Last Sunday, the rules of the game changed
On June 9, a law came into force that increased fines for public utilities for poorly provided housing and communal services (HCS) from 10 thousand rubles. up to 100 thousand rubles. According to experts, the changes are overdue. Yes, and fines alone will not be able to restore order in public utilities.
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Just last week, the punishment for turning off light and heat and supplying dirty water to unscrupulous resource supply organizations was, one might say, symbolic. For violation of the normative level or regime for providing the population with public utilities, managers of management companies, homeowners' associations, housing cooperatives, and resource suppliers were fined in the amount of 500 rubles or more. up to 1 thousand rubles, and for legal entities — from 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles.
Last Sunday the rules of the game changed thanks to amendments to Art. 7.23 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences. According to the new norms, a two-stage punishment system is introduced. For the first violation, a fine is provided for officials — 10 thousand rubles, and for legal entities — up to 50 thousand rubles. In case of repeated violation, the official will be fined three times more — 30 thousand rubles. The size of the fine for a legal entity will double — up to 100 thousand rubles.
According to deputies, the new sanctions will ensure maximum protection of consumer rights, as well as improve the quality of provided utility services.
Expert of the project “People's Front. Analytics» Pavel Sklyanchuk does not share the optimism of the deputies. Firstly, in his opinion, the changes are late: the previous amount of fines was established 17 years ago. In fact, the authors of the bill only increased the amount of fines for the inflation that has “accumulated” over the years. Secondly, the fines that will be issued to public utilities will go to state revenue. Consumers will not directly benefit from this innovation. “At one time, the Housing Code of the Russian Federation had a norm — fines in favor of the consumer, when money for poor quality of utility services was returned to the citizens on account of the next payment periods. That is, they decreased proportionally for services not provided or poorly provided.
In the analyst's opinion, the approach of rectifying the situation with a large number of fines for utility companies is unlikely to work. The fact is that a wave of fines can bring any resource supplier or management company to bankruptcy. «Obviously, utility companies or management company managers will try to withdraw any fine from current operating expenses. It is unlikely that the CEO will reduce his salary or bonus,» Sklyanchuk explained.
The latest sociological surveys indicate that the situation on the national utility market is far from ideal. “In the first quarter of 2024, accidents in heating networks and deterioration of housing and communal services infrastructure entered the top 3 main concerns of Russians,” said the press service of the KROS company, experts who compiled a rating of concerns in the Russian Federation. As an expert of the project “People's Front” told MK. Analytics” Pavel Sklyanchuk, most often Russians complain about heat supply, starting from the size of the payment (in utility bills this is the most expensive service), ending with the fact that the apartment is either too cold or too hot. In second place by the number of complaints are water utilities, in third place are management companies that provide poor service for garbage collection in residential complexes and entrances.
According to Sklyanchuk, a large line of supervisory authorities has been created in the Russian Federation. Citizens who have received poor-quality utility services, in addition to their Criminal Code, can complain to the housing inspection, Rospotrebnadzor, Rostechnadzor (if there are problems with high-risk equipment, including elevators, gas stoves and networks). “But the most effective authority, as practice shows, is the prosecutor’s office, which monitors the implementation of legislation in the housing and communal services sector. Every year, at the collegium of the Prosecutor General’s Office, its employees report on the number of criminal cases initiated,” the analyst concluded.