As the cold gradually sets in, are you wondering when the heating in your collective installation will be back on? Here’s everything you need to know to prepare yourself as well as possible.
Although collective heating has many advantages (cost, maintenance, etc.) thanks to its centralized system for all residents of a building, it cannot be turned on or even off whenever you want! It is up to the co-ownership to decide whether to restart the heating before winter, as well as whether to turn it off in the spring. Here’s how to better understand the timing for switching on the collective heating in your building.
Please note first of all that there is no legal date for restarting collective heating, in particular because of the temperature differences observed in the different French regions. It is therefore the residents and the condominium trustee who decide the most appropriate time to turn the heating back on in the buildings. The precise date may be included in the co-ownership regulations or voted on at a general meeting.
Note that each year, central heating is generally put back into service around October 15. And, when the cold sets in before the planned start-up of the collective heating, the co-owners can make a request for early start-up to the trustee. Note that the construction code imposes temperature thresholds to be respected for starting collective heating. Thus, the temperature must not drop below 18°C in recent buildings (building permit issued since June 2001) and 19°C in older housing. The temperature is heard in the center of the rooms.
There is also no official date for stopping collective heating, but it is usually around April 15. Heating can thus be maintained depending on seasonal temperatures. You can contact your property manager to find out the exact date when collective heating in your building will be turned off. And if the heating is no longer in use, but the temperatures are a little cool, then auxiliary heating is the solution.
