How much should I pay?
Pensioners 80 years of age and older are entitled to 100% compensation for major repairs. A friend of mine lives in the Pskov region, a war veteran, disabled. And pays contributions for major repairs in the amount of 50%. Because there is such a regional law.
Svetlana Razvorotneva: The rule on exempting elderly people from contributions was indeed not straightforward. The regions made their own decisions. And, of course, there are a lot of outrages that we see now. Someone, for example, says that an elderly person, if he is disabled or a veteran, must choose one of the benefits. For many, this turns into walking through all the circles of hell. If there were contacts of this person, it would be possible to sort it out.
Anna Mamonova: It is only necessary to add that the payment is made based on the social norm for housing. If he lives alone in a three-room apartment, he will not be compensated for the entire payment.
I live in the Kemerovo region. Under the house there was a mine, extracting coal from five seams. In Kemerovo and the region there is a program for relocating people from waste areas. But I have been fighting with officials for 10 years. In court I was told that I needed an expert opinion, a commission report, its cost was 42 thousand. And they leave only under an agreement with a coal company.
Svetlana Razvorotneva: Let our lawyers call you back, and we’ll sort it out. I will send the documents to the company, to the head of the region, and to the prosecutor's office. And maybe we’ll figure it out together with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. We can't promise that we'll solve everything, but we'll try.
How to return funds for repairs?
Svetlana Razvorotneva: I would like to draw attention to the fact that the state now provides an excellent opportunity to do additional work aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of an apartment building. This is the installation of weather control equipment, circulation pumps, individual heating points, motion sensors, replacement of windows, insulation of entrance areas. Everything that allows you to reduce resource consumption and not overpay for utilities. Sometimes such work can be done through contributions for major repairs, sometimes additional funding has to be collected. But at the same time, it is possible to compensate up to 80% of costs, up to 5 million rubles per home. Such a program is currently being implemented by the Housing and Communal Services Reform Fund. There is a calculator on the fund’s website in which you can enter the technical characteristics of the house and understand whether your house has the potential for this savings and what types of work can be done. With the help of the fund, a network of regional consultants has been created to help. We have a Center for Energy Efficiency at the Housing and Public Utilities Control Center, we help completely free of charge, we work with funds from a presidential grant. We will help you calculate the energy efficiency potential, select a list of works that will help make the house warmer, cheaper to maintain, and prepare an application for reimbursement.
It seems to me that the state should begin to encourage owners to carry out energy-efficient major repairs. The program has been launched, but now everything is complicated and takes a long time: the owner must submit an application to the municipality, the municipality must submit an application to the region, the region sends it to the fund. There are a huge number of people who want to take part in this program, but officials and authorities are holding it back. If it were possible for owners to apply directly to the same fund, this would be the right step for the state. In Estonia and Germany, for example, there are agencies that give free loans to people to carry out such work.
Infographics "RG" / Alexander Chistov / Marina Trubilina
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Which houses are recognized as new buildings?
Let's figure out which houses are new buildings? Do I need to pay for major repairs if the house is new, up to 5 years?
It doesn’t matter what the house looks like, what its communications are, or what its infrastructure is. The most important thing is the deadline .
In accordance with the amendments made to the Housing Code in 2015, a new building is a building that was commissioned after July 1, 2021.
Today, housing legislation is not very streamlined and is undergoing a stage of constant change.
Therefore, a situation very often occurs when in some newly completed houses, payments for major repairs constantly arrive , and in others they do not arrive at all.
Residents, unable and unwilling to use the legislation, either regularly pay contributions for major repairs in new buildings, or are unreasonably indignant.
But are the actions of local governments legal in charging fees for major repairs of a new building ? When it comes to contributions for major repairs, it is important to take into account many nuances. Find out who can choose not to make transfers, how the amount is calculated, what alternative is to a regional operator’s account, where and how payment is made, here.
From what time does payment for major repairs in new houses begin?
Sometimes a situation arises when the house is completed before July 1, 2021. But in the next five years, the construction is under warranty from the developer , which means that if any breakdowns of common property occur, the developer will eliminate the faults without the help of management organizations and, even more so, a capital repair fund.
It is precisely because of situations like this that citizens refuse to pay for major repairs because they are unnecessary.
If the house was commissioned before July 1, 2021 and does not have a guarantee , then the residents need to hold a meeting.
So, at this meeting, issues related to the fund for collecting contributions for major repairs, as well as the need for future work, should be resolved.
If residents do not want to spend money on major repairs and believe that their house is in excellent condition, then they are contradicting Article 168 of the Housing Code, which states the obligation of all citizens to make these payments.
Do I have to pay for major repairs in a new building? When living in a new home, you need to take care in choosing a management organization . It can have very different organizational and legal forms - a homeowners' association, a management company, and so on.
This body is necessary to be responsible for the maintenance of an apartment building, carry out seasonal work, and also draw up a plan for future major repairs.
Only having a selected organization as a manager, as well as a capital repair fund, registered in a commercial or non-profit structure, can we talk about putting the house on the queue for major repairs.
In accordance with the law, this can be done after 3 to 5 years from the date of delivery of the house. That is, if the house was commissioned on July 1, 2016 and is subject to the law on exemption from payments for major repairs, then you will be able to carry out repair work only in 2019.
If you are wondering: should we pay for major repairs if our house is not 5 years old, keep in mind that each region and entity has its own regional legislation, according to which it is determined what period after completion is free from the obligation to make contributions for major repairs.
For example, in the Saratov region they are exempt from such payments for a period of 3 and a half years.
Upon expiration of this period, residents at a meeting prepare for upcoming payments and decide in which structure to form the fund.
Anna Mamonova
Expert in the field of overhaul of common property of apartment buildings. While working at the Ministry of Construction, she participated in the development of a major repair system. Since 2021, he has been heading the Association of Regional Operators of Capital Repairs of Apartment Buildings (AROCR). Member of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Communal Services.
Anna Mamonova. Photo: AROKR
Administration of the Mokrushinsky village council of the Kansky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory
Part 5.1 art. 170 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation gives the right to regional authorities to grant a deferment on contributions for the capital repairs of an apartment building after adding it to the regional capital repair program. The maximum deferment period is 5 years. Currently, the terms vary from 3 to 5 years from the moment the house is included in the regional capital repair program and are established in regional laws on the capital repair of apartment buildings.
Typically, new buildings that are less than 3 to 5 years old receive a deferment. Most often, the granting of a deferment is due to the presence of a building guarantee from the developer. If the house is included in the major repair program, but is still under the appropriate warranty, the following steps must be taken.
Firstly, the issue of granting a deferment for major repairs must be discussed at a general meeting of owners of residential premises of an apartment building, at which the issue of applying for a deferment must be put to a vote. The holding of the meeting and the execution of decisions made at it must take place in accordance with the rules established by Art. Art. 45 – Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
Secondly, a statement on behalf of all owners and the minutes of the decision of the general meeting on this issue are submitted to the local administration, where they are considered by the commission on housing issues. After the condition of the apartment building has been assessed, and the arguments of the owners of the premises in the apartment building have been taken into account, either the refusal is justified or a deferment is issued. The refusal to grant a deferment must be motivated, and such a decision in any case can be challenged by the owners of the residential premises of an apartment building in court.
Violation of the requirement to pay contributions for capital repairs of apartment buildings entails liability for the owners of residential premises established by Part 14.1 of Art. 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, according to which owners of premises in an apartment building who have lately and (or) not fully paid contributions for capital repairs are required to pay a penalty to the capital repair fund in the amount of one three hundredth of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, valid on the day of actual payment, from the amount not paid on time for each day of delay starting from the thirty-first day following the day of the established payment deadline until the day of actual payment. Payment of the specified penalties is carried out in the manner established for the payment of contributions for major repairs.
Currently, courts have no problem collecting debts on contributions for major repairs. In most cases, collection is carried out in a simplified manner - on the basis of a court order. According to Art. 121 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation) dated November 14, 2002 No. 138-FZ, a court order is a court decision issued by a single judge on the basis of an application for the collection of sums of money or for the recovery of movable property from the debtor according to indisputable claims provided for in Art. 122 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation (among which the requirement for collection of debts for payment of residential premises and utilities, as well as telephone services is indicated), if the amount of money to be collected or the value of movable property subject to claim does not exceed five hundred thousand rubles.
A court order is at the same time an executive document and is executed in the manner established for the execution of court decisions.
According to Art. 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, cases of issuing a court order are considered by a magistrate as a court of first instance.
According to Art. 126 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a court order on the merits of the stated claim is issued within five days from the date of receipt of the application for the issuance of a court order to the court. A court order is issued without a trial or summoning the parties to hear their explanations.
Svetlana Razvorotneva
Since March 2013 - Executive Director of the NP National Center for Public Control in the Housing and Public Utilities Sector "Housing and Public Utilities Control".
Chairman of the Commission on Housing and Communal Services, Construction and Roads of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction, member of the Council on Housing Construction and Promotion of the Development of the Housing and Communal Sector under the Federation Council, member of the Expert Council of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Communal Services.
Svetlana Razvorotneva. Photo: Mikhail Sinitsyn/RG
