Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva told FACT: There is a legal vacuum on the issue of building heating systems

Heating systems are taking over the country because it is already getting colder. What is happening with building heating systems? Will we be able to take our car for an inspection if we have fines from the traffic police... And about more problems... National Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva spoke to FACT.

- Ms. Delcheva, you are delving deeper and deeper into the depths of popular discontent. Let's start with heating systems. How will the building installation be calculated, since there is no legal formula?
- There is currently a legal vacuum on the issue of the building installation in heating, since as of September 12, 2025, a three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court suspended the formula set out in the Regulation on Heat Supply, which calculates the amount of heat energy released by vertical building installations in buildings - condominiums.

During the heating season, this will primarily affect heating customers who have chosen to pay for actual measured monthly consumption.

Since there is no valid formula for calculating the energy from the building installation, there is no way for heat accountants to charge such a component in the bills and accordingly they must be lower. So the formation of real monthly heating bills is currently really questionable, which I have already asked the Minister of Energy.
In fact, practically all customers with centralized heating in buildings with vertical installations are affected, since for them there is now a lack of clarity and predictability as to how the energy from the building installation will be calculated.

- The Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that the formula is inaccurate and does not allow citizens to understand how they pay for the heat used. What does this mean for people?
- Clear and sustainable norms for the protection of the rights of energy consumers operate in the European Union. Specifically, the Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 23 October 2025 in Case C 760/23 does not suspend the operation of the building installation formula in Bulgaria, but indicates that it is necessary for the rules and parameters on the basis of which customers' costs are calculated to guarantee the transparency and accuracy of the reporting of individual consumption. In this regard, and given the suspension of the building installation formula by the Supreme Administrative Court, the Ministry of Energy considered that a new, fairer formula for building installation is urgently needed.

- The heating season has begun. What are the Ministry of Energy and “Toplofikatsiya“ doing? When do you expect answers…
- A working group of experts has been established in the Ministry of Energy, which should shortly develop a clearer and more understandable mechanism for calculating the energy emitted by building installations for heating. The Ombudsman's opinion on the building installation formula over the years has been constant and categorical - it is necessary to find an accurate, clear and fair way to calculate the amounts of heat energy emitted by the building installation.

- Many people are suing “Toplofikatsiya“ for a building installation fee. What happens in them?
- In any such dispute, the final word is with the court, after clarifying all disputed points, assessing evidence and conclusions of experts.
According to Art. 633 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Communities is binding on all courts and institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria.

- Will the invoices that customers receive become more understandable?
- Consumers often encounter this problem. Earlier, in a dialogue between the Ombudsman and the management of the Sofia district heating company, a new invoice template for household customers was prepared, which provides clarity about the customer's accrued commercial obligations. Recently, ambiguities have arisen in connection with the additional data that district heating companies provide to their customers about the heat energy that has entered the building and what part of it has been distributed to the individual property account. There are now an abundance of numbers, but the practical meaning is often unclear to consumers. Therefore, a solution must be found to provide clearer, useful information for the customer, on invoices. They must become more understandable, which I will categorically insist on.

- You recently announced that you are ready with your first constitutional complaint. Tell us more …
- That's right, on November 7, I filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional Article 147, paragraph 9a of the Road Traffic Act (RTA). This is the norm according to which you can carry out a technical inspection of a motor vehicle only in the absence of unpaid fines for the owner, user or person presenting the vehicle for inspection.

This provision violates fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution - the right to work, the right to property and the right to free movement(Article 4, paragraph 1, Article 16, Article 17, paragraphs 1 and 3, Article 35, paragraph 1 and Article 48, paragraph 1).

I am categorical, the measure is disproportionate and unfair because it prevents citizens from using their cars even when they are technically in good condition. Thus, the law does not protect the public interest, but becomes an instrument of pressure, which contradicts the principles of the rule of law.
In practice, citizens will be punished not because they endanger traffic safety, but because the state cannot effectively collect its fines. Thus, instead of using the legal mechanisms for this, it shifts the burden onto people, depriving them of the opportunity to legally use their cars - unfairly, disproportionately and contrary to the principles of the rule of law.

My argument is that such a provision creates an artificial obstacle to the exercise of the right to property, without this being related to the legitimate purpose of the institute of technical inspections.

In addition, the norm has a direct impact on the right to labor, especially for people whose profession or daily work requires the use of a car.
I will recall that the Constitutional Court has already issued similar decisions - No. 3/2021 and No. 6/2023, in which it is accepted that it is unconstitutional to circumvent the legal order for collecting public receivables by restricting the right to movement.

- What worries people most when we talk about adopting the euro. Do you think we are ready?
- I definitely think that the state did what was necessary after the European Commission and the European Central Bank issued positive reports on our country's readiness to introduce the euro from January 1 next year. With the Law on the Introduction of the Euro, we have a clearly fixed exchange rate — 1 euro = 1.95583 leva. The government, the BNB and all other institutions have undertaken a number of measures and explanatory campaigns. One of the important steps was the dual display of prices in stores, which show the values in both leva and euro, as well as the activation of the control bodies, which must monitor whether there is speculation in the market.

Therefore, we can say that the country is in the final stage of preparation - although the important element of trust among citizens and, above all, of informed information remains.

In the last week, I had the opportunity to attend several high-level forums, which convinced me that the systems are ready, I expect to see what will happen next year. You know, December 31 and January 2 are days off at the suggestion of the Ministry of Finance, namely, in order to smoothly transition to the new currency.
As for fears, they are still there, mainly from price increases and loss of purchasing power. For some citizens, the lev has national significance and the change creates emotional uncertainty. There is also a fear of technical inconveniences - for example, how will salaries, pensions, savings be converted into currency; how will price tags, cash registers, software be updated, how will people be protected from fraud with the new banknotes.
Here I will say that elderly people have a higher level of anxiety about the introduction of the euro. Some of them have never seen another currency.

That is why in September I initiated an explanatory information campaign under the title “Pensions in Euro“.

This was prompted by signals received in the Ombudsman's reception office, from which it became clear that the process of introducing the euro worries quite a few elderly citizens. I invited the manager of the National Social Security Institute and together - the teams of both institutions - we organized reception days in a number of settlements - Dupnitsa, Samokov, Veliko Tarnovo, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Gotse Delchev, Petrich, Mezdra. Our initiative is a companion to the government's campaign, but the main focus is on the elderly. We advise pensioners on all issues related to the upcoming change - from the recalculation of pensions in euros to how to recognize counterfeit banknotes so as not to become a victim of fraudsters.
You know that pensions are the main income for a large part of people, and ensuring a smooth, secure transition is key to their financial security. Over the years, some pensioners have more limited access to technical information or new technologies, which is why the personalized campaign with reception and targeted meetings is of particular importance. Through the campaign, we aim to minimize anxiety and ensure the right to information - one of the ombudsman's commitments.

Everywhere on site, we are handing out brochures and booklets provided by the Ministry of Finance and the Bulgarian National Bank, which visualize the conversion of change at the official exchange rate - 1 euro = 1.95583 leva.

To make it easier for older people who use mobile phones - by scanning a QR code printed on the leaflets, we showed that they could convert leva into euros and stotinki into euro cents in real time. The booklets also answer specific questions such as how to exchange my money, how much can be exchanged at once, how pensions, social payments and salaries will be recalculated, whether contracts need to be re-signed, etc.