Therefore, when choosing a management organization, residents and legal owners of premises want to trust a person who can in every possible way maintain the house and common area in proper condition , as well as improve the situation.
But often this becomes impossible due to the wrong choice of the top management.
Each organization is headed by people who, in one way or another, monitor the condition of the building, give orders and primarily decide what is best to spend budget funds on, what kind of work to carry out, and so on.
Unfortunately, there are not always people at the head of management organizations who are ready to fulfill their duties conscientiously .
Often, many people come to work in the housing sector with one banal goal - to profit from gullible owners and try to penetrate the structure of their budget.
In order to prevent such incidents and unpleasant situations from happening to you, you need to know what functions should fall on the shoulders of the board of the homeowners association, how they should perform their functions, and also what is within their scope of competence.
The rights and obligations of HOAs according to the housing code - we will deal with these important and pressing issues in this article.
Read our article about the pros and cons of HOAs.
On what basis does the board act?
Let's look at conceptual questions. What is an HOA and why, within the framework of this article, we are talking about such a management organization. Let's clarify this issue.
A homeowners' association is a non-profit organization that was created from the residents themselves; in addition, the organization is registered as a legal entity, it is a full-fledged taxpayer and carries out the functions of improvement, maintenance and management of an apartment building.
The partnership is the most popular when initially choosing a management organization and there are a number of reasons for this. One of the most popular reasons for choosing and forming this organization is the opportunity for residents to independently form its composition.
At the meeting of owners, candidates in whom residents have the highest confidence are selected. In addition, given the fact that the residents of the house will be part of the board of the partnership, it means that none other than the residents of the management will be interested in performing their functions as efficiently as possible, waiting for the house to be ennobled and in proper condition. condition.
But who are the board members?
The legislation establishes that the partnership is formed from members of the legal owners of the premises.
But you must admit, if every issue related to improvement and expenditure of budgetary funds is brought to the attention of residents’ meetings, then it will have to be held very often, which is practically impossible, because each resident has his own job, and therefore will not be able to properly attend each meeting.
Therefore, the most proactive and trustworthy citizens are selected from among the owners, who can represent the general interests of the house and can independently make decisions in the interests of the residents.
When the management is created, the meeting of residents will meet much less frequently and only for very serious reasons.
In addition, such an important person as the chairman of the partnership is elected from among the board members, who is called upon to regulate all the activities of the organization and resolve the most important issues.
Find out on our website how to write an application to join the HOA.
Initiative group
In addition to the above-mentioned governing bodies, there is a certain controlling force - this is an initiative group.
What is it and why is it needed?
Reference! This is a group of people who, on their own initiative, actively monitor the work of the board and chairman. According to their observations, they can put forward certain proposals at the general meeting of owners.
Most residents have jobs, children and other important components of life. Therefore, there is no time to control every step of the HOA board. This is why there are initiative groups of people who have an active life position, interest and a sufficient amount of free time.
Who does it consist of?
The initiative team consists of residents of the house who want to do this. We can say that these are social activists who care. This does not mean that everyone can follow their own policy. Group members must first and foremost be a team (if it is no single person) that has common interests.
If several houses are under the tutelage of the board, then it would be more correct to have a common initiative group, which would include representatives of each house.
Requirements for the number and members of the group themselves
The number of proactive citizens has no limits. This could be one owner, or a couple of dozen. Requirements for group members:
- Be the owner of an apartment in this house(s).
- Do not be a member of the HOA board.
Perhaps the most important quality of a participant in an initiative group is a sincere desire to participate in the work of maintaining and providing the home with everything necessary.
What laws govern it?
Let's consider the legal regulation of homeowners' associations. Of course, the activities of management were not invented by the members of the partnership themselves; the board has long been established by law and is an integral part of the management organization .
That is why, when it comes to leadership, it should be remembered that there are many regulations that enshrine their activities at the legislative level.
Of course, the primary regulatory act that regulates the activities of the board and the HOA as a whole is the Housing Code.
It is this normative act that is capable, one way or another, of regulating the relationship between management and residents, with employees in this organization.
In addition, it regulates all the assigned duties and responsibilities of the owners on the board, and they have enough such responsibilities.
Also, many aspects that are important for the activities of the board are contained in such a local regulatory act as the charter of the association of legal homeowners.
This act regulates issues related to the activities of this organization, the election of citizens to leadership positions and other important aspects, including the issue of remuneration for their activities.
If you want to get as much information as possible about what the board is and how it is formed , we strongly recommend that you refer to these regulations.
Who is the founder?
A founder is someone who organized or created something . Therefore, the founders of the HOA are the owners who decided to organize a partnership. Information about them is entered into the Unified State Register as an appendix to the application for state registration of an HOA (you can view the step-by-step instructions for registering an HOA here). Also, information about the chairman also goes there.
Organizational and legal form
A partnership, as follows from the definition given in the legislation, has the form of a legal entity . But why exactly this? This organization is undermining the tax authorities.
In addition, the HOA has its own budget and has the opportunity to hire workers to perform any work, both on an ongoing and one-time basis.
All these signs rightfully belong to the characteristics of a legal entity, which means that a partnership is rightfully such.
You can learn about the concept of a reserve fund, as well as membership and other fees to the HOA, from our article.
Can an association manage one apartment?
According to Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the HOA must include at least half of the owners of the house. The minimum number of management and employees in the created organization is 5 people (what positions should there be in an HOA?). More than two owners from different apartments can register for membership in the HOA. This means that the establishment of a partnership in one apartment is impractical and impossible.
The only exception is the initiative to create a partnership coming from one owner. In this case, it is possible to organize a meeting, collect documents and select assistants from among interested residents of the same building.
Responsibilities to residents
Members of the board of the partnership, as well as the founders and other employees of this organization, have a list of duties established by law, namely the labor code, that they are obliged to fulfill to residents . Let us remind you that failure to fulfill duties can cost members of management not only re-election, but also penalties and other, not the most nice things.
Let's consider the main responsibilities of board members and other employees of the homeowners association :
- First of all, members of management must tirelessly comply with the requirements of the law, listen to it and not act beyond its limits.
- Board members must exercise control over the expenditure of budget funds.
- Members of management undertake to honestly prepare estimates of income and expenses not only for all board members, but also for other employees.
- Members of management are required to monitor the management of MKD.
- It is the responsibility of the organization’s board to hire workers to service the house, and, if there are reasons, to fire them.
- Board members are required to enter into agreements for the maintenance of an apartment building, as well as its operation and repair.
- Board members maintain so-called documentary registers, in which they report on everything related to expenses.
- They are obligated to bring controversial and important issues to the attention of the meeting of homeowners.
- If the charter establishes other duties, then fulfill them unquestioningly.
Read about the responsibilities of the HOA manager in our article.
Membership exclusion
Withdrawal from membership is possible due to the termination of the participant's right to own living space. This means that when selling or donating his apartment, a member of the HOA automatically leaves the partnership.
Also, a participant in the managing company may resign from his position at any time by expressing such a desire and submitting a statement of his intention to the chairman.
The forced exclusion of a person from a HOA is not provided for by law , since Article 143, Part 3 speaks of only two possible ways to leave - at one’s own request and in the event of loss of ownership of an apartment in the house.
Joining a partnership is voluntary, as is leaving it. Membership in this organization expands the range of powers, but also provides responsibilities that must be strictly observed in the interests of all residents.
How are controversial issues resolved?
controversial issues arise among members of associations and their employees , then these issues should be brought to a meeting of residents, or as it is called, a meeting and resolved by voting.
This rule is not established by law, but is certainly reflected in the charter of the partnership.
You can learn how to write a statement to the HOA about leaks, flooding, or the need for repairs and recalculation in our article.
Protocol
After the owner becomes a member of the HOA, he has every right, on an equal basis with other members, to take part in general meetings of residents. It is this meeting that is the main body that makes all important decisions on the management of the MKD by voting.
Note! Any result of a meeting of HOA owners must be recorded in the minutes.
The protocol is a standard document consisting of three parts:
- Preamble , introductory part - it contains all the information about the partnership itself, the number of members in the HOA who arrived at the meeting, the decision to open the meeting or cancel it if there is no quorum.
- The main part is the agenda, debate on each issue.
- Resolution - contains the results of voting on each issue.
Attached to the minutes are notices of the meeting that were sent to each member prior to the meeting, ballot papers, and a list of those present. These applications are considered an integral part of the protocol.
What rights and powers do they have?
Board and founders
The board of the partnership and its founders are officials who, in addition to a wide range of responsibilities, have the same range of rights.
Let's look at the rights that these subjects have :
- They have the right to decide on the expenditure of budget funds for the needs of the house and its maintenance.
- Conclude agreements for the maintenance and management of an apartment building.
- Determine estimates of income and expenses based on the budget.
- Take advantage of credit offers within the organization provided by banks.
- Transfer money to employees for work performed.
- Receive rewards for work done.
- Conclude deals for activities necessary to maintain the home.
- Use common property.
- Modify common property as part of the management of an apartment building.
Find out on our website how to complain about the work of your HOA and whether you can leave it.
Members
Let's consider the legal status of the members of the partnership, which is determined by the labor code:
- These persons have the right to receive timely and comprehensive information about the activities of the partnership and the expenditure of budget funds.
- They have the right to make demands on the partnership regarding the quality or other aspects of the services provided.
- They have the right to get acquainted with documents, including accounting.
- They have the right to independently organize general meetings of homeowners to discuss issues of concern.
- They have the right to demand changes to the organization’s charter.
Read our articles about reorganization, liquidation or bankruptcy of HOAs.
Is it possible for an organization to exist in one building?
The answer is no. One entrance does not include more than 50% of the residents, so the creation of an HOA in this case has no legal force.
There are still situations where half of the house has already been organized by an HOA, and the other half is still served by a management company (what is the difference between an HOA and a management company and what to choose?). In this case, there are two options to solve the problem:
- connecting the remaining entrances to the existing HOA;
- creation of a new partnership and liquidation of an existing one.
Where and should this be written down?
Of course, despite the fact that the legislation contains information about rights and obligations, still crawling through codes in order to find this or that norm is a thankless task.
That is why rights and obligations are prescribed not only in codes and other normative legal acts, but also in the charter of the partnership .
a special chapter for this topic , where all possible rights are described in detail with references to legislation. The same goes for responsibilities.
Also, do not forget that the owners of housing in an apartment building enter into an agreement with the partnership for the management and maintenance of a multi-story building and the adjacent territory.
So, based on the available data, we can conclude that this agreement can also contain information about the rights and obligations of the parties so that all owners of premises in an apartment building can become familiar with these issues during the meeting.
Find out on our website also how to register an HOA on the GIS Housing and Communal Services.
