The debts of Russians for communal services have reached 833.5 billion rubles
Debts of Russians for housing and communal services reached the mark of 833.5 billion rubles. In 2023, the indicator increased by 8.7%, stated State Duma deputy from Novosibirsk region Alexander Aksyonenko with reference to Rosstat data.
He believes that this is due to the fact that utility tariffs are growing faster than the income of the population. According to Aksyonenko, the issue of paying for housing becomes especially “painful” for low-income families with many children.
In Novosibirsk itself and the region, utility tariffs increased by 13% in 2024. Such a decision was taken by the governor of United Russia, Andrey Travnikov. At the same time, residents are dissatisfied with the quality of services.
In August, the court in Novosibirsk began hearing the case of a lawsuit filed by 40 residents against the heat supply organization “NTSK” due to regular communal accidents. The plaintiffs say that in the cold they were forced to live in cold apartments or rent a second home at their own expense and move.
- After the start of the war in Ukraine, the residents of many Russian regions complained about the increase in utilities tariffs. As a rule, the fee for housing is increased once a year, on July 1. However, in July 2022, the tariff increased by 4%, and later the government decided to once again index the tariff for utility services in December of the same year – instead of July 1, 2023.
- Only in the winter of 2024, more than 550 municipal accidents occurred in Russia. Experts in the field of utilities explained in detail to the editors of Sibir.Realii that since the end of the 90s, the federal authorities have not included in the budget expenses for the replacement of communal networks – their wear and tear reaches “literally 100%” by 2023, and money for repairs is allocated exclusively in emergency post-accident mode – for this, local officials introduce an emergency mode.
