Happy New Utility Year! How much was paid and will be paid for housing and utilities in Russia, the USA and Germany

Elena Petrova, Tatyana Sviridova

Today in Russia a new year has begun. Communal.

Housing and communal services tariffs will increase by an average of 11.9%. But this is, as we know, the average temperature in the hospital. Some regions are lucky. Here the growth will be lower than inflation at 9% , as in the Amur Region ( 8.6% ) or the Altai Republic ( 8.8% ). The capitals are much less fortunate - about twice as much. Moscow will pay 15% more , St. Petersburg - 14.6% , the Moscow Region - 13.3% .

As is known, utilities in the Russian Federation are not a market commodity. The amounts are set by regional commissions and they say: if there was a market, they would pay significantly more. Like in America or Germany.

How much do Russians, Germans and Americans pay for utilities and what part of their salary is made up of housing and communal services?

Elena Mikhailovna lives in New Moscow in a two-room apartment alone, but her daughter and granddaughter are registered with her. Therefore, utility bills come for three. Since the woman has not yet retired, she pays in full.

— My electricity bill is quite modest — 1,000 rubles a month, but that’s because I live at my dacha from May to November. And besides, I don’t use a microwave. When I turn it on at my dacha, the meter starts spinning like crazy. I don’t have an electric kettle either. I heat water the old-fashioned way, on gas in a kettle with a whistle, — the woman says.

The last three years, utility bills have been growing steadily. First, a bill came for 3,000 rubles, then for 6,500 rubles. Since the last increase, the cost of services has exceeded 9,000 rubles.

If you add 900 rubles a month for electricity and 240 rubles for gas , the total amount is plus or minus 10,500 rubles. At the same time, Elena Mikhailovna lives in a four-story building without an elevator or garbage chute, so she does not have to pay these fees. But, like everyone else, the Muscovite pays 1,950 rubles a month for major repairs.

Before the current increase, housing and utilities services cost the woman 12,500 rubles. If Elena Mikhailovna lived with her family, the electricity bill would be about 3,000 rubles, like her sister's. But she lives alone and pays three times less for electricity.

Elena Mikhailovna earns 60,000 rubles a month and spends more than 20% of her income on housing. In three years, the woman retires, and then her budget will change significantly. Currently, the average pension is 24,000 rubles. It turns out that pensioners without subsidies spend 50% of their pension on housing.

Our former compatriot Ekaterina has been living in Germany for over 30 years. In the early 2000s, she and her husband took out a mortgage and built a small house of 120 sq. m. Now they live here together.

There are no tariffs in Europe, gas, water and electricity prices are market prices. As a rule, they are set once a year and increased by the inflation rate. Payments are made in advance. A certain number of kilowatt-hours and cubic meters of gas are calculated for each household. If the family has exceeded the limits, additional bills come at the end of the year.

The Germans are a thrifty people, they carefully monitor that there is no overspending, although anything can happen, and June is not liked in Germany. It is in the first summer month that residents receive "letters of happiness" - additional payment for gas and electricity.

Owners of houses and apartments in Germany pay a land use fee. It is debited from the account quarterly. Our German family pays 227 euros. Converted to a month, this is 76 euros, or 7,600 rubles. Owners of housing in apartment buildings in Germany transfer money to the owners' fund for the maintenance of the entire building, which is comparable to Russian capital repairs or a land use fee.

The electricity bill is significantly higher than Elena Mikhailovna's. The German family pays 117 euros per month, or 11,000 rubles. The resource company writes off 56 euros for water and sewerage. Gas costs 142 euros per month.

The total monthly payment is 391 euros , or 36,000 rubles.

— Of course, we save. In winter, we try not to heat with gas. We installed a stove in the living room and bought firewood after the hurricane, which knocked down many trees in the area. Now the supplies will run out, and we will buy, but it is still cheaper than gas, — Ekaterina told Novye Izvestia.

By Russian standards, this is a lot. But, as we know, everything in the world is relative. And relative to family income, utilities for a family from Germany are much cheaper than for Muscovites. Ekaterina's husband is a pensioner. He receives 1,700 euros a month in hand. Ekaterina's net salary is 3,000 euros. The family pays 8.3% of their monthly income for housing and utilities. In two months, Ekaterina will retire and will receive 1,300 euros . But even in this case, utilities will not exceed 13% of total income.

Economist Evgeny Kogan compared housing and utilities prices in Russia and the US relative to the median salary in both countries. Like the Russian Federation, the US is a mining country, unlike Germany. But absolute prices are higher than in Russia.

100 kW/h costs us 521.7 rubles against $16.50, or 1320 rubles .

Gas in America is seven times more expensive. 20 cubic meters will cost Russians 140 rubles , Americans will pay 10.4 dollars, or 832 rubles.

Ten cubic meters of water are cheaper in Russia — 403.60 rubles. In the US, the monthly payment for water is 7.8 dollars, or 624 rubles.

Everything changes if you compare the cost of individual types of utilities with the median salary. In the Russian Federation, the median annual income after taxes is close to 700,000 rubles and amounts to 693,876 rubles. In the US, this figure exceeds 5,000,000 rubles - $51,855, or 5,220,000 rubles.

Gas in the US and Russia costs about the same relative to median income - 0.26% in Russia versus 0.21% in the US, although it is slightly cheaper for American households.

The picture is different with electricity: Americans spend 0.33% of their median salary per month, while Russians spend 0.9%.

Water is the most expensive item in Russia compared to America. Russian households pay 0.76% of their median income for it, while Americans pay only 0.12%.

These calculations are less accurate than comparing receipts from living people, but the picture is clear.

In August, Elena Mikhailovna from New Moscow will receive new receipts. She remembers well the shock of last year, when the payment amount significantly exceeded the declared "average" 9.8%. Now the Moscow authorities will collect 15% more. There are areas where resource companies and management companies have introduced an "alternative boiler room". There the scope is much larger.

But if everything goes as promised and the carriage does not turn into a pumpkin, then every month the Muscovite will receive receipts for a total of 14,300 rubles. No one is going to raise Elena Mikhailovna's salary, so her net income will decrease. Utilities will cost almost a quarter of her salary. To be precise, 23.8%. But this is not certain.