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Residents' rights
Citizens have the right to demand restoration of lighting in the entrance where they live from their own management company, since such an action is its direct responsibility.
The management of apartment buildings is currently carried out by specialized organizations called management companies, or associations of residents called homeowners' associations.
A special agreement is concluded between the management company and all owners of residential premises or tenants under a social tenancy agreement living in the house. To conclude it, there is no need for the signature of each apartment owner.
According to this document, each owner or tenant of residential premises is obliged to pay money to the organization, and it, in turn, must keep the common property of the house in proper condition, that is, monitor the entrance, roof, pipes, electrical wiring and other elements that are found in all apartment buildings . These responsibilities also include maintaining normal lighting in the entrances.
Where to go if the light in the entrance does not work?
Troubleshooting lighting problems is the responsibility of management companies and homeowners associations.
Therefore, if there is no light in the stairwells, you should feel free to call these organizations.
Residents can submit an application for repair work by telephone, through a communication system with a dispatcher, or by contacting them in person.
Many people do not know where to find the number to call when there is no light at the entrance. Typically, utility bills indicate the telephone number of the dispatcher or emergency service. In addition, such information can be placed on stands at the entrance.
Homeowners' associations respond to residents' complaints faster than management companies, which manage a huge number of houses. In any case, on the day the application is received it must be considered. The next day, the organization to which the request was sent to eliminate the lighting faults is obliged to take measures to eliminate it.
Often, as a result of the inspection, it becomes clear that it will not be possible to quickly eliminate the malfunction. There may be several reasons for this: lack of required parts, the need for lengthy and complex repairs.
In such situations, the management company or homeowners association must inform the applicant about the progress of troubleshooting.
Where to contact
There are many reasons why the lights in the entrance may go out, and residents do not always understand who is to blame for this and what could lead to this outcome. Employees of the management company do not visit the house every day, so the best solution for residents would be to call the company on their own if the lights in the entrance go out and tell them about the problem.
You can easily find the phone number of a service organization, since all the necessary information is located in the receipts that arrive every month to pay for utilities.
According to current legislation, the management company is obliged to promptly correct all problems in the apartment building it maintains; therefore, after receiving a report of a lack of lighting, measures must be taken to restore it within a short time.
To do this, the organization must have appropriate employees on staff, or a special agreement can be drawn up with the emergency service. The telephone number by which you can call specialists is located on the receipt, and can also be found in the office of the management company.
Remember! If you cannot find the emergency number, it is better to call the service company, where you can accurately find out any telephone number you are interested in. Another option is to independently dial the emergency service itself, where you can find out whether they are servicing a particular house or not.
However, the latter option will require a lot of time, which may not be suitable for everyone.
The only effective step that residents of the house can take is to call the management company or emergency service. Further steps must be taken by these organizations. At the same time, the responsibilities of any management company include independent regular monitoring of the availability of lighting in the entrance, as well as the elimination of all difficulties that arise.
Putin signed a law simplifying the receipt of benefits for housing and communal services.
What housing and communal services repair in an apartment for free, read here.
How to pay off debt for utilities, read the link:
If there is no light in the Entrance, where to call
The question immediately arises: if the light in the entrance is not on, who should I call? To answer it, carefully study the management receipt. By law, the management company must eliminate technical faults in an apartment building. To do this, she either must have her own craftsmen or have an agreement with the emergency service. The telephone number of the management company master (or at least the reception desk) and the emergency service telephone number must be written on the receipt (the management company is obliged to do this).
In the text of your appeal (complaint, statement), you must state the circumstances of the problem that has arisen (what you know) and ask for repair work to be carried out.
How to achieve your goal and what to do if things don’t work out well? (read more…)
If the light is not on due to non-payment
As a rule, the tenant pays for electricity twice. The first time is for electricity spent in your own apartment, the second time is for electricity spent on general household needs. In different regions, the mechanism for collecting payments for common household needs (general household needs) is carried out differently.
Somewhere people pay for electricity in the entrances directly to the resource supply company. This method sometimes does not fully comply with legal norms. But options to make it look legitimate exist, and organizations are taking advantage of them.
In some regions, the collection of money for ODN is carried out by the management companies themselves, and only after that they pay the energy companies.
In both cases, it should be remembered that turning off electricity at the entrance due to incomplete payment is unlawful.
It is enough that there is at least one tenant who has paid the ODN bill for organizations to be obliged to provide electricity. Each resident citizen has his own relationship with the management company or the company that provides electricity.
Where to begin? Where to call?
In both cases, remember that turning off the lights in the entrance due to not 100% payment is illegal .
It is enough that there is at least one tenant who has paid the bills under ODN, so that the company (UK or Energosbyt) is obliged to provide energy supply. Each resident has their own relationship with the management company or energy company. If a person pays, he must receive the paid service. Neighbors not paying on time is a problem for Energosbyt or the Management Company, but not for the residents. If you don’t know the telephone number of the repairman or the emergency service, try to at least call the reception desk of the management company, or call the emergency services you know and find out if they are servicing your home.
Technical reasons
In accordance with Federal Law No. 261-FZ dated November 23, 2009, the energy company supplies electricity to a specific house. The further fate of electricity is already a problem for the management company or HOA.
Article 161 of the Housing Code states that common property must be in a condition that can ensure the safety of life and health, accessible use of common premises and the constant readiness of engineering and communication networks (water pipes, sewer network, electrical networks, etc.). The lack of lighting in entrances due to technical problems contradicts all three categories.
At the same time, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 13, 2006 N 491 (this regulatory act establishes the mechanism for the operation of management companies and homeowners' associations) and its annexes declare that minor repairs of electrical appliances and maintaining the electrical wiring of the house in working condition are the responsibility of the organization that services house. Therefore, the lighting in the entrance must work, and the management company must control this.
Watch the video. How to make a management company work:
Reasons for the lack of light in the entrance
If the reason for the lack of lighting in the staircases is a burnt out light bulb or minor malfunctions, the management company usually solves the problems quite quickly.
However, there are often cases when you have to call repeatedly, and in response to a request about the lack of light, the tenant hears that it is impossible to fix the problem.
In this case, the following circumstances are most often cited:
- technical wiring faults;
- failure to pay a debt to an energy company.
It is important to understand that even in these situations, the management company is obliged to take all measures to restore lighting.
The organization servicing the house is obliged to eliminate various types of technical faults independently. The power supply company only supplies electricity to the home itself. All problems with wiring and other faults inside it fall on the shoulders of the management company.
Therefore, such an explanation for the lack of coverage is not legitimate.
The second reason given is also incorrect. Criminal codes can refer to a large number of debtors. But, most likely, it was she who did not transfer the necessary money to Energosbyt.
Residents should know: even if only one tenant regularly pays the bills, there should be light in the entrance. After all, for his money he has the right to receive a quality service. The fight against debtors does not concern him at all. This is only a problem for the management company.
Recording requests
Companies serving the house are required to keep special logs of applications. This facilitates the prompt elimination of faults and damage, and also allows you to control the quality of the services provided.
The period for correcting problems is seven days from the moment a complaint about a malfunction is received. The management organization is responsible for the maintenance of the property, which includes the electrification of the entrances.
If a light bulb in a hallway burns out, the company must replace it. Elimination of such a problem can be carried out as part of a scheduled inspection or at the request of citizens living in the entrance. If such work is not carried out within the established time, this is considered a violation.
Important! In case of such inaction, the service organization can be held administratively liable. In such a situation, a fine of four to five thousand rubles may be imposed on officials; for legal entities it will be from forty to fifty thousand rubles.
Self-replacement
A situation often occurs that residents of houses do not even think about who is responsible for replacing the light bulbs. Because of this, they do such work in-house, although in such cases they should contact a service company. Citizens living in the house are interested in keeping the entrances clean and bright.
Some people simply don’t want to waste time arguing with the management company. In this case, the light bulbs are replaced independently.
If a light bulb burns out frequently, your neighbors may start changing it one by one. However, all these steps are unnecessary.
It must be remembered that every month residents pay for the maintenance of the house, and the replacement of light bulbs is included in the list of services provided.
That is, the service organization must:
- carry out periodic scheduled inspections, eliminate the slightest problems with lighting. In particular, replacing light bulbs;
- troubleshoot electrical appliances.
If the application remains unanswered
Often, citizens living in houses have to deal with situations where the management company does not respond to their requests. She ignores messages and calls from residents of the apartments of the building she is obliged to service. What should residents do in this case?
You can complain to the following institutions:
- to the court;
- to specialized government bodies (Housing Inspectorate);
- to supervisory authorities (Prosecutor's Office).
Please note! You should contact these institutions only after a claim has been sent to the service organization, and no response has been received, and no action has been taken on its part.
If there is no light on the staircase, where to turn?
Free consultation by phone: +7 (499) 495-49-41 Contents If it is not possible to find the emergency service number, then it is best to call directly to the Criminal Code, where you can find out absolutely any phone number. Another option is to call all available emergency services, where you can find out whether they serve a particular house or not. However, the latter option involves spending quite a lot of time, which is not always considered suitable.
The only action that residents of a particular house can take is to call the management company or emergency service.
Further activities should be carried out by these organizations. At the same time, the official responsibility of any management company is to independently regularly check the presence of light in the entrance, as well as eliminate all emerging problems or problems. The result can be quite serious injury.
Complaint to the Criminal Code
To begin with, if you find problems with the light in the entrance, you need to send a complaint to your management company. It should indicate the residents’ demand to return the lighting, and even if it is clear that the company simply will not pay attention to this complaint, it still needs to be drawn up and sent.
In this case, it will be possible to confirm at a court hearing that the company is irresponsible, and even the complaints sent by the residents are not able to move them to action - fixing the lighting.
Such an appeal must be documented, otherwise it will not have any effect. There are two effective ways to do this.
Contacting supervisory authorities
If the service organization does not want to fulfill its obligations, then it can be brought to administrative responsibility, so after the period for voluntary correction of the situation has passed, you can safely contact the supervisory authorities.
The sad fact is that many people simply have no idea where to turn. In such situations, you first need to contact the State Housing Inspectorate, as well as Rospotrebnadzor.
ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample complaint against the Criminal Code in the State Housing Property Inspectorate:
The procedure here is as follows:
- make an application;
- send it to the institution in person or by registered mail;
- wait for the period allotted for consideration of complaints (one month).
Contacting such institutions if there is no lighting at the entrance is only necessary as an additional measure. You should not assume that the Housing Inspectorate or Rospotrebnadzor will instantly solve the problem.
ATTENTION! Look at the completed sample complaint to Rospotrebnadzor against the Criminal Code:
What to do if the application is not completed?
If the service organization does not change the lamps, you should not screw them in yourself, because this is not your responsibility. The dispatcher’s task is to receive the application, as well as control that the information reaches the master.
In some cases, it is the dispatcher who monitors the execution of requests. The deadlines should not exceed one calendar week.
Situations often occur when the owners of residential premises are forced to call the property manager several times and remind them of their problem.
ATTENTION! It also happens that during an inspection it turns out that the problem cannot be promptly eliminated. The reasons may be the lack of necessary parts or the need for complex repairs.
If the work is not performed, then the organization can be brought to administrative responsibility . That is why you can wait until the deadline for fulfilling obligations has passed, and then contact the supervisory authorities .
The problem is that many people simply do not know where to turn. The State Housing Inspectorate is engaged in similar work ; you can also contact Rospotrebnadzor .
Your actions should be as follows:
- Drawing up an application.
- Sending to the supervisory authorities, you can do this in person, or send the application by registered mail.
- It takes a month to consider the complaint.
- Within one and a half months, the utility service is obliged to carry out the appropriate work.
If after the appeal the situation has not changed, the light has not appeared, then you can sue the Criminal Code . In this case, it would not be superfluous to write a statement to the prosecutor’s office.
