOA members.

As for payment methods, their choice is almost unlimited and depends entirely on the personal preferences of a particular person. Some deposit cash directly into the HOA cash desk, some are used to paying receipts the old fashioned way through a post office or Sberbank window, while others find it more convenient to use modern technologies and make payments online without leaving home.

How to pay online?

There are a great many ways to pay for services through the global network. Today, any financial and credit institution has its own Internet banking, where each client can freely pay their expenses directly from a bank account or plastic card.

The following payment systems have become widespread among users:

1. Kiwi.
2. Webmoney.
3. Yandex money.

Each of them has its own bank and, at the client’s request, issues a plastic card, which can be used not only for payments on the Internet, but also at any point where non-cash payments are accepted.

Many resource providers offer users online accounts where they can transfer money to their personal account from any bank card.

Many users consider the GIS Housing and Communal Services payment service on the State Services portal to be the most convenient. It provides the ability to track the status of your bills in real time and pay them online. To do this you need:

1. register in the system through the government services portal and log into your personal account;
2. select the item “Pay utility bills on any personal account”;
3. in the window that opens, enter the payment parameters: select the service provider (if the provider is not found, try searching in the registry), his current account, then enter your personal account number, period, payment amount and click the “Next” button;
4. A confirmation page for payment parameters will open in a new window. Here you need to check the data and click on the “Pay” button;
5. Next, the system will redirect the payment to the Post Bank server, where you will need to enter your email address and select a payment method. At the moment, only plastic cards are available. Let's move on to payment;
6. enter your bank card details and complete the process;
7. the completed payment will be reflected in your personal account on the “Payment History” tab, and a notification from Post Bank will be sent to the specified email address.

The only disadvantage of this service is that not all service providers are yet represented on the portal. If you can’t pay all your bills through GIS Housing and Communal Services, it’s easier to use online banking.

You can pay any receipt through your bank’s personal account. After the first payment, you can save the transaction template and next time you will no longer have to enter the data manually.

Through the Internet

How to make HOA payments online?

If you don’t have time to come to the bank’s office in person, you can pay for utilities online.

To do this, you need to know the current account numbers of your homeowners association, namely such data as OGRN, INN .

If you have access to the Internet bank from your card, you can simply go into it and send funds in the amount indicated in the payment order to the bank account numbers indicated in the same payment order. Be sure to save the electronic receipt , or better yet, print it.

If you are making a payment for the first time and do not know whether the payment will go through within the established time frame, be sure to go to the homeowners association several days after payment and make sure that the payment has gone through .

You can find out how to register an HOA on the GIS Housing and Communal Services from our article.

Is it possible to pay for utilities yourself?

The procedure for payment for consumed goods in the Partnership is established by voting at the general meeting of its participants and is mandatory for all residents of the apartment building.

The owner of square meters cannot unilaterally refuse the services supplied to him, even if he does not actually need them. Since the resource supplier signs an agreement with the organization, and not with each of the homeowners, it is impossible to pay for utilities without going through the Partnership.

Features of a special account for major repairs

Major repairs of any building require the accumulation of significant funds. Opening a special account is precisely aimed at solving this problem.

What is it and why is it needed?

A special account for major repairs is a special account opened by the Partnership in a bank to raise funds for major repairs. Its main feature is that it is targeted, that is, the money accumulated on it can be spent only for its intended purpose.

Owners of living space should know that a special account allows for loans for the purpose of major repairs. This opportunity allows you not to wait to collect the required amount and carry out repair work in the near future.

The HOA administration can carry out the following types of expense transactions:

• transfer of funds to contractors for repair services provided;
• repayment of targeted loans and interest on them;
• transfer to another account with the consent of the apartment owners.

These restrictions allow ordinary members of the HOA not to worry that the collected funds will be spent on other purposes.

Is this fee required?

The feasibility of opening a special account for major repairs is submitted to the general meeting of homeowners, where each of them has the right to vote. The amount of contributions that will need to be paid monthly is also determined there. After the decisions made are documented, payments become binding for all owners of the apartment building.

How to deposit funds?

Ordinary HOA members are most concerned about the question of how the fees paid will be recorded? However, this is not a reason for concern, since the Partnership processes all funds received into the account through receipts, and the payer remains with a document with a mark of acceptance.

Since a special account for major repairs is opened in one of the existing banks, payment of contributions is made in standard ways - just like regular utility bills.