Instructions: how to fill out the minutes of the general meeting of homeowners in an apartment building

Is it necessary to keep protocols and in what form?

The requirement to maintain a protocol is established at the legislative level. Clause 3 of Art. 181.2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes the need for a protocol if a decision is made at a meeting. The owners of an apartment building put issues that affect important issues on the general agenda and make decisions by voting. Meetings are held to decide on the reconstruction of the house, repair of common property, transfer of common property for rent, and installation of a video surveillance system. A protocol is drawn up for documentation purposes.

Article 45 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes the obligation of owners of premises in an apartment building to hold meetings annually. Persons who own apartments have the right to independently determine the frequency of holding. A document adopted at a general meeting is declared invalid if the requirements for it are not met. To do this, a person who believes that his right has been violated goes to court (Appeal ruling of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court dated September 24, 2020 in case No. 33-12983/2020).

On March 5, 2021, Order of the Ministry of Construction of Russia dated January 28, 2019 No. 44/pr. The norms of the document do not establish a sample protocol of the decision of the general meeting of owners as an appendix, but the general requirements for its preparation are disclosed.

Based on the requirements analysis, consider the following form:

How is the meeting of owners held and what issues does it resolve?

According to Art. 45 of the Housing Code, meetings are held:

• annually according to plan;
• on the initiative of one of the owners;
• at the initiative of the management organization.

If the initiator is the owner or management company, then all property owners are given notices indicating the time and place of the meeting no later than 10 calendar days before it is held. Upon completion, the management prepares a sample protocol for the meeting of apartment building owners and introduces it to the meeting participants and all other residents.

The composition is as follows:

• Chairman of the MKD;
• secretary (appointed in advance or chosen from those gathered);
• quorum (at least half of all residents of an apartment building must gather);
• invited persons (administration, deputies, officials of the management company and others).

Often, a counting commission is elected from those gathered if some decision must be made by voting. The commission is responsible for counting votes and recording the results.

As a rule, a meeting of owners of an apartment building is held in accordance with the regulations:

1. Registration of all those present.
2. Opening remarks by the chairman.
3. Analysis of agenda items with voting.
4. Analysis of residents' questions.
5. Summing up and closing remarks by the chairman.

The agenda includes the issues listed in Art. 44 of the Housing Code. For example:

1. Questions related to extensions to an apartment building, ways to expand it.
2. Questions regarding the use of the local area and land around the house.
3. Decisions on the appointment of responsible persons who have the right to enter into contracts with citizens and third-party organizations who want to use the local area for commercial purposes.
4. Questions related to home renovation.
5. Decisions on appointing additional employees to work on house maintenance and security.

For a complete list, see the Housing Code.

IMPORTANT!

A list of issues for discussion is included in the notice, which is given to all owners of the apartment building. It is impossible to change the list of issues and discuss issues not included in the agenda at the meeting.

How to draw up a protocol

Legislative regulation of the main provisions of the legal relations under consideration is aimed at leading to a uniform procedure for conducting the procedure and respecting the rights of all owners. According to the norms of the Order of the Ministry of Construction of Russia dated January 28, 2019 No. 44/pr., the execution of the minutes of the general meeting of owners is carried out in writing. The period of time during which the document is signed is determined by the general meeting. The deadline for drawing up is 10 days from the date of the meeting. The information to be indicated must reflect:

• place and date;
• Name;
• information about the storage location;
• date of compilation and number;
• information about the decision made;
• persons conducting vote counting;
• agenda for discussion;
• explanations of those present;
• number of votes (total for MKD and among those present);
• area of ​​all premises in the apartment building;
• Quorum eligibility.

Example:

If the protocol refers to additional documents, we recommend that you indicate them as an appendix. The following additional documents are used: a list of invited and present citizens; confirmation of the fact of notification of the meeting; confirmation of authority, in case of participation of a representative.

The chairman and secretary of the meeting are the persons authorized to sign the document. Please note that the requirements for the name are fixed by Order of the Ministry of Construction of Russia dated January 28, 2019 No. 44/pr.

If a person participating in the meeting votes against the decision, he has the right to request that this be included in the text of the document. This position is confirmed by judicial practice - the Appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court dated August 16, 2019 in case No. 33-35792/2019. If you made such a request to make an entry, but the document ultimately does not contain this, it is necessary to provide an evidence base for possible legal disputes (Appeal ruling of the Stavropol Regional Court dated October 5, 2016 in case No. 33-7479/2016).

There is no legislative provision for the period of time for storing protocols. We recommend making the document available for at least three years.

Purposes and types of general meeting

The general meeting is the highest governing body of a housing association, convened at least once a year and consisting of at least half of all members of the HOA.

The purposes of convening a meeting are:

• hearing and approving reports of the chairman on the activities of the HOA over the past period;
• adoption of a financial plan for the next year;
• determining the direction of the partnership’s economic activity;
• setting the amount of membership and target fees;
• adoption of routines and staffing schedules for employees.

At the reporting and election meetings held during the creation of an HOA, the charter of the partnership is adopted and the governing bodies are elected, and a decision is made to create the partnership itself as a way to manage an apartment building.

The meeting can be held in two types:

• face-to-face;
• in absentia

In the first case, the residents of the house, who are members of the HOA, gather in one room and resolve issues by voting. In large HOAs, especially those consisting of several buildings, it can be almost impossible to gather at least half of the HOA members, so the meeting is often held in absentia, with a door-to-door tour of the residents.

Absentee meeting

If there is no quorum at a meeting in person, the board will organize absentee voting as follows:

1. A list of voting questions is compiled and posted on the HOA information boards.
2. Members of the board or authorized representatives make door-to-door visits to members of the HOA and offer to fill out an individual ballot-protocol.
3. After the crawl is completed, information from the ballots is transferred to the final protocol.

In the ballot, opposite each item on the agenda, three columns are printed - “for”, “against” and “abstained”. The HOA member votes by putting a personal signature in the appropriate column.

It is important to note that the number of people visiting the apartment must be at least two, and they must have a receipt from the chairman about the right to collect ballots in order to avoid cases of fraud, especially when changing the way the house is managed.

Absentee voting can also take place electronically if the website or web page of the partnership is registered with the housing inspectorate. For electronic voting, an administrator is appointed who creates the appropriate interactive environment at least 14 days before it takes place. When voting starts, residents log in using their credentials from the State Services website.

The duration of voting via the Internet should be strictly from 3 to 5 days, according to clause 8 of Art. 47.1 Housing Code of the Russian Federation.