The energy crisis after the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put the 1.6 million homes that have central heating in their neighboring community in a state of alarm.
If the owners do not take measures, they will see their energy bill more than triple this winter, going from 1,000 euros to 3,500 in these months, according to an estimate by the General Council of Property Administrators.
The energy contingency plan approved on October 11 by the Council of Ministers undertakes to “reduce” the gas bill for these homes that have a community boiler and that are not eligible for the regulated gas rate (TUR), much cheaper than the free market. However, the Government does not specify how it will achieve this reduction. Below are legal responses to problems in neighborhood communities that arise around heating and central sanitary water.
What measures can be taken by the neighbors to reduce the community energy bill this winter?
The measures that can be adopted are short-term and involve reducing comfort and, even so, it will be colder and you will pay more than in previous years. The solutions include having the heating on for fewer months, reducing the temperature of the radiators from 25 to 19 degrees, limiting the hours that the heating is on or, in the most extreme cases, dispensing with this service. A community of neighbors in Logroño will spend the winter without heating up due to the unaffordability of the community fee.
All these decisions must be approved by the residents, who, as recognized by Peio Mendia, treasurer of the General Council of Associations of Property Administrators, is forcing these professionals to “have to convene, in a very short time, a large number of owners’ meetings extraordinary and withstand very strong pressure to solve problems between neighbors” because it is not the same to have 19 degrees in a flat facing south as in one facing north.
Do all the neighbors have to agree not to turn on the heating?
The agreement not to turn on the heating must be adopted at the owners’ meeting by a simple majority (half of the owners plus one) of those present and participation fees as stated in article 17 of the Horizontal Property Law (LPH) since it is a temporary decision and means that the service is not permanently removed.
As it is an act of administration, “unanimous consent is not necessary, without prejudice to the actions that the affected owners may exercise,” says Alejandro Fuentes-Lojo, a lawyer specializing in real estate law.
From Legálitas they remember that “the decision cannot be taken unilaterally by the president or the administrator of the estates”.
What options does a neighbor have in disagreement with the measures of his community on central heating?
The decision on heating is adopted by a majority in a meeting of owners and is enforceable by the community of neighbors unless challenged in court in accordance with article 18 of the LPH.
If a neighbor is against suppressing or reducing the heating service, the only way they have is to judicially challenge the minutes of the neighbors’ meeting and request an urgent precautionary measure to avoid the execution of the agreement and thus leave it in abeyance.
What is recommended for discordant neighbors before starting a judicial process is to try to reach an agreement with the community in order to be granted payment facilities, under cover of the crisis situation.
What can tenants whose heat is included in the lease do if it doesn’t come on?
In these cases, renters can require their landlords, according to article 21.1 of the Urban Leasing Law (LAU), to provide them with an alternative supply to central heating “as it is a necessary condition for habitability of housing”, according to Fuentes-Lojo.
And in the unlikely event that the home is uninhabitable, the tenant may withdraw from the contract or request its temporary suspension, leave the home and during that time not pay the rental income, according to the regulations on urban leases.
Can the reduction of the monthly rent be demanded?
The tenant, in most cases, does not have the right to have the owner apply the rent reduction and may require that heating be provided to the home.
From Legálitas they consider that when the contract states that central heating is included in the rental price and it is not available, “the tenant can demand a reduction in monthly payments”.
Does the current legislation oblige the residents of the community of owners to keep the heating at 19 degrees?
Neighborhood communities are not bound by Royal Decree-Law 14/2022 on saving measures, energy efficiency and reduction of energy dependence on natural gas, which establishes that the heating temperature cannot exceed 19 degrees inside of administrative buildings or premises, shops, supermarkets, department stores, shopping centers.
This law requires those properties with public attendance such as theaters, cinemas, bars, restaurants and cafeterias and also those dedicated to the transport of people such as stations and airports.
Do commercial premises with central heating have to respect the temperature of 19 degrees set by the Government?
For Fuentes-Lojo, businesses in these community buildings are empowered to disconnect from central heating.
The purpose of this disconnection is to start up an individualized installation that allows them to comply with the Government’s regulations, “but they will not be able to require the community to pay said expenses, since it is a cost of adaptation for carrying out the activity of the premises outside the community.” the community,” says the lawyer.
What measures does the Government plan to adopt to reduce the gas bill in homes with community boilers?
In theory, all consumers with a consumption of less than 50,000 kWh can contract the regulated natural gas tariff (TUR). However, neighborhood communities with centralized gas heating are considered large consumers and cannot access this refugee rate by law, even when they have consumption distribution systems.
Within the new energy contingency plan, the Council of Ministers of October 11 has promised to reduce the bill of 1.6 million homes with community boilers with a view to next winter. The Government will limit the price of natural gas paid by these neighboring communities. The goal is for these users to have a level of protection equivalent to that which consumers of the regulated gas tariff have had for a year.
Today, households with an individual boiler have access to pay gas at 6 cents according to the TUR rate. “We believe that this is not fair, especially when this regulated rate is based on consumption, not on the income of the person who enjoys it,” says Peio Mendia. It is not logical that today the chalets have a regulated rate and the houses with central heating, regardless of the rent, are on the free market at 20 cents kw/h.
Are Next Generation Fund grants feasible for these communities?
In the long term, it is advisable to invest in more efficient heating systems and in elements for regulating heat inside the home, as well as undertaking works to reduce the energy needs of households.
These types of works have a high cost, but they are being subsidized by the Next Generation Funds. For this reason, the administrators of collegiate estates advise that these aids be requested by the communities of owners and individuals, because it is essential for the reduction of the energy bill in the medium and long term.
However, in the face of very important subsidies, the owners face installation costs that are driving up their price due to the increase in the costs of raw materials and energy for their production.
In any of the cases, the promise of subsidies of up to 60% can act as an incentive for communities that want to reduce their energy bill in the coming winters to make decisions.
Does the regulation require the installation of individual meters in central heating buildings?
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, through Royal Decree 736/2020, established a progressive schedule to install individual meters, first forcing the coldest areas to have consumption distribution systems.
In Madrid, the obligation begins this November and, lastly, it will be extended to Barcelona and the Cantabrian coast in the spring of 2023.
In any case, homes located in the Balearic and Canary Islands, Levante, Guadalquivir, Ceuta and Melilla, which correspond to zones A and B, are exempt from the obligation to put meters.
All buildings built after 1998 are required to have an individual meter system, however, for those built earlier, the regulations require neighborhood communities to install individual meters when they pay off the installation of these systems in less than four years.
Many buildings built before 1998 lack individualized metering and, furthermore, “most of the time they cannot install it either. Only around 30% of the communities are obliged”, according to Peio Mendia.
It is advisable to know the Technical Building Code, which establishes the climatic zones into which Spain is divided, identifying them by means of a letter, corresponding to the climatic severity of winter, and a number, corresponding to the climatic severity of summer.