Contract for maintenance of gas equipment: features of choosing a gas company

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to hastily look for specialists to diagnose or repair gas equipment? Agree, it is not entirely convenient to spend time searching for a suitable organization every time, especially when it comes to a serious breakdown in the gas system.

The only sure way out is to conclude a contract for the maintenance of gas equipment with a gas supply company. But not every specialized organization providing gas equipment maintenance services has a reputation as a reliable company.

We have identified the main selection criteria, on the basis of which you can enter into an agreement with qualified specialists. But first, it’s worth understanding what is included in the concept of maintenance, who carries it out, and what the payment for the service is for the population.

Why is it necessary to conclude an agreement?

Today, concluding a contract for servicing the gas system and appliances is a mandatory procedure for every citizen of the Russian Federation.

The agreement between the client and the specialized company providing gas supply services implies systematic inspections of gas equipment inside the apartment.

Even at the slightest smell of gas, it is important to urgently contact the emergency dispatch service with a request to turn off the gas in a particular house

This allows you to timely detect a breakdown, for example, of a gas stove, and thereby prevent an emergency.Most emergencies occur due to a malfunction of gas equipment inside the apartment.

According to the law, the homeowner is required to sign an agreement for repairs and maintenance of gas equipment, regardless of whether he lives in it or not. Every homeowner is obliged to do this, because even if one of them does not conclude an agreement, there will be no guarantee of safety for all residents of the house.

Untimely diagnosis or repair of gas equipment often causes serious malfunctions in the system to be ignored, which can lead to catastrophic consequences for all residents of the house. A signed agreement with each apartment owner is a guarantee of serviceable equipment located in it.

We will help you choose a reliable company, cooperation with which will provide you with maximum safety when using gas equipment.

Classification of gas equipment

The organization with which the home owner enters into an agreement carries out all types of equipment maintenance work inside the apartment building. All gas equipment can be divided into two parts.

In-house gas equipment (VDGO). Includes facade gas pipelines and risers with taps located in the entrances. House management companies are responsible for the safety of VDGOs, and they independently enter into maintenance agreements with specialized organizations.

Residents of the house do not bear any responsibility for in-house gas equipment.

In this case, the contract for maintenance of in-house gas equipment is concluded between the house management company and a specialized organization

Indoor gas equipment (VKGO). This includes all gas-using equipment located inside the apartment: pipelines, stoves and water heating columns, boilers. According to the law, the owner of the apartment premises or the tenant is responsible for the technical condition of the VKGO.

Residents of an apartment building are required to enter into an agreement with a specialized company. Payment for all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance work is borne by the owner of the apartment, who is responsible for the safety of the installed equipment in the apartment.

If previously the cost of servicing gas appliances was included in the price of gas, today payment for this service is made to the account of a specialized organization.

What is included in equipment maintenance?

The VKGO inspection is carried out by a specialized company, with which the homeowner enters into an agreement for the maintenance of gas-using equipment.

The list of responsibilities of specialists from the authorized organization includes the following:

• visual inspection of gas equipment, including the gas pipeline and its fastenings;
• checking the tightness of pipeline connections and cranes using soap emulsion or special equipment;
• adjusting the process of igniting the burners to identify a malfunction in the system, mechanically cleaning the burners from contaminants;
• checking the performance of gas appliances, adjusting and lubricating devices designed to automatically turn off gas at the slightest deviation in the operation of the equipment;
• turning on the equipment for gas pressure checks and the presence of air impurities in the pipeline;
• checking for traction in ventilation ducts, inspection of connecting pipes with a smoke duct;
• providing instructions on the safe operation of gas appliances at home.

If the gas equipment has a service life of no more than 15 years, a scheduled inspection by the company’s specialists is carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements. If there are no requirements, it is recommended to carry out maintenance at least once every 3 years.

If an equipment malfunction is detected, it is recommended to call a technician, but under no circumstances carry out repair work yourself.

When using gas-using equipment for more than 15 years, inspection is carried out once a year.

The VKGO list includes the following gas appliances:

• household stoves;
• heating boilers;
• water heaters;
• part of the wiring;
• fastenings, shut-off valves.

The apartment owner is obliged to independently monitor the condition of the apartment equipment.

If a malfunction is detected, he is obliged to contact the gas equipment maintenance company and pay for all repair work.

How to choose the right company?

A contract for the maintenance of gas-using equipment can be concluded with any specialized organization, for example, Gorgaz, which provides gas equipment maintenance services.

Without a certification notice, the employee does not have the right to begin performing his duties, so he is obliged to present the relevant document to the client

If you have not yet decided which gas company is best to conclude a contract for VKGO, it will be useful for you to know that all work can only be carried out by specialized enterprises.

Before concluding a contract, it is important to make sure that the company is in the register of notifications of the start of maintenance activities in your region.

There are two mandatory requirements for specialized enterprises:

1. The organization must include a dispatch service that can be contacted at any time of the day.
2. Company employees are required to undergo certification in a timely manner and, based on its results, receive a work permit.

Huge competition forces many companies to offer their clients various tricks that allow them to stand out from similar organizations.

Therefore, before signing an agreement, it is important to carefully read its contents so as not to become a client of an incompetent company.

Conclusion of a maintenance contract

If you have decided on the choice of a gas company and are confident in its reliability, then you will then need to enter into an agreement for regular maintenance of indoor equipment. The procedure for signing an agreement is carried out in several stages.

This procedure is included in the list of the company’s main services specified in the equipment maintenance agreement, and is therefore mandatory.

Company employees conduct a conversation with each resident on the rules for the safe use of gas appliances, after which he receives a subscription book at his place of residence. It records all gas appliances installed in the apartment, and also notes the completion of instructions, inspections and repair work.

The archive will need to verify the compliance of the existing equipment with the registered list at the gas distribution company. It is at this stage that many residents have the greatest problems, since many of them independently replaced and repaired gas equipment, which is illegal.

Due to untimely re-registration of gas equipment, customers are often faced with a discrepancy between the installed equipment and the entries in the subscriber book.

Next, a maintenance contract is concluded between the home owner and the specialized company. To do this, a resident of a multi-storey building will need to have a passport and documents for housing.

The contract is concluded for at least 3 years. The performing organization must inspect the equipment once a year, and based on the results of the work performed, the client is issued a corresponding certificate.

Only a qualified specialist can install gas equipment correctly without unforeseen consequences, so you should not try to do this yourself

Concluding an agreement with a gas company is a mandatory procedure for every homeowner. This is necessary to ensure safety during the operation of gas appliances for all residents.

When choosing a reliable company, it is important to pay attention to the presence of a document confirming the successful completion of certification by the organization’s employees, and also to make sure that the staff includes an emergency dispatch service.

Rights and obligations of the parties

Before signing the contract, the client should carefully study each clause of the agreement in order to clearly understand the rights and obligations of both parties.

First, you should consider the direct responsibilities of the company, which is included in the contract for servicing gas equipment:

• provision of all services specified in the contract;
• bearing direct responsibility for the quality of work performed;
• 24-hour acceptance of requests for emergencies by service employees;
• mobilization of employees and residents of the building in case of force majeure situations;
• ensuring employees complete courses on time.

In case of violation of the obligations specified in the contract, the contractor is responsible for the discrepancy in the quality of the services provided, losses and harm caused to the customer during the execution of the work. The Contractor is obliged to fully compensate the customer for all losses incurred.

To begin cooperation with a specific organization, the apartment owner will need to carefully study each clause of the contract in order to clearly understand the rights and obligations of both parties

Before signing the contract, the subscriber will need to contact the office of the gas organization with an application and provide all the necessary information about the indoor equipment. The final stage is the signing of an agreement for a period of 3 years, while during the period of validity of the agreement the contractor does not have the right to increase the cost of the services provided.

In turn, the gas company is authorized to: provide the client with a certificate of technical service provided, and also demand from the customer timely payment for the work performed.

Before signing an agreement with the first company you like, it is important to pay attention to its reputation, including how long it has been in existence and its pricing policy. The suspiciously low cost of the services provided becomes a lure for many clients, which is why the quality of the work performed often suffers.

When concluding a contract, the homeowner has the right to request an appendix to the document, which contains a list of the work being carried out.If the contractor fails to fulfill the obligations specified in the agreement, the client has the right not to sign the act and contact the gas company with a claim. Payment for maintenance of gas equipment is made only after signing the act.

The customer's responsibilities include the following conditions:

• adhere to safety rules when using gas appliances;
• do not interfere with the organization’s employees accessing gas equipment;
• promptly notify services about the need to turn off the gas;
• do not repair or dismantle gas systems yourself;
• pay bills for work performed on time.

The homeowner must sign an agreement with any specialized organization that provides gas equipment maintenance services.

This guarantees the proper operation of gas appliances inside the apartment, which ensures the safety of each resident of the house.

You should not try to fix the gas leak problem yourself, but it is important to react quickly and call the gas company’s emergency dispatch service

In the event of an emergency, the owner of the apartment is obliged to notify the emergency dispatch service. Ignoring the fact of a gas leak puts all residents of a multi-story building at risk, and entails catastrophic consequences.

Thus, the customer has the right to leave requests by calling the emergency service at any time of the day and request additional work to improve the condition of the equipment.

Both parties are required to adhere to the listed rules provided for in a written agreement.Otherwise, the contract provides for liability that will be borne by the party that violated the established rules.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

You can find out more detailed information about why it is important to conclude a contract for gas equipment in the video:

The consequences of late conclusion of a contract can be drastic:

Every resident of a multi-storey building is obliged to enter into a gas contract, even if he doubts whether this is necessary. By signing an agreement with a specialized maintenance organization, you will be confident in the safe operation of gas appliances in your apartment. In addition, in the event of an emergency, you will not have to worry about whether the gas company workers will arrive on time.

If you have already entered into an agreement with a specialized company, you can share your experience in the feedback form below. Ask your questions in the comments to the article and get a lot of useful information from our experts.