Many people with high arrears complain they did not increase their heat or hot water consumption. Still, they have to contribute financially to the consumption of other households in the apartment building. This is when the heat is centrally prepared for the entire building. There is an effort to find the fairest solution, but someone will always feel disadvantaged.
According to experts, the essential payment component for hot water in apartment buildings with remote heat is calculated based on the apartment area. In contrast, the consumption component corresponds to the actual consumption. The essential part is 30 percent for water; consumption is 70 percent. In the case of remote heat, cooperatives or associations of unit owners have more leeway. The essential component based on the area of the apartment can range from 30 to 50 percent, and the part based on consumption corresponds to the rest up to one hundred percent, i.e., 50 to 70 percent.
The question is what is better, whether to give more per square meter or through measurement. Experts usually recommend that both components be 50 percent if the building is equipped only with indicators for measuring heat, which only indicate the amount of consumed heat. According to them, the essence of the idea is that even if the household does not take water or has radiators turned off, the comfort of the service is ready for it, and it must participate in payments.
Some savers turn off the heating and let their neighbors heat them. Savings would be more motivating if they were 100% according to the meter readings. However, it can be argued against this that measuring heat consumption in apartment buildings is far from as accurate as in the case of electricity or gas, and it is always necessary to think about the parasitic behavior of apartment units that would allow themselves to be heated by neighbors. The location of the apartment within the apartment building also plays a role. Flats under the roof or on the edges have higher heat readings. The settlement methodology considers the apartments’ locations, and coefficients adjust the lessons on the radiators.
After the settlement period, cooperatives or associations of owners must submit a statement to households by the end of April. They then have the opportunity to request an explanation of information with which they do not agree or which is not clear to them within thirty days, and they must be answered within thirty days.