Gas shutdown in an apartment building: what to do if there is no gas supply

Sudden gas outages rarely occur in apartment buildings, but the issue is still relevant today.When this happens, the problem is very stressful for residents. After all, everyone has some chores to do around the house, including: cooking, heating water, etc. People start to worry because they don't know the situation. They are interested in questions about why there is no gas supply and how to act in such a situation.

If you don’t have gas in your house, you can find out the reason for the outage by calling 104 or 112. The gas supply company’s dispatcher will answer all your questions, you will even find out how long there will be no blue fuel at your address. But this is true in the case when scheduled work is being carried out in your house, but if the reason is different, then other measures will need to be taken. Let's figure out together what to do in a given situation.

Is it legal to turn off the gas?

From a legal point of view, gas supply to all subscribers living in apartment buildings or their own buildings is supplied after conclusion of the contract between interested parties. On the one hand, this is the subscriber, on the other, the company supplying gas.

Gas is supplied to homes by specialized gas supply organizations, which are subsidiaries in the regions of Gazprom PJSC, employees of these farms and serve the population in case of gas leaks, they are also authorized to stop the supply of natural resources to debtors

The basis for the legal regulation of the supply of gas fuel is a number of decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation, which take into account the basic conditions for the supply of blue fuel, the facts of regulating the price of gas, stipulate social principles regarding guarantees of gas supply to the population and take into account preferential conditions.

A person living in an apartment building is obliged to pay for a natural resource, and the company must, in turn, ensure a round-the-clock supply of natural fuel.

All this is stated in the following regulations:

• PP No. 549 dated July 21, 2008, where public utility needs are regulated taking into account certain conditions of household consumers;
• Federal Law No. 69, adopted on March 31, 1999 “On gas supply in the Russian Federation”;
• PP on the rules for the supply of natural resources No. 162 of February 5, 1998.

Therefore, companies supplying gas to houses and apartments are fully responsible for turning off natural gas in an apartment building or private household. Is it always legal to turn off natural gas without warning? Only lawyers can answer this question. Organizations have the right to turn off gas supply in some cases when it concerns certain reasons.

These reasons are discussed in detail in Government Decree No. 410, adopted on May 14, 2013, it describes measures to ensure safety for citizens who have indoor and indoor gas equipment. If the owner fails to comply with safety measures, he may lose the supply of natural gas on legal terms.

In a situation where gas supply is cut off for some period of time, the gas service is obliged to inform consumers for what reason and for how long there will be no gas supply

Residents of high-rise buildings are notified in writing, notices are posted at the entrance to the entrance, or announcements are made on local radio or television.

Reasons why shutting off gas supply is legal:

1. When the service user has not drawn up an emergency maintenance contract with the gas company. Or he independently installed and repaired various gas equipment.
2. If faults are found in the ventilation mechanism or chimneys.
3. In emergency situations, if it is impossible to eliminate a local gas leak, then the gas supply to the entire house or block is turned off.
4. The client does not pay for gas for more than three months. Companies also turn off gas for other reasons, when a subscriber violates the terms of a supply contract.
5. They may turn off the gas if the resident of the apartment does not provide data on the amount of gas consumed and does not allow inspectors in to check the condition of the gas equipment.
6. Stop the supply of a natural resource when the client does not comply rules for operating gas equipment or uses prohibited gas appliances.

Fuel is turned off unscheduled when breakdowns occur within the house or emergencies in the gas communications themselves.

In such situations, repairmen primarily care about people's lives. Therefore, residents need to wait until specialists fix the problems.

Situations when the gas may be turned off

When the consumer and the gas supply company do not have a gas supply agreement, Gazprom has the right to cut off the supply of the resource both in the apartment and in the house.

According to the law, sanctions can be imposed on residents, starting with the process of imposing fines and ending with the cessation of fuel supply, but in a certain order

Let's consider the question of how natural gas is turned off for non-payment in an apartment or house. In almost all cases, disconnection from the gas system is carried out according to one scheme in the established sequence.

Option number 1 - for debts

If a resident has a debt for gas supply for two or three months, then the company has the right to begin taking measures to gas supply interruption. Moreover, the legislation makes no mention of the amount of debt.

The sequence of actions of the gas supplier in this situation is as follows:

• the first thing the supplier does is notify the debtor of the upcoming gas supply shutdown. The letter indicates the planned date of sealing, the reason for stopping the fuel supply;
• city ​​gas workers are required to send a second petition after 20 days, reminding them that the company can cut off gas supply if the tenant does not pay debts;
• when the consumer ignores this notification, then specialists go to the site. The pipe is cut and sealed.

After completing the technical work, gas workers write a document as a carbon copy. One copy remains with them, the other is given to an unscrupulous payer. The service company notifies gas suppliers about the event within 24 hours.

If residents have a debt for gas supply, gas supply will be restored only after the debtor pays the accumulated amount for the fuel used

If such a situation occurs, the tenant must repay all his debts to restore the fuel supply. And not only that: he will have to pay the cost of cutting and tapping into the gas system, fines and other penalties.

After the subscriber pays the receipts for disconnection and connection to the gas system, he has the right to reconnect to the gas pipeline.

It will take three days to restore gas supply. One day, specialists check whether everything is in order in the apartment with gas equipment; it takes two days to connect to the gas supply.

Option #2 - without warning

If there is a gas leak, gas workers can urgently turn off the tap for the entire apartment building. After all, this poses a danger to all residents of the high-rise building. This is the only reason when it is allowed to turn off the gas supply.

When carrying out any planned repair work, gas supply organizations can turn off the gas for no more than four hours per month

In other situations, such as: debts, impossibility of checking all gas appliances, because the owner of the apartment was not at home at that time, the company does not have the right to cut off the apartment or house from gas supply without notification.

And if this happens, every subscriber needs to know that if the gas is turned off without warning, the consumer has the legal right to contact a lawyer. In some cases, after litigation, gas companies not only connect the gas supply for free, but also reimburse moral and material costs.

If maintenance is delayed, then during hours of gas absence in excess of the norm, the amount of payment for natural fuel by subscribers is reduced by 0.15 percent.

Cutting off gas supply without warning also happens. They stop supplying the resource when they detect any malfunctions in the gas supply system

So, the residents have no debts, and there is no gas in the house, and no one knows the reason for this.

Then do the following:

1. Check all the taps in the apartment; they must be closed so that when the fuel supply is restored, an emergency does not occur.
2. Notify your neighbors about the shutdown of natural gas, have them also turn off their valves in the apartment and check their gas appliances.
3. Contact the emergency gas service organization by calling 104. Inform the operators of the problem.
4. You can also find out from the management company why there is no gas supply in the house.

You can find out the reason for the shutdown of natural gas in an apartment or apartment building by by calling the dispatcher to the gas service: 104 from mobile or 112.

When emergency situations arise, repairmen must eliminate them within one day, and the fuel supply must be restored within 48 hours.

Option No. 3 - upon request

Resolution No. 549, paragraph 51 states that the user of gas resources can give up natural fuels on your own initiative. After all, there are all sorts of situations in life.

To refuse gas supply, it is necessary to pay all debts on consumed fuel, as well as cover all costs associated with disconnection from the gas main

The most common reason for refusing a centralized gas supply is changing a gas stove to an electric one. In this case, the gas supply organization must provide receipts confirming that the subscriber has no debt, and the tenant also pays all costs associated with cutting the gas pipe in the apartment.

After this, a report on disconnecting the equipment is drawn up, which, together with a written application, must be taken by the consumer to the territorial division of Gazprom LLC.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The video posted below will better explain the topic of cutting off gas supplies to debtors. In the video you can see an example of improper operation of gas appliances:

Gas supply systems must always be in good working order, which is why sometimes, for the safety of users of natural resources, preventive work on their repair and maintenance is carried out.

For the responsible work of gas service specialists and the supply of gas to apartments and houses, it is necessary to pay subscribers on time. When this does not happen, violators are punished. Therefore, avoid debts for gas and you will not have any special problems with gas supply.

Below in the block, please write about what problems you encountered in this matter and how you solved them. Your valuable recommendations will help other visitors to our portal resolve similar issues.