Who changes the counter on the staircase - CC or tenants?

The electricity meters should be replaced regularly. But when the deadline is approaching, the owners are often not ready for this procedure. Especially it concerns tenants of houses, counters in which are located not in an apartment. In this case, the question arises - who is the replacement of the counter on the landing. The parties, relying on legislation, treat it differently. Of course, trying to turn the letter of the law in your favor. The only correct answer is the replacement of the management company. But how can this be proved?

Reasons for replacing

First of all, we will establish the reasons, which may be associated with the need to replace the counter.

1. Expiration of the meter. The period is set by the manufacturer and must be indicated on the box. On average, it is from twenty-five to thirty-two years. In addition, one should be aware of a phenomenon such as an "inter-verification interval".This is the frequency of the test, which is indicated in the passport of the device. It is six to sixteen years old.
2. After some time after installation of the meter, a check is necessary. If you do not implement it within two years after the deadline, the device will also have to be replaced.
3. Counter failure. If the malfunction appeared without anyone interfering, and it happened during the warranty period, the manufacturer will have to pay for the replacement or repair of the device.
4. Another reason for the replacement is the mismatch between the device and the requirements. In 2012, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution that established a new requirement for devices that record electricity. In accordance with this resolution, their accuracy class should be at least 2.5.On older devices, this figure can be lower than two. However, you can not rush to replace. The law allows you to wait until the end of work.
5. Planned update of metering devices. This procedure is carried out on the initiative of the energy sales company, so in this case there is no question of who is responsible for its implementation.

Board

If you do not have a passport on the counter, you can find out the term of its operation in another way. It is indicated on the panel itself under the glass.

Normative base

Before talking about those who must change the counter, we will define the range of normative documents that regulate this issue.

1. Civil Code. Namely - point 2 of article 543. It says that the power supply company is responsible for ensuring the operation of devices that record electricity for citizens who use energy for domestic needs.
2. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 04.05.2012 No. 442 "On the functioning of retail electricity markets, full and( or) partial restriction of the electricity consumption regime".This normative legal act establishes the basic requirements that determine the characteristics of metering devices.
3. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006, No. 491( as amended on February 27, 2017) "On approval of the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building and the rules for changing the amount of payment for the maintenance of a dwelling in the case of rendering services and performing management, maintenance andrepair of common property in an apartment building of inadequate quality and( or) with interruptions exceeding the prescribed duration. "

Common property of the house

The last document explains what is included in the common property of the house. According to point 7, it includes an in-house power supply system. It includes:

• protection, control and management equipment;
• intercom devices;
• fire protection system;
• floor plates and cabinets;
• electrical installation of smoke removal systems;
• elevators, both cargo and passenger;
• collective( common-house) devices of the account of electric energy;
• networks( cables) from the external boundary to individual, common( apartment) metering devices of electric energy;
• is another electrical equipment located on these networks.

Who carries out the replacement of

The question of how to understand the provision of the law is controversial.

Management companies often refuse to recognize meters that are outside the apartment, house ownership. In their opinion, the determining criterion is how many rooms the device serves. To this common household property, from this point of view, they refer only devices that serve more than one apartment. And their location does not matter, even if this counter is on the landing. Therefore, the power sales company is responsible for replacing the meter with the tenants themselves. The payment of the procedure, in their opinion, should also be carried out by the apartment owners.

Lawyers also believe that the location of the equipment is of prime importance. According to this theory, the meter, when it is located on the staircase, can not be attributed to the property of the owners of apartments. It is included in the mass of common property.

If, on the basis of the legislation, you could convince the management company to be right, this does not mean that the care of the maintenance of the meters can be shifted to her shoulders. Next, you need to review the contract entered into with the company. It is he who determines what works are carried out in each particular situation. It also specifies whether the replacement will be carried out at the expense of levied payments or for this it is necessary to collect additional money from the owners. The decision on how to collect the tenants take their own.

If the apartment is not privatized

If the apartment is not in your property, since you did not privatize it, then in this case there should not be any disputes. And when it was not possible to prove that the meter belongs to the common property, you are not responsible for replacing the old electricity meter with a new one. However, the municipality has the opportunity to evade this concern, because the law does not establish the duty to implement it. In this case, the tenant will have to update the device himself.

How payments are made

As it was said above, in order to find out who pays for the replacement of the electricity meter in the entrance, it is necessary to study the contract that was concluded between the tenants and the management company. If it does not provide otherwise, such works are related to general household needs. This is the same line in the receipt for payment of electricity, which causes frequent disputes and discontent of tenants.

If the contract clearly states that the meter is on site, so it does not belong to the property of the tenants, the management company does not have the ability to transfer to you the duty to pay for the work associated with the replacement of the meter.

Procedure for

When the replacement time arrives, contact the customer service department of the management company. There you will be explained in detail what data should be provided to the organization. Further actions necessary to replace the electricity meter with a new one or repair the old one are carried out by the management company. It is connected with the energy sales, and they already have to carry out a replacement.

During installation, the correctness of the procedure must be checked. Specialists should ensure that the meter is functioning properly. After that, the staff protects him with a lead seal. Such measures are necessary in order to protect the device from dishonest tenants. Previously, they often opened the device on their own to deceive the company and pay less for the services they received. Only representatives of the energy supply have the right to remove this protection, when they check or change the meter.

Of course, the seal is not a 100% guarantee of protection against hacking. Unauthorized people with access to the entrance may damage the appliance, which is located outside the apartment. After finding a breakdown, immediately contact the management company for replacement or repair. Otherwise, at the next check, you can be accused of hacking. And this is fraught with negative consequences.

If the company abandoned the work of

Unfortunately, not always the management company is ready to work on updating accounting devices. They even go for some tricks. From the contract concluded between the company and the tenants, simply removes the point, which says about who changes the meter. Owners of apartments can apply to the court, but it is almost impossible to prove something after the contract is already concluded. In this case, the replacement will have to be done on their own. For this you need to go through several stages.

1. Contact the power sales company. They will explain to you exactly which types of counters and their characteristics are acceptable. Companies take readings only those devices that meet the new standards.
2. Buy the meter itself.
3. To contact energy supply again. He will check the conformity and serviceability of the meter, and also put it on the register.
4. Invite a specialist who will install the device and the seal. You can send a request to the above organization, and they will offer the services of their employees.
5. The meter can also be installed by the owners. To do this, you need to contact the electricity supplier and pay the state fee. Sealing in any case should be carried out by a specialist.

Refusal to replace

The devices must be changed within the specified time. But the refusal of the procedure does not entail legal responsibility. However, the meter readings, the time of operation of which expired, does not accept power sales. Therefore, you will have to pay for the service according to specifications, as it was before the appearance of meters. And this is much less profitable.