When purchasing land for the purposes of gardening and horticulture, many citizens join special organizations. They are created to assist citizens in matters of farming. One of these unifying organizations is SNT - a gardening non-profit partnership.
Issues related to the regulation of SNT activities are regulated by legislative norms. Despite this, citizens are not always aware of how to correctly carry out this or that procedure. In particular, many questions concern exit from SNT in 2020. We will tell you what the procedure is, what the pros and cons are, and how the registration process takes place.
Possible consequences of leaving SNT
The decision to join SNT membership or not is made voluntarily. This is a personal matter for each landowner. No one can force you to join - this rule is regulated by law.
If a landowner entered into a partnership, and after some time decided to leave it, then no one has the right to detain him. However, in this case it is necessary to understand what the consequences of such a decision are.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with leaving SNT. After this there are no serious difficulties.
You can initiate withdrawal from the partnership by submitting an application. It is compiled in free form and transferred to the management of SNT. The application can be submitted in person or sent by mail.
Once the application is accepted, the following consequences occur:
- an agreement is signed with the withdrawing participant, which regulates further relations between the parties;
- payment of membership fees stops;
- there is no opportunity to take part in the internal affairs of the partnership;
- you no longer need to obey the rules established in the SNT and the decisions of the partnership;
- loss of the opportunity to be selected to the management.
You can leave the partnership at any time. In this sense, the participant is not limited.
Buying an apartment through a real estate agency
Realt.by user Alexey turned to experts with a question about payment for real estate services.
The real estate buyer is perplexed as to why and whether he is obliged to pay a commission to the agency: “Good afternoon. I found an apartment in an advertisement. I called and contacted the realtor, looked at the property, and it was okay. The next day we agreed on a price. Afterwards I asked for a re-show in the presence of the owner - the seller and my wife. They further warned that their services upon purchase will amount to an additional 50 b.v. Am I required to pay realtor fees, or can I buy a home without additional payments?”
Lyudmila Leparskaya, director of Ulasny Dakh LLC, answers:
— Good afternoon. Payment for realtor services is voluntary. An agreement for the provision of real estate services is concluded. For my part, I always recommend concluding such an agreement.
Let's figure out what you are paying for and why you need it. The realtor will agree on all the conditions that are very important for you: the price of the property, payment terms, payment terms, will carry out settlements between the parties in accordance with the law, coordinate and carry out the transaction itself and the transfer of ownership, control utility bills and the completeness of the transfer of the property. Legal due diligence and verification of title documents are very important. Nobody wants to be left without an apartment in the future. The activities of all real estate agencies in our country are licensed and insured, which means that your transaction is insured.
Think about it, is it worth saving? The decision is yours. I always recommend insuring yourself against troubles that may arise when purchasing real estate.
The procedure for leaving SNT
The process of leaving SNT in 2021 does not have any particular legal difficulties. A person who decides to leave the partnership must adhere to the following algorithm:
- Write a statement in any form. The application is written in two copies addressed to the chairman of the partnership. One copy is transferred to the partnership, the second remains with the applicant.
- Place a mark on your copy indicating that the application has been accepted. The authorized person must indicate the date of acceptance and provide a personal signature.
That's it, you don't need to do anything else. When leaving the SNT, there is no need to convene a general meeting of members or wait for the decision of the chairman.
There are cases when leaving the ranks of a gardening partnership was forced. This is possible when:
- the participant deliberately and systematically violated the law regarding the activities of SNT;
- the participant did not eliminate the facts of improper use of the land plot.
When such violations are detected on the part of a member of the SNT, a decision is made to expel him. Such a procedure (as well as voluntary exit) is prescribed in the charter of the partnership. The date of termination of SNT membership is the day the application is submitted.
What does the new law No. 217-FZ “On gardening partnerships” say?
Federal Law No. 217-FZ of July 29, 2021 clearly states that a member of a partnership is obliged to “timely pay the contributions provided for by this Federal Law” (Clause 6, Article 11 “Rights and obligations of a member of a partnership”).
And there are four of these:
- membership;
- target;
- share;
- opening.
With the new law coming into force in 2021, only two of them remain mandatory. This is a membership fee (for the maintenance of common property and related expenses, including wages for SNT employees) and a target contribution. The latter is a one-time payment, while payment for membership in the partnership is periodic.
That is, you need to pay membership fees systematically.
As for share and introductory investments, they are canceled from 2021, which cannot but please SNT members, already burdened with two mandatory expenses.
The innovations also touched upon another sore subject concerning financial issues. The fact is that if the payment procedure is regulated at the legislative level, then the situation with the amounts is different. Each individual gardening partnership is authorized to independently determine the amount of contributions, based on the expenses of its SNT.
Of course, this matter is subject to strict reporting. But, as they say, paper will endure anything. And it is quite natural that each member of the partnership would like to be sure that the amount of his contributions fell entirely into the account of SNT, and was not capitalized by other members or the conditional management of the partnership.
The new law does not establish fixed prices. But he obliges to transfer funds exclusively to the current account of the partnership, with checks and a clearly stated purpose of contributions.
Termination of obligation to pay contributions
After leaving the SNT, any obligations of a material or multilateral nature cease. Regular payment of contributions is abolished. Instead, the land user will pay the payments established in the concluded agreement.
Timely payment of payments under the contract is the responsibility of the landowner. If this condition is ignored, the contract may be terminated and funds may be recovered in court. In addition, the partnership may limit access to property assets, and penalties will be charged on the amount of debt.
Be extremely careful. There are cases when membership fees were paid in advance for a year in advance. If the landowner leaves the SNT, the partnership has the right not to return contributions already paid. However, such funds paid in advance are returned.
For example, if a citizen submitted an application for retirement in October, then contributions from January to October will not be returned to him. But the money for November and December will need to be returned in full. In case of violations, you can go to court.
Obtaining a residence permit
The legislation provides for obtaining registration at a summer cottage, but subject to its compliance with the place of permanent residence. Such compliance is established by the local administration. The commission examines living conditions and identifies :
- Possibility of year-round transport links with your place of permanent residence.
- The presence in the village of engineering infrastructure, a driveway or passage to a highway that can be cleared of snow debris.
- The quality of the house, which must meet the criteria for living space. Providing the home with heating and running water.
Subject to compliance, which the commission determines with sufficient bias, an inspection report of living conditions is drawn up, on the basis of which a residence permit is issued.
In this case, the possibility of allocating a postal address to the site at which registration is issued is taken into account.
What will happen to the land plot and share in common property?
The right to use the land plot is not lost in case of withdrawal from the partnership. In addition, often the lands included in the SNT are owned. It is almost impossible to deprive someone of their property rights even through the courts.
If the site is not registered as a property, the situation is resolved through an agreement with the board on the procedure for further land use. They have no right to refuse this.
SNT quite often practices a scheme in which members make monthly payments. The collected funds are spent on the purchase of common property. It is used by all SNT participants.
Can I take my share when leaving the partnership? You can receive it in the form of property or monetary compensation. It is calculated from the value of the property divided by the number of members.
The procedure for calculating and transferring shares must be regulated by the charter of the partnership. If the procedure is not specified, the parties negotiate individually.
Registration of ownership of a cooperative apartment
Among the June questions, the topic of cooperative housing and registration of ownership of it was also raised:
“I am interested in the question of the need to register ownership of a cooperative apartment with a fully paid share. I am the main tenant by right of inheritance of this living space. Two of my children are registered in the apartment. In the event of, say, my sudden “non-viability”, whose property (or under whose control) will the living space be in its current status? As far as I understand, I can’t sell, donate, or even perform any actions with this living space without registration? Or am I mistaken? I would appreciate your answer."
Lawyer Alexander Solopov answers:
- Good day! Thanks for the question. You are a little mistaken. Based on the contents of Part 1 of Art. 173 and part 2 of Art. 179 Housing Code of the Republic of Belarus, this is the right (and not the obligation) of the owner to register ownership of the provided residential premises. Moreover, the savings can be inherited under general conditions (by law or by will) by your heirs in the event of your “non-viability”.
However, despite the provision of an apartment that corresponds to the paid shares, it is not your property (formally). In this regard, difficulties may arise with the registration of certain things (for example, redevelopment).
How to fill out an application for leaving SNT
The application is written in any form. There is no set pattern. The document can be handwritten or printed.
The text of the application must contain:
- the “header”, which indicates to whom and from whom the application is being written, is located in the upper right corner;
- the name of the document “Application” is written in the middle;
- the text of the application itself indicates a request to be excluded from membership of the partnership;
- At the end, the review period is stated - one month;
- date and signature.
The application is drawn up in two copies. The applicant's copy must be marked with an acceptance mark.
Agreement on the procedure for using utility networks and other property of the partnership
If one of the members of the partnership wants to leave the SNT, then he must understand that now he will not have rights to the common property. This includes:
- electrical communication poles, CP;
- sewerage and drainage system;
- roads.
It is clear that without all this it will be quite difficult to garden on your own.
However, the legislation is on the side of such persons and obliges the management of the partnership to enter into an agreement with the person who left the SNT on the joint exploitation of property. In practice, not all chairmen are in a hurry to propose a draft treaty to the withdrawing member for consideration. Although it is beneficial to both parties: society will receive additional income, which can be used to offset the costs of maintaining communications. A person who has left society will feel calm and will use all communications under the same conditions, perhaps only with an increase in the cost of such services.
If the company has not forwarded or submitted the draft agreement for consideration to the former participant, then the latter has the right to draw it up independently. Fortunately, you can always find an approximate sample, adjust it to your needs and send it yourself to the management of SNT. In cases where the chairman of the company does not respond to a written appeal, the withdrawing participant has the right to go to court to protect his rights.
You can also contact them in cases where a draft agreement has been submitted for consideration, but it contains very high tariffs or provisions that contradict the norms of current legislation.
