While the collection rate of water bills is still high in many places, arrears persist. Since the water industry, as a subsistence industry, is indispensable to people's daily lives, when faced with underpayment, water companies tend to find themselves in a difficult situation, and do they stop? When does the water stop? How does the liability for non-compliance count。
Can you collect the default money
By decree no. 726 of the state council of 2020, some of the provisions of the urban water supply ordinance were amended, including the provision that “users who fail to pay their contributions as required shall be liable to a fine and may cease to have access to water when serious circumstances warrant”. This is mainly due to the fact that the “water supply-contribution” between water providers and users is a civil legal relationship and should not be included in the administrative approval. The rights and obligations of the parties to supply water are still governed by the water supply contract, the non-payment of the fee is a breach of the contract, and measures such as breach of contract or restriction of access to water or even suspension of water are not in question to the extent legitimate and reasonable。
Article 654 of the civil code of the people's republic of china also specifies that “water users shall pay the water bill promptly in accordance with the relevant state regulations and the agreement of the parties. If the water user fails to pay for the water, the default payment shall be made as agreed.”
Thus, if water users or water units fail to pay their water bills on time as agreed, the water provider has every right to claim payment of arrears and compensation for breach of contract。
How much would that be
Article 585 of the civil code of the people's republic of china states that “a party may agree that, in case of default, a party shall pay to the other party a certain amount of default money in accordance with the default, or may agree on the method of calculating compensation for damages arising from the breach”
Some local governments have introduced water regulations that impose a cap on the collection of default payments, more often than not, by up to three or five per 1,000 of the total amount owed for water on a daily basis. For example, the nanning municipal water conservation ordinance requires “no more than three per 1,000 of the total amount of water charges owed per day and no more than twice as much as the total amount of water charges owed” and the “hout and holt city water regulations” refer to “no less than five per 1,000 of the daily amount of non-payment”. The water supply and supply regulations for the city of guiyang do not set a daily default rate, but limit the cumulative amount of the default money to “a maximum of 0. 5 times the amount due”。
In most places, however, there is a tendency not to specify default criteria in local water regulations, but rather to indicate that water utilities should enter into water contracts with water users. Under the civil code of the people's republic of china and the regulations on municipal water supply, urban water supply enterprises may, in consultation with the users, agree on a default rate for late payments in their water supply contracts, which cannot be excessive over and above actual losses. For example, the 3 per cent of the daily default agreed in the contract for a district water station in a northern city was not recognized by the courts in a civil suit。
Therefore, the reasonable feasibility of the default fund is essential. Users cannot be overburdened, thus violating the original purpose of defaulting funds (in order to urge users to pay for water in a timely manner rather than to discipline users for failure). Nor can it be set too low to be meaningful. It is proposed that the daily default rate be accompanied by a ceiling on the total amount of default。
Some municipalities also have specific provisions on the contracting and text requirements for water use。
The water and water regulations for the city of guiyang state that “the municipal water authorities shall prepare, in conjunction with the municipal market regulatory authorities, model water contracts for use in the contracting of the parties to the municipal water supply. If a municipal water supply enterprise enters into a contract with a user using a form clause, it shall, in accordance with the law, file the form clause with the market regulatory authority”. The regulations on water supply and water management in the city of ishikoshi city also require that model water supply contracts be made public。
The water and water regulations for the city of sining also provide that, taking into account the large number of urban water users and the difficulty of regulating the contract signing process, “in the event that the user has a water fact but has not signed a water and water contract with the water provider, the water provider shall notify the user within one month of the signing of the water and water contract and shall serve the model water and water contract. If the user fails to sign the contract, it may be deemed to have agreed to the agreement on the model water supply contract”。
What conditions are there to stop the water
Some were based on the number of overdue days and others on the number of reminders. For example, the jinan municipal water supply ordinance requires users who fail to pay their water bills on time to be notified by the water provider. If the user has not paid the fee for more than 30 days and the user of the unit for more than 15 days, and has not paid the fee for no reasonable reason, the water provider may, after 48 hours ' notice, supply the water for a limited period of time or cease to supply it as agreed in the contract. The wuhan city water supply ordinance provides that the user shall pay for the water as contracted. If the payment of the water bill is not made after 30 days of delay without reasonable cause, the water unit may, by more than two reminders, collect the default payment as agreed in the contract; and if more than three reminders are not paid, the water unit may, by contract, suspend the water supply。
In general, it is reasonable to set up a deadline for the collection of contributions from households in arrears, essentially starting with the receipt of a reminder from the user, giving a minimum of 30 days. The grace period for users and unit users should be different, and the above-mentioned practice in the city of jenan could be used as a reference to a more liberal reminder period for users of the population, which would reduce the basic life impact on users of the population, and a stricter one for unit users。
Article 654 of the civil code of the people's republic of china states that “if the water user is warned that he will not pay for the water and the money for the breach within a reasonable period of time, the water provider may suspend the water supply in accordance with the procedure established by the state”. However, what constitutes a “nationally prescribed procedure” is the fruitless search by the mini-professor, who would welcome additional comments from his friends. The parties may also take measures in accordance with the contract if they have included in the contract a corresponding clause for the suspension of water supply。
Owing to the lack of official explanations for the suspension of the water outage, in practice some water utilities have been unable to effectively enforce the moratorium on water supply to households in arrears. Reference is made to the practice in the city of nanchang for specific comments. The regulation on water supply and conservation in the city of nanchang mentions that if a municipal public water supply enterprise is required to suspend water supply to the user, it shall apply to its own people's government, which shall be allowed to suspend the water supply within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the application, if there are no valid reasons for non-payment。
How long should the water stoppage be notified? When should the water be restored
Article 654 of the civil code of the people's republic of china refers to the fact that, if a water user is warned that he will not pay for water and default within a reasonable period of time, the water provider may suspend the water supply in accordance with the procedures established by the state, and the water provider shall notify the water user in advance。
And how long is this definition of “pre-emptive”? Each place has its own criteria, in some cases simply indicating that the user should be notified in advance without specifying a specific time, and in others providing a clear time requirement: the city of haeguchi requires 7 days ' notice to the users and 10 days ' notice to shenzhen and ningbo. The aoshima city water supply ordinance provides that “in the event that the water supply is stopped, the water provider shall notify the user 48 hours in advance”。
Water companies should resume their water supply as soon as user fees and defaults are paid. The majority of the districts require water supply providers to resume their water supply within 24 hours or 12 hours, while others require a shorter period, such as the south chang city urban water supply and conservation regulation, which requires users who have been temporarily suspended to pay the full amount of water arrears, to resume water supply within six hours; and the kunming city water supply management ordinance, which requires urban water units to resume water supply within eight hours after they have received arrears and default payments。
The changsha city water supply regulations distinguish between users of mechanical water tables and users of intelligent water tables, requiring that, if the user pays for the water and default money, the urban water provider immediately resumes the water supply for users who use the smart water table and within 12 hours for users who use the mechanical water table。
In fact, there is no conclusive conclusion as to the timing of the advance notice, which can only be set reasonably. The first is to provide users with timely access to information on water outages and ensure their right to know, and the second is to give users sufficient time to deal with water outages, such as payment of arrears. The sooner the water supply is restored, the better it will be, but it will also be possible to give water utilities reasonable response time。
There is also a special case in which users are reluctant to pay water charges because they disagree with them and do not simply default. In such cases, users should also be given the security and right to appeal。
The qingtao city water supply ordinance refers to the possibility of the water provider sending a water bill notice to users if they fail to pay the due amount. If the user objects to the water bill, he or she may propose to the water provider within seven days from the date of receipt of the call for water charges, and the water provider shall verify and respond to the user within seven days. If the water company does not respond, the user may refuse to pay for the water; if the user is not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be lodged with the municipal water administration or other relevant authorities。
At the end
As stated at the outset, the water sector is a subsistence industry, so the water services provided by water utilities are always of a public interest and are also the responsibility of water providers. This is why, in addition to a paper-based contract, the relationship between the water provider and the user consists of a few words of “love”, “justice”. This has also led to the difficulty, in practice, of water utilities taking decisive measures, even when there is a clear documentation of user default。
This leads us to think that the “business” attributes of water enterprises are weakened in the exercise of their social responsibilities, and that this requires companies and the relevant authorities to explore a way to effectively balance “public interest” and “business” attributes in the water sector。
In addition, it is imperative to improve the quality and intellectualization of water services. The improvement in the quality of services has helped to strengthen user perceptions and understanding of the water industry; while the increase in intelligence has been an increase in efficiency in water utilities, it has also allowed users to become accustomed to intelligent water use, as in the case of electricity, to develop user prepayment habits and pave the way for changing their perception of contributions。
