In the house chats of new residential complexes, you can often find complaints from future newcomers that they have not yet been given apartment keys, but they are already sending bills for housing and communal services in their personal account.
However, he told me aif.ru lawyer Alexander Zorin, there is no need to pay for them.
“In accordance with Russian law, an apartment is considered to have been transferred to the tenant after the house is put into operation and the act of acceptance and transfer of the object is signed, accompanied by the issuance of keys,” the lawyer noted. — Of course, if the newcomer did not receive the keys to the apartment and did not sign the act, there can be no question of any billing for utilities.”
Until the apartment is put into operation by the tenant, the responsibility for it and for the waste of electricity and other resources is borne by the developer company or another organization responsible for the maintenance of the facility, the expert emphasized.
“The requirement to pay utility bills for an apartment that has not yet been transferred, which is not used by residents, is illegal,” Zorin added. “Therefore, in the event of such a situation, you can complain to Rospotrebnadzor, housing supervision authorities and the prosecutor’s office.”
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