Unwillingness to pay for utilities leads enterprising citizens to the idea of unauthorized connection to centralized water supply networks. But such a plumbing adventure in one unpleasant moment will result in major problems and financial costs. Unauthorized connection is illegal. It can also lead to the destruction of the water supply system and the violation of the safety of the water supply. Severe penalties are applied to violators.
Who connects to water supply networks
To legally connect to a city or village water supply system, you must obtain permits. First of all, these are the technical conditions for the introduction of a new line, issued by the water and communal services authority of the settlement. To obtain them, you must submit to the appropriate authority:
- passport;
- application for the development of technical specifications (copies and original);
- copies of the situational and urban planning plan;
- copies and original of the balance of water consumption and wastewater disposal for the project.
If commissioning is required by an entrepreneur, the constituent documents of the organization and confirmation of the authorized rights of the head of the company are required.
The second permission for the introduction of a new water line is given by local governments, if there is a valid opinion of public utilities on the technical possibility of connecting to the network.
When a connection is considered a violation
According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia, a private person or an entrepreneur who owns an object with unauthorized power supply from a common pipeline and such a house in management can be held liable for illegal tapping into a municipal water supply system.
It is forbidden to arbitrarily change the design of the mains of the networks, make illegal inserts even in your own house or apartment, change the indicators of metering devices.
Responsibility will also be borne by the person who uses the drainage system without appropriate metering devices. Since in this case it is difficult to determine how much water he used for free, the penalty is calculated based on the maximum consumption indicators multiplied by the number of days since the unauthorized tapping.
Penalties for unauthorized connection to the water supply
Illegal connection to the water supply network, no matter how hidden, is soon discovered. This threatens with an unpleasant legal process and administrative punishment. When the fact of the tie-in is found out, representatives of the water and communal services draw up an act on the unlawful use of water.The same thing happens with a legal connection, if all the specifications have not been observed.
The document states:
- the address where the offense was discovered;
- date and time of the survey;
- clear description of the use case.
Utility representatives initiate legal proceedings. If the violation is proven, access to water will be limited. An enterprising "plug-in" faces financial losses:
- Individuals are punished for non-contractual consumption of water resources with fines of up to 1,500 rubles.
- The fine for illegal connection to the water supply for legal entities is up to 30,000 rubles.
The amounts are indicated for the very fact of the insert.
The illegal use of water resources will be counted as if all the taps were open around the clock until the trial. The average throughput of the pipe is taken into account. It can run into tens, or even hundreds of thousands of rubles. If it was not possible to identify the time interval, the calculation is done in six months.
The management company can also file a claim with the court. This threatens with an additional fine. Improper installation of your own drainage line can lead to system malfunction, breakthrough or insufficient water pressure. Neighbors in an apartment building have the right to appeal to the courts and claim compensation for damage, including moral. The likelihood that the judge will decide in their favor is very high.
The financial consequences of unauthorized connection to the water supply are much higher than the amounts paid for water.
If an emergency situation through the fault of the offender led not only to damage to property, but also to damage to people's health, he may face a real term of imprisonment. This is considered a criminal offense.
How to avoid responsibility for self-connection
Those who started using water for free are not always the worst offenders. There are times when real estate with a sidebar has been inherited or acquired. In this case, you can avoid punishment and legalize unauthorized connection.
It is required to contact the supervisory authorities (Vodokanal) with a message about the identified problem. You should go to the subscriber department. Take with you:
- passport;
- a statement from the owner of the property;
- certificate of ownership of housing or an extract from Rosreestr;
- technical passport;
- all documents on water supply and wastewater disposal in the premises, if any.
If you did not know that the water in the house was connected illegally, and you are a respectable payer for utilities, there will be no fine. If it turns out that the tie-in was carried out without violating the Sanitary Rules and Regulations, the water will not be cut off, the line to the house or apartment will be legalized. To do this, you will need to collect permits.
As practice shows, a favorable solution to the problem is possible if the homeowner did not know that the water in his taps was illegal and, despite this, paid all the bills for it according to average indicators. It is quite difficult to prove that you are not involved in the water scam, especially if a lot of time has passed since the purchase of the property. But there are such precedents in judicial practice.
If the court found a person to be a violator, and he does not agree with this, or the amount of payments assigned seems excessive, he can file a counterclaim to reduce it or cancel the penalties. However, in most cases, the court's decision in such cases does not change, so it is better not to take risks and buy water, rather than steal it.
