Who should change meters if they are located on the landing?

Electricity meters should be replaced regularly. But when the deadline approaches, owners often find themselves unprepared for this procedure. This is especially true for residents of houses whose meters are not located in the apartment. In this case, the question arises - who is replacing the meter on the landing. The parties, relying on legislation, interpret it differently. Of course, trying to turn the letter of the law in their favor. The only correct answer is that the replacement is carried out by the management company. But how to prove this?

Reasons for replacement

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

1. The counter has expired. The deadline is set by the manufacturer and must be indicated on the box. On average it ranges from twenty-five to thirty-two years. In addition, you should be aware of such a phenomenon as the “test interval”. This is the frequency of testing, which is indicated in the device passport. It ranges from six to sixteen years.
2. Some time after installing the meter, a check must be carried out.If it is not carried out within two years after the due date, the device will also have to be replaced.
3. Meter failure. If the malfunction appeared without any intervention, 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 replacement is the device’s non-compliance with the established requirements. In 2012, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution that established a new requirement for devices that meter electricity. In accordance with this decree, their accuracy class must be at least 2.5. On older devices this figure may be lower than two. True, you may not rush to replace it. The law allows you to wait until the end of your work period.
5. Scheduled update of metering devices. This procedure is carried out at the initiative of the energy sales company, so in this case there is no question of who is responsible for its implementation.

Advice

If you do not have a passport for the meter, then you can find out its operating life in another way. It is also indicated on the panel itself under the glass.

Normative base

Before talking about those who should change the meter, we will define the range of regulatory documents that regulate this issue.

1. Civil Code. Namely, paragraph 2 of Article 543. It states that the responsibility for ensuring the operation of electricity metering devices for citizens who use energy for domestic needs lies with the energy sales company.
2. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04.05.2012 N 442 “On the functioning of retail markets for electrical energy, complete and (or) partial restrictions on the consumption of electrical energy.”This regulatory 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 N 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 residential premises in the case of the provision of services and performance of work on the management, maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building of inadequate quality and (or) with interruptions exceeding the established duration" .

Common property of the house

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

• protection, monitoring and control equipment;
• intercom devices;
• fire protection system;
• floor panels and cabinets;
• electrical installations of smoke removal systems;
• elevators, both freight and passenger;
• collective (common house) electrical energy metering devices;
• networks (cables) from the external border to individual, common (apartment) electrical energy metering devices;
• other electrical equipment located on these networks.

Who carries out the replacement

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

Management companies often refuse to recognize meters that are located outside the apartment as common property. In their opinion, the determining criterion is how many rooms the device serves. From this point of view, they include only appliances that serve more than one apartment as common household property. And their location does not matter, even if this counter is on the landing.Therefore, the energy sales company shifts the responsibility for replacing the meter to the residents themselves. In their opinion, apartment owners should also pay for the procedure.

Lawyers believe that the location of the equipment is of primary importance. According to this theory, the meter, when it is located on the landing, cannot be attributed to the property of the apartment owners. It is included in the mass of common property.

If, on the basis of legislation, you were able to convince the management company that you were right, this does not mean that worries about maintaining metering devices can be transferred to its shoulders. Next, you need to review the agreement concluded with the company. It is he who determines what work is carried out in each specific situation. It also indicates whether the replacement will be carried out at the expense of collected payments or for this it is necessary to additionally collect money from the owners. Residents make their own decisions about the collection procedure.

If the apartment is not privatized

If the apartment is not your property, since you have not privatized it, then in this case there should be no disputes at all. And when it was not possible to prove that the meter belongs to 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 an obligation to fulfill it. In this case, the tenant will have to update the device themselves.

How is payment made?

As mentioned above, in order to find out who pays for replacing the electricity meter in the entrance, you need to study the agreement that was concluded between the residents and the management company.Unless otherwise provided therein, such work is considered to be general household needs. This is the same line in the receipt for electricity payment that causes frequent disputes and dissatisfaction among residents.

If the contract clearly states that the meter is located on the site and therefore does not belong to the residents’ property, then the management company is not able to shift the responsibility for paying for the work associated with replacing the meter onto you.

Procedure

When the time comes for replacement, contact the customer service department of the management company. There you will be explained in detail what data you need to provide 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 she who contacts the energy sales, and they must carry out the replacement.

During installation of the device, the correctness of the procedure must be checked. Specialists must ensure that the meter is working properly. After this, employees protect it with a lead seal. Such measures are necessary in order to protect the device from unscrupulous residents. Previously, they often opened the device themselves in order to deceive the company and pay less for the services they received. Only energy sales representatives have the right to remove this protection when they check or change the meter.

Of course, a seal is not a 100% guarantee of protection against burglary. Strangers who have access to the entrance can damage the device, which is located outside the apartment. If you discover a breakdown, immediately contact the management company for replacement or repair. Otherwise, the next time you check, you may be accused of hacking. And this is fraught with negative consequences.

If the company refuses to work

Unfortunately, the management company is not always ready to undertake work on updating metering devices. They even resort to some tricks. The clause that states who changes the meter is simply removed from the agreement concluded between the company and the residents. Apartment owners can go to court, but it is almost impossible to prove anything after an agreement has already been concluded. In this case, you will have to carry out the replacement yourself. To do this you need to go through several stages.

1. Contact your energy supply company. There they will explain to you exactly what types of meters and their characteristics are acceptable. Companies only accept readings from devices that meet the new standards.
2. Buy the meter itself.
3. Contact your energy sales company again. He will check the compliance and serviceability of the meter, and also register it.
4. Invite a specialist who will install the device and seal. You can send a request to the organization listed above and they will offer the services of their employees.
5. The owners themselves are allowed to install the meter. To do this, you need to contact your electricity supplier and pay a state fee. In any case, the filling must be carried out by a specialist.

Refusal to replace

Devices must be replaced within the prescribed period. But refusal of the procedure does not entail legal liability. True, the energy supply does not accept readings from a meter whose operating time has expired. Therefore, you will have to pay for the service according to the standards, as it was before the advent of metering devices. And this is much less profitable.