Government of Sevastopol: install a water meter or check the verification period of the device

On December 6, 2025, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1871 dated November 25, 2025 came into force, which establishes a new increasing coefficient — 3 — when calculating charges for cold water supply utilities in a number of situations. The innovation concerns exclusively water supply services and is aimed at encouraging citizens to install and timely maintain water consumption meters.

The increasing factor will be applied primarily to those residents who do not have a cold water meter. In such cases, water charges will not be calculated according to the basic standard, but with a threefold increase.

Additionally, coefficient 3 will begin to apply if the meter is not verified within the prescribed time frame. If during three billing periods, that is, three months, the owner does not check the metering device, then starting from the fourth month, the calculation will be carried out according to the standard using a triple coefficient.

Another category of citizens to whom the new procedure will be applied are those who twice or more refused to allow Vodokanal representatives to check the meter or confirm the readings. If there is an act of refusal of admission, the meter readings will no longer be taken into account, and the calculation will switch to the standard with an increasing coefficient.

In simple terms, in apartment buildings almost all apartments are equipped with cold water consumption meters. But there are those who do not have it and residents use water according to the standard. The consumption standard in the city now ranges from 3.8 to 7 cubic meters of water per person. For example, a large family lives in an apartment without a meter, but one person is registered — a lot of water is wasted, and the increasing coefficient, accordingly, is applied only for one person, that is, instead of using conditionally 7 cubic meters per month, the apartment spends 20. In order to calculate the maintenance of common property, including water consumption, readings from the common building meter are taken, readings from the apartments are subtracted, and the difference is distributed among all residents,” explained Svetlana Kozak, head of the supervisory department of Goszhilnadzor.