Pgs Yarthe utility bill without mysteries: a resident's guide

An independent guide to housing and utility charges. It is not a management company, billing centre or public body and has no connection to the former website on this domain.

Terms

Terms

Bills and replies from management companies are written in a language of their own, where ordinary things get long, official names. That makes it hard for residents to understand what is meant, and harder still to ask a precise question. This glossary puts the key terms into everyday language so you can recognise them in documents and use them confidently in your own enquiries.

The right word in a written request saves correspondence. "Please recalculate the charges for the billing period" gets an answer faster than "everything on my bill is wrong".

— Editor's note

The definitions are simplified and meant as a guide to reading the bill. The precise legal meaning of these terms is set by the Russian Housing Code, the Russian Rules for the Provision of Utility Services and your contract. If a document uses a term in an unusual way, ask for a written explanation. Rules and terms differ in other countries, so readers elsewhere should check their own rules.

The bill

Personal account
The record to which the charges and payments for a particular property are linked. Its number is printed on the bill and is needed when paying, submitting readings and making any enquiry.
Billing period
The period the charges are for, usually a calendar month. It is shown separately on the bill and may not match the month in which the document is delivered.
Charge
The amount the organisation has calculated for a service in the billing period. A charge does not yet take your payments or arrears into account; those appear on other lines.
Arrears
The unpaid part of charges for past periods. It is usually carried over to the next bill as a separate line and increases the total due.
Recalculation
A change, up or down, to a charge already made. It happens, for example, after a temporary absence, when a service was of poor quality or when an error is corrected; as a rule, it starts with a request from the resident.
Single payment document
A bill that brings together charges for several services at once, sometimes from several providers. Its purpose is to spare residents a pile of separate papers.

Metering

Individual meter
A meter that measures consumption in a single flat or other unit: water, electricity, gas and sometimes heat.
Communal building meter
A meter that measures how much of a resource enters the whole building. Its readings are used to calculate charges for resources used in maintaining the common property.
Readings
The figures a meter shows on a given date. The difference between the readings at the start and end of a period is your consumption.
Consumption standard
A set volume of resource consumption that applies where there is no meter. Under Article 157 of the Russian Housing Code, the charge is then calculated from consumption standards.
Verification
A check of a meter's accuracy carried out by an authorised organisation. A document is usually issued afterwards; without valid verification, readings may not be accepted.

Who is who

Management company
A company that services a block of flats under a contract with the owners and usually answers residents' questions about charges and service quality.
Utility provider
The supplier of water, heat, electricity or gas. In some buildings it bills residents directly.
Billing centre
An organisation that calculates charges and produces bills on behalf of the management company or utility provider. It usually does not decide disputed charges itself.
Housing inspectorate
The regional state housing supervision authority. Residents turn to it when the management company does not reply to written enquiries or breaks the billing rules.
  • Basics

    The parts of a utility bill: payer and account number, billing period, services, volume, amount charged and total due, plus the legal payment deadline.

  • Documents

    Which utility payment papers to keep and why, how billing by meter differs from billing by consumption standard, and why proof of payment is worth keeping.

  • FAQ

    Short answers to common questions about the utility bill, meters, disputed charges and arrears on housing and utility payments, based on Russian law.

Sources

  • Housing Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 155 and 157
  • Rules for the Provision of Utility Services (Russian Government Resolution No. 354 of 6 May 2011)
  • GIS ZhKKh, the state housing and utilities information system (dom.gosuslugi.ru): reference materials

These materials are based on the Russian Housing Code and the Russian Rules for the Provision of Utility Services. Deadlines, billing methods and tariffs for a particular building also depend on the management contract, decisions of the general meeting and regional regulations, so check important questions against official sources and your own documents. Rules differ in other countries: if you live elsewhere, check the rules that apply to you.