Rights and obligations of consumers

• • • • and Responsibilities of Consumers

According to paragraph 37 Rules for the Provision of Centralized Water Supply and Centralized Sewerage Services, approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 05.07.2019 No. 690 (hereinafter - the Rules), the consumer has the right to:

1. connection to the centralized water supply and sewerage system in the prescribed manner;
2. provision of drinking water, the quality of which meets state sanitary standards and rules, the quantity and supply mode of which are determined on a contractual basis in accordance with drinking water supply standards;
3. timely receipt of full, accurate, and timely information about the quality of drinking water and its supply mode;
4. provision of centralized sewerage services in accordance with the standards of maximum allowable concentration and standards of maximum allowable discharge of pollutants;
5. filing claims to the court for compensation for damages caused by the supply of poor-quality drinking water that does not meet state sanitary standards and rules, and other violations of legal requirements in the field of drinking water, drinking water supply, and sewerage;
6. timely receipt of services of proper quality in accordance with the legislation and the contract;
7. receiving free information from the service provider about tariffs, the amount of the monthly payment, the tariff structure, consumption standards, and the procedure for providing services, as well as their consumer properties;
8. compensation for damage to property, harm caused to life or health due to improper provision or non-provision of services and unlawful entry into his home (other real estate object);
9. elimination of identified shortcomings in the provision of services within the period established by the contract or legislation;
10. reduction of service fees in the manner prescribed by law in the event of non-provision, incomplete provision, or reduced quality of services;
11. non-payment for services not used (in the absence of metering devices) for the period of temporary absence of the consumer and other persons from the residential premises (other real estate object) for more than 30 calendar days, subject to documentary confirmation in accordance with the terms of the contract;
12. receipt of a penalty from the service provider for exceeding the standard terms for emergency recovery work in the amount determined by law or contract;
13. conducting an inspection of the quantity and quality of services in the manner prescribed by law;
14. drawing up and signing acts of claims in connection with violations of the order of service provision, changes in their consumer properties, and exceeding the terms of emergency recovery work;
15. receiving free from the service provider or the person determined by the owner (co-owners) who carries out the distribution of service volumes, a detailed calculation of such distribution;
16. receiving free information from the service provider about the charges for services (with a breakdown by periods and types of charges) and payments received from the consumer;
17. termination of the service contract upon notice to the service provider at least two months before the termination date and granting access to the service provider for technical termination of services.

According to paragraph 38 of the Rules, an individual consumer is obliged to:

1. rationally use drinking water, prevent its leakage from indoor networks and equipment;
2. not interfere with the control of the technical condition of engineering equipment in the premises;
3. promptly notify the service provider of any damage to the centralized water supply and sewerage facilities that he owns or uses;
4. maintain water supply networks and equipment in proper technical and sanitary condition;
5. conclude a contract in the manner and cases defined by law;
6. promptly take measures to eliminate identified problems related to the receipt of services that have arisen through his fault;
7. ensure the integrity of the metering equipment in accordance with the contract and not interfere with their operation;
8. repair and replace at his own expense sanitary and technical devices, equipment, and other common property of the apartment building that serves more than one residential and/or non-residential premises, damaged through his fault, which is proven in accordance with the law;
9. pay for the services provided at the tariffs established in accordance with the law, within the time limits set by the contracts;
10. allow the service provider or its representative to enter his home (other real estate object) in the manner defined by law and the contract to eliminate emergencies, eliminate malfunctions of sanitary and technical equipment, its installation and replacement, conduct technical and preventive inspections, and check the readings of metering devices that ensure individual accounting of service consumption in the apartment (premises) of the apartment building;
11. comply with the requirements of housing and urban planning legislation during the repair or reconstruction of housing (other real estate object), not violate the legitimate rights and interests of other participants in the housing and communal services relations;
12. ensure timely preparation of the objects under his ownership for operation in the autumn-winter period;
13. in case of late payments for services, pay a penalty in the amounts established by law or contract;
14. inform the service provider about the change of the owner of the housing (other real estate object) and about the actual number of persons permanently residing in the consumer`s housing, in the cases and manner provided for by the contract;
15. provide the service provider or the person determined by the owner (co-owners) who carries out the distribution of service volumes with readings of the existing metering devices that ensure individual accounting of service consumption in the apartment (premises) of the apartment building, in the manner and terms defined by the contract;
16. comply with safety rules, including fire safety, and sanitary standards.

In turn, according to paragraph 39 of the Rules, a collective consumer has the right to:

1. conclude a contract in accordance with its charter in the interests of consumers united by such a collective consumer;
2. terminate the contract concluded by him in the interests of consumers united by such a collective consumer, notifying the service provider at least two months before the termination date.

According to paragraph 40 of the Rules, a collective consumer is obliged to:

1. allow the service provider or its representatives to access the real estate objects owned by the collective consumer, as well as common areas and auxiliary premises of apartment buildings (for the association of co-owners of an apartment building) in the manner defined by law and contracts, to eliminate emergencies, eliminate malfunctions of sanitary and technical equipment, its installation and replacement, conduct technical and preventive inspections, and check the readings of measuring equipment;
2. in case of late payments for services, pay a penalty in the amounts established by law or contract for consumers united by such a collective consumer;
3. ensure the distribution of the volume of services consumed among consumers united by such a collective consumer, in accordance with the Methodology for Distribution among Consumers of the Volume of Utility Services Consumed in the Building (except when the co-owners have determined a person responsible for the distribution of service volumes);
4. in case of direct distribution of the volume of services among consumers in the building, provide consumers united by such a collective consumer with a detailed calculation of the distribution of the volume of services consumed among them, and in case of accounting for services by measuring equipment of a unit that ensures general accounting of service consumption in the building (or part thereof), provide information about their readings.

• • • • and the procedure for obtaining information by consumers from the NEURC

To submit a written request, the requester can obtain request forms for information in the document flow and archival affairs department of the Document Support Department of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Fields of Energy and Utilities, room No. 102, 19 Smolenskaya St., Kyiv, or print them from the official website of the NEURC new.nerc.gov.ua:

• for individuals, download the request form file here (.zip, 8.98 KB);
• for legal entities and associations of citizens without the status of a legal entity, download the request form file here (.zip, 9.33 KB) .

The procedure for submitting a request can be found here.

• • • • and contacts for obtaining information by consumers from the "Infoksvodokanal" branch:

- Information center of the "Infoksvodokanal" branch - tel. 0-800-307-505 (24/7, toll-free from all phone numbers)

- 5 Baseina St., Odessa, 65039 (for submitting written requests)