Why you cannot opt out of central heating in favor of a gas boiler: Explanation from the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services
Residents of apartment buildings cannot independently disconnect their apartments from central heating and switch to individual gas boilers, stated the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Uzbekistan. The department explained the ban by stating that tampering with the shared system could disrupt the heat supply to neighboring apartments.
Why is it impossible to give up central heating in favor of a gas boiler? Explanation from the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Communal Services
Residents of apartment buildings connected to centralized heat supply do not have the right to independently disconnect their apartments from the shared heating system and switch to individual gas boilers. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Uzbekistan, Ozoda Djuraeva, who explained that such a ban is necessary to preserve the operational functionality of the heating system of the entire building.
At a press conference on October 14, Kun.uz journalist Sevara Jabbarova raised the topic of a possible transition from centralized heating to individual heating against the backdrop of the proposed tariff increase.
As an example, she cited an apartment in Tashkent with a total area of 80 sq. m, of which the heated area is 60 sq. m. According to her calculations, after the proposed tariff increase, the monthly heating fee could approach 600 thousand soums, and taking hot water supply into account — nearly 700 thousand soums.
The journalist noted that such amounts are significantly higher than the expenses of residents using individual dual-circuit gas boilers, and asked whether consumers have the right to refuse centralized heat supply.
"Disconnecting apartment buildings provided with centralized heat supply from the central heating system is prohibited," replied Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services Ozoda Djuraeva.
She cited paragraph 88 of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 194 dated July 5, 2014, which approved the rules for the provision of public utility services.
According to this paragraph, consumers are prohibited from disconnecting the heating systems of individual residential and non-residential premises of apartment buildings from the in-house system with the dismantling of heating appliances. It is also forbidden to unauthorizedly modify in-house heat supply systems and install additional equipment in violation of established requirements.
Djuraeva emphasized that interfering with the shared heating system can deteriorate the quality of heat supply in other apartments.
"Currently, residents complain about heating problems. But when we inspect apartments, there are cases of illegal connections to centralized heating pipes, altering them into underfloor heating, dismantling them, and moving them out to the balcony. This, of course, very strongly affects neighbors and leads to a disruption in the operation of the heating system," she explained.
According to the Deputy Minister, unauthorized changes to in-house piping disrupt the operation of the overall system on which the heat supply of all apartments depends.
Djuraeva also recalled the restrictions on connecting new apartment buildings to natural gas. The authorities are gradually transitioning to the use of electricity and centralized or local heat supply systems instead of individual gas boilers.
As a reminder, in October 2025, former Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamahmudov announced that Uzbekistan had stopped issuing technical specifications for connecting new residential buildings to gas supply where natural gas is intended to be used exclusively for heating and cooking.
"Gazeta", the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services proposed to raise tariffs for centralized heating and hot water supply for the population by an average of 30% from November 1, 2026.
In particular, in Tashkent, the following tariffs including VAT are proposed for Veolia Energy Tashkent consumers:
Thus, for an apartment with a heated area of 60 sq. m, the costs for heating alone for 30 days under the proposed tariff will amount to about 565 thousand soums compared to 435 thousand soums under the current one.
The draft government resolution provides for a review of heat supply tariffs in all regions of Uzbekistan.
In addition, starting from 2028, it is proposed to index tariffs annually taking inflation into account, but by no more than 10%. At the same time, a task was previously set to gradually bring heat supply tariffs for the population closer to the cost price of services by 2030.