A threat is difficult to implement, especially during a war.
alt=”ZhEKs threaten to disconnect debtors from heating: is it legal” />
Organizations for home maintenance began to warn users that if there are large debts, then heating may be disconnected. At the same time, during the war, the debts of Ukrainians for housing and communal services exceeded UAH 100 billion, writes Focus. of high-rise buildings, an announcement appeared with a warning about possible restrictions or termination of heat supply to consumers. Allegedly, the heating will be turned on in the heating period of 2022-2023 only if the debt is paid.
“In the above-mentioned building, the total amount of debt as of September 2022 was about UAH 130,000. Only a few apartments have accumulated debt — less than 10% of the total number. ZhBK offers debtors to compromise — sign a debt restructuring agreement. However, it is not possible to establish contact with some of the residents of the building,” the publication writes.
The head of the housing company warned that if the debtors do not repay the debt or refuse to restructure by the end of the month, he will have to sign a contract with The center of the communal service about debt collection through the court.
Can they disconnect the heat from the house because of debts?
In case of arrears, the house may not have heating, although the legislation does not require timely payment from end consumers. However, demands for timely payment for gas are put forward by NJSC “Naftogaz”, and in the presence of debt, NJSC simply will not give gas to the Thermal Commune Energy (TKE).
However, a subsidy from the local budget, which compensates non-payments of the population, can be a solution to the problem of connecting heat. In this case, regardless of the payment discipline, the house will be warm. But the “poorer” cities do not have such an opportunity for subsidies to the population.
How real is the disconnection of the house from heat?
A number of experts exclude the use of such a measure of influence as disconnection of the heating of the house for debts of many thousands. Here, everything depends on the level of courage of the housing association (HOB), because not to turn on the heat is to violate the order of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Experts believe that the warning about turning off the heat is mostly connected with the self-governance of the managers of some condominiums, housing complexes, who want to influence debtors in this way. After all, utility companies do not have the right to turn off the heat for debts.
So, in winter, houses with malicious defaulters who never settle their debts do not expect anything catastrophic — at most, the process of connecting to heat will be delayed until mid-November or even later.
Fines and penalties
Furthermore, due to the state of war in Ukraine, it is prohibited to charge and collect penalties (fines , penalty) for arrears for housing and communal services, reduction/stoppage of provision of housing and communal services to the population in case of non-payment or payment in full.
Read also: Preparation for winter: seven ways to insulate the house and pay less for heating
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