Does a Garden Association Have the Right to Disconnect Electricity for Non-Payment: Court Decision

The Dnipro District Court of Kyiv has ruled that a garden association's disconnection of electricity supply to a summer house plot owner was illegal, and has ordered its restoration.

Disputes between garden association members and their management bodies regarding electricity disconnection arise frequently, particularly when the association believes the consumer owes money for electricity used.

The procedure for terminating electricity supply is thoroughly regulated by law, and non-compliance can lead to such actions being deemed illegal. These disputes become especially significant when electricity supply is terminated not by the system operator or electricity supplier, but by other parties.

Such a dispute was heard by the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv in a civil case brought against a Garden Association. The plaintiff sought to have the disconnection declared illegal and to compel the restoration of electricity supply. The court found in favour of the plaintiff, recognising the association's actions as illegal and ordering the restoration of electricity to the garden plot.

Essence of the Case

The plaintiff, a member of the Garden Association "Chervonyi Khimik" and user of a garden plot, applied to the court after the association's board disconnected his house from electricity supply due to alleged debt for consumed electricity.

According to the claim, at the association's general meeting in March 2023, the chairman of the board reported the plaintiff's debt to be between 30,000 and 40,000 hryvnias but provided no documentary confirmation. The plaintiff proposed a reconciliation of accounts, as his own calculations indicated a debt of 7,500 UAH at that time. However, no reconciliation was conducted, and the association's management failed to respond to numerous requests for information regarding meter readings, payments made, and settlement status.

The plaintiff also noted that his gardening book was returned to him only in May 2023, with the last payment entry made in January 2020, despite subsequent payments. The extract he received from the general meeting minutes was also not properly certified.

On 30 March 2023, representatives of the association disconnected the plaintiff's house from electricity supply by detaching it from the power grid on an electric pole. The plaintiff emphasised that at the time of disconnection, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 206, dated 5 March 2022, was in effect, which prohibited the termination of housing and communal services to the population during martial law. After he independently restored electricity supply, his house was disconnected again on 2 April 2023. Subsequently, conflicts arose between the parties during attempts to reconnect.

Furthermore, in October 2023, the plaintiff received a reconciliation act showing his debt as of December 2021 to be 58,706.69 UAH, and in December 2023, the association reported a debt of 81,279.66 UAH. The plaintiff considered these calculations unreliable and stated that the garden association lacked the authority to independently disconnect consumers from electricity supply, as such powers are granted by law only to authorised representatives of the system operator or electricity supplier. He referred to Supreme Court practice to support his position.

The defendant did not recognise the claim. The garden association's representative stated that the board implemented the decision of the general meeting to disconnect the plaintiff from electricity supply due to significant debt for consumed electricity and membership fees. According to the defendant, the plaintiff had not paid for consumed electricity for a long time, used it beyond established limits, connected to the power grid without authorisation, failed to provide meter readings, and did not comply with the decisions of the association's management bodies. It was also noted that the debt of individual members created a risk of disconnection of the entire garden association from electricity supply due to its own debt to the electricity supplying company.

What the Court Decided

After examining the materials of case No. 755/14515/25, the court established that the claimant's house was disconnected from the electricity supply by representatives of the garden association. This action was taken in execution of the board's decision dated 5 March 2023, due to outstanding debt for consumed electricity. The court also found that, at the time of the case's consideration, the house had been without electricity for a significant period.

The court noted that, according to the Law of Ukraine "On the Electricity Market" and the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market, the garden association is a collective household consumer of electricity. Disconnection of consumers from the power grids of a collective household consumer is permissible only in the manner prescribed by the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market and at the request of the electricity supplier.

The court pointed out that the defendant failed to provide proper and admissible evidence of the electricity supplier's request to the garden association to disconnect the claimant from the power grid. Furthermore, the board of the garden association is not a representative of the system operator within the meaning of the Law of Ukraine "On the Electricity Market" and the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market. Therefore, it is not authorised to independently carry out such disconnections in the manner prescribed by law.

The court also noted that the defendant failed to provide proper and admissible evidence of the claimant's unauthorised connection to the power grid or proper recording of such a violation in accordance with the requirements of the Rules of the Retail Electricity Market. Additionally, the garden association did not file a lawsuit to recover the debt for consumed electricity, meaning its amount was not established by a court decision.

Separately, the court noted that although the association's charter grants the right to disconnect a landowner from the power grid in the event of non-payment of membership fees or electricity costs, such provisions of the charter cannot be applied contrary to the requirements of the legislation, which establishes a special procedure for terminating electricity supply. The charter also does not provide for the possibility of disconnecting a member of the association from the general power supply network as a measure of responsibility for violating electricity usage rules.

Considering the established circumstances, the court concluded that the claimant's claims are justified. It recognised the actions of the Garden Association "Chervonyi Khimik" regarding the disconnection of the garden plot from electricity supply as illegal, ordered the association to restore electricity supply, and recovered court fees in favour of the state.

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