Based on Part 3 of Art. 161 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code), homeowners in multi-apartment households have the right to choose the method of managing apartment buildings.
In accordance with the chosen method, sanctions for poor quality provision of paid services for the maintenance of common property will be borne by the management company, HOA or persons appointed by the owners as responsible for the execution of maintenance work - under direct management (parts 2.1., 2.2. and 2.3. Article 161 of the Code).
Article 161 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation “Choice of a method of managing an apartment building. General requirements for the management of an apartment building"
Legal regulation
Residents of apartment buildings should familiarize themselves with the following legal documents regulating the procedure for cleaning entrances and other requirements for the maintenance of common property:
- Government Decree No. 491 of August 13, 2006 “On approval of the rules for maintaining property in an apartment building”;
- Government Decree No. 290 of April 3, 2013 “On the minimum list of services and works necessary to ensure proper maintenance of common property in an apartment building” (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 290);
- Resolution of the State Construction Committee No. 170 of September 27, 2003 “On approval of the Rules and Standards for the Technical Operation of the Housing Stock” (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 170);
- SanPiN 2.1.2.1002-00;
- Federal Law No. 52 of March 30, 1999 “On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population.”
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006 No. 491 “On approval of the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building and the rules for changing the amount of payment for the maintenance of residential premises in the case of the provision of services and performance of work on the management, maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building of inadequate quality and ( or) with interruptions exceeding the established duration"
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04/03/2013 No. 290 “On the minimum list of services and work necessary to ensure proper maintenance of common property in an apartment building, and the procedure for their provision and implementation”
Resolution of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation dated September 27, 2003 No. 170 “On approval of the Rules and Standards for the technical operation of the housing stock”
SanPiN 2.1.2.1002-00 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for residential buildings and premises”
Federal Law of March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population
Cleaning schedule
The frequency must comply with current regulations.
| Periodicity | Type of work |
| Every day | Wet sweeping of staircases and flights of the first 2 floors of an apartment building |
| Wet sweeping of areas located in front of waste chute loading valves | |
| Washing the elevator cabin with a damp cloth | |
| Container site cleaning | |
| Every calendar week | Wet sweeping of stairwells located on 3 floors and above |
| Cleaning lawns with green spaces from accidentally thrown garbage | |
| 1 time every 2 weeks | Washing of all staircases and flights located in the apartment building (regardless of the floor) |
| Other frequency | Sweeping the area near the apartment building - once every 3 days |
| Cleaning the MKD lawn from fallen leaves, twigs and other waste - once every 3 days (in summer and autumn) | |
| Lawn mowing - once a month, but can be done more often (the period for this type of work is from May to September) | |
| Washing windows, wiping the walls of entrances with a damp cloth, doors, lighting shades, window sills, heating radiators, stairs leading to attics, electric meters and other property located in the entrance - once a year (in spring) |
Attention! Sanitary maintenance of common areas is included in the list of mandatory works carried out during the maintenance of apartment buildings.
Main innovation
The most important innovation, which has caused the most controversy in practice, is that daily wet cleaning of entrances has become mandatory. Let's tell you more about it.
SanPiN 2.1.3684-21 dated January 28, 2021 - rules for cleaning entrances to apartment buildings:
- wet cleaning with the use of cleaning agents and detergents is provided, and not just wet sweeping of windows, window sills and walls, as before;
- it must be done every day;
- The floors of all floors, as well as stairs, elevators, and all common areas should be washed every day.
Thus, for the first time in Russia, rules for cleaning entrances have been introduced; the list of mandatory work and the frequency of cleaning are now determined by sanitary rules.
What is VKGO maintenance in a receipt for an apartment - do I have to pay?
Quality checking
Any owner can carry out a quality check, paying attention to the following factors:
- are there any traces of garbage, cigarette butts, cigarette packs, beer cans or bottles;
- are there large traces of dirt, puddles on the floor, clots of dust, etc.;
- Is there a smell of spoiled garbage?
Advice! If there are suspicions of inadequate quality of services provided, the owner of the apartment can contact the person responsible for fulfilling the terms of the contract (depending on the chosen method of managing the apartment building) - the management company, the HOA or the chairman of the board of the apartment building with a complaint in order to take appropriate measures.
Frequency of removal of drawings on walls
Based on the last paragraph of paragraph.
“d” of Appendix 1 to MDK 2-04.2004, wet wiping of walls is carried out every year, and washing of staircases is carried out once a month on all floors. It seems that drawings on the walls, which can be removed by wiping, will be removed in the next year after their application (in the spring), as follows from the literal understanding of the above norm.
It is important to know! If the drawing is not removed using this method, it will be removed as soon as the entrances are repaired - see clause 3.2.9. Resolution No. 170, which states that repairs are carried out once every 3 years or once every 5 years. Download for viewing and printing:
MDK 2-04.2004 “Methodological manual for the maintenance and repair of housing stock”
Is it necessary to draw up an agreement?
A contract for cleaning the entrance must be drawn up. It states the rights and obligations of the parties, in case of violation of which they will be able to prove their case in court.
Other points that must be specified in the contract:
- cost of services;
- payment procedure;
- procedure for delivery and acceptance of work;
- liability of the parties;
- force majeure circumstances;
- settlement of disputes;
- the duration of the contract and the procedure for its termination;
- other conditions.
The contract is drawn up both when concluding a transaction with a private individual and with a cleaning company. If the HOA is hiring staff, then they enter into an agreement with the residents and with the organization that will perform the cleaning.
The details of the parties, both the customer and the contractor, must be indicated. There are annexes to the contract that list the houses being serviced, the cost and types of services, and the frequency of their performance (standard, wet and general cleaning).
Rules for putting things in order
Bringing premises to a clean condition must be done in accordance with current standards presented in legislative acts:
- in relation to vestibules, corridors, elevator cabins, flights of stairs, ramps, both dry and wet cleaning should be carried out (paragraph 2, paragraph 23 of Resolution No. 290);
- in relation to window sills, window grilles, stair railings, cabinets in which general house metering devices are located, mailboxes, door panels, intercom closers and door handles, only wet cleaning is carried out (paragraph 3, paragraph 23 of Resolution No. 290);
- cleaning of the porch and area located in front of the entrance to the apartment building must be carried out both in the warm and cold seasons (last paragraphs of paragraphs 24 and 25 of Resolution No. 290);
- owners of residential premises at a general meeting can provide that cleaning or other maintenance work on apartment buildings will be carried out at a more frequent frequency than that specified in the legislation (clause 5 of the Rules for the provision of services..., approved by Resolution No. 290).
Arbitrage practice
Decision No. M-1457/2013 in civil case No. 2-1598/13 dated October 17, 2013, issued by the Bogorodsk City Court of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, may look interesting.
The essence of the case is as follows - in the interests of a resident of the house, who is a pensioner and is unable to independently file a claim with the Criminal Code due to his age, the prosecutor appealed to the court with a demand to oblige the Criminal Code:
- clean entrances and other common areas;
- carry out deratization and disinfestation.
The defendant’s representative did not agree with these requirements, explaining that:
- the prosecutor had no right to go to court;
- payment for cleaning is not included in the tariff for repairs and maintenance of housing, and therefore should not be paid;
- deratization and disinfestation are being done, but residents simply do not see it;
- apartment owners were given an explanation that at the general meeting a decision could be made to include cleaning as part of the fee for repairs and maintenance (with a simultaneous increase in such fees).
What the court decided:
- Part of the prosecutor's claims for deratization and disinfestation must be rejected, since no evidence has been provided that these works are not being carried out (the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff - editor's note), and the testimony of witnesses on the plaintiff's side cannot properly testify to failure to perform this type of work (in accordance with Art. and Art. Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
- Part of the claim for cleaning of entrances was also denied for the following reasons:
- the list of services and works is regulated by the method of managing apartment buildings, in the presented case, indicated in the agreement between the management company and the residents;
- the contract for the provision of the relevant service did not say; accordingly, it was not included in the payment for repairs and maintenance, and therefore should not have been provided.
Download for viewing and printing:
Article 56 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation “Obligation of Evidence”
Article 60 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation “Admissibility of evidence”
Cleaning fee
Payment for services provided by the management company is included in the general receipt for which funds are paid for housing and communal services. The cost of work is set by the employees of the management company, taking into account the expended material and physical resources.
Including:
- remuneration of employees. The law states that earnings cannot be less than the subsistence level in force in a particular region. The amount of expenses increases, since the management company has a large staff;
- purchasing cleaning materials. Due to the fact that the entrance premises are large, every month it is necessary to carry out an impressive purchase of detergents, gloves, rags;
- payment of taxes. Management companies are not exempt from paying fees.
In addition, the management company is required to provide funds to paying agents and compensate for services provided by contractors. The above aspects affect the cost of services provided.
What are the types of conflict situations and how to resolve them?
Solution methods depend on the management method.
If the house is managed by the management company or directly by the residents, first of all, any conflict should be resolved through the chairman of the MKD council (Article 161.1 of the Code), who is authorized to resolve such issues.
You can complain about the poor quality of cleaning by the person hired to carry it out to the management company or to the chairman of the HOA (depending on the management method).
Also, a measure of influence can be the convening of a general meeting and refusal of the services of the relevant management company on the basis of Part 8.2. Art. 162 of the Code (if the Criminal Code does not take any measures).
Download for viewing and printing:
Article 161.1 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation “Council of an apartment building”
Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation “Management agreement for an apartment building”
