Agreement with HOA: conditions and procedure for conclusion, pros and cons

Do I need to enter into an agreement with the HOA?

The building, in which many residents live, needs constant care, repairs, and renovation of communications. All necessary events are organized by the board of the HOA or management company. The functions of the HOA include monitoring the execution of repair work, their quality and timeliness. All actions taken should help improve the quality of living of citizens in a renovated house with technically sound equipment and communications.

Without creating a partnership, it is difficult to manage the house and monitor the payment and delivery of housing and communal services. The existence of a management agreement between the HOA and the owners gives the right to carry out actions on behalf and in the interests of all resident citizens. In other words, if a decision is made to transfer the authority to manage the house to the partnership, a service agreement with the HOA is necessary.

An owners' association is a separate legal entity subject to registration with government agencies. Since the main task of the organization is to conduct activities aimed at maintaining a high level of comfort for residents, the enterprise is not classified as commercial, although the work requires some compensation for the services provided.

HOA membership: what is important to know

Most often, an HOA consists of individuals who own real estate in an apartment building, but on an individual basis it is possible to expand membership to include the owners of neighboring buildings. In this case, the HOA receives into its department not only the house, but also the general territory where the property of other members is located.

The activities of the board do not imply official employment with remuneration, and enrollment itself is possible solely by the good will of the person who owns the real estate. Instead of a salary, the chairman and members of the partnership receive a certain share of the costs of maintaining the house.

When answering the question of whether an agreement with an HOA is needed, they consider the risk of a decrease in the quality of service if all residents acted separately. If you combine all the interests of residents and direct them in the necessary direction, promptly responding to the needs for maintenance and regulating issues and doubts, the question of the need for a legally significant contract between the owner and the HOA for maintenance does not arise.

Homeowners' property

According to Article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, common property is considered to be that which is used to service two or more premises.

The common property of apartment building residents includes:

elevators, corridors, staircases, basements and attics;
premises allocated to meet social and domestic needs;
engineering and technical equipment located both inside and outside the premises;
roofs and technical fences;
local area.

Reference! Over time, through the use of targeted contributions from citizens and non-members of the partnership, new objects of shared public property can be created in the apartment building, for example, a sports or children's playground. The decision to create a new property is made at a meeting of HOA members.

Links to the law

The rules of law regulating the activities of HOAs are determined by the articles of the Housing Code:

Article 135 affirms the possibility of this type of management in accordance with the general decision made by the residents.
Art. 137 The HOA is given the right to conclude contracts related to the maintenance and repair of the house with the owners of apartments and premises.
Clause 1 of Art. 138 establishes the mandatory written form of the contract and the obligation of the parties to comply with the provisions.
Art. 155 gives homeowners the obligation to pay for services and expenses. related to the improvement and maintenance of an apartment building.

In order for the contract for the provision of services with the HOA to comply with the letter of the law, it is necessary to clarify the rules for drawing up a legally significant document regulating the relationship of the board with the residents of the house.

Is an agreement for the maintenance and management of apartment buildings required?

The direct obligation of the HOA to enter into agreements with homeowners is not defined by law. At the same time, part 6 of Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation states that owners of premises who have not joined the HOA shall pay for housing and utility services on the basis of concluded agreements.

That is, the obligation to conclude HOA agreements with home owners applies only to those owners who are not members of the partnership. Agreements must be concluded not only with owners who became such after the formation of the HOA, but also with those who left the partnership.

The absence of an agreement does not relieve the owner of the obligation to pay for utilities.

The conclusion of an agreement between the owner and the HOA is regulated by the norms of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Article 137 states that the partnership has the right to enter into an agreement, and Article 155 defines the existence of a written relationship with the owner as the basis for making mandatory payments.

Drawing up a document

The document regulates all issues related to the safe operation and maintenance of home equipment in good condition. The management agreement with the HOA defines the responsibilities and parties involved in the process of maintaining and using the house. For example, in the interests of apartment owners, the right to sign contracts concluded by the HOA with organizations that supply services is fixed. Gas supply, water supply and disposal, etc. transferred to the management of the partnership.

It is important to understand that clauses should not include conditions that infringe on the interests of owners and violate their civil rights. Infringement of the rights of one owner in favor of the remaining members of the partnership is not allowed.

To avoid challenging and invalidating a legally significant document, ensure the proper execution and content of the agreement with the HOA. It must include the following terms and conditions:

Information about apartment buildings, the composition of property that is transferred for maintenance at the expense of the owners of the premises. Particular attention will be paid to the correct indication of the list of separate and individually separate parts of the property.
Rules for service and maintenance indicating the activities that the Homeowners Association will carry out.
Amounts of expenses for carrying out activities. The law allows the indication of general wording, without specific amounts and prices. It is important that the agreement explains the rules for calculating what the owners' payments depend on.
The procedure for mutual settlements with the definition of types of services, according to which property owners divide the total amount of expenses among themselves.
The degree of responsibility of the HOA and management for failure to fulfill assigned duties or for inadequate quality of service.
Deadlines for homeowners to make payments on specific dates each month, according to the submitted receipts.

The agreement between the HOA and the owner of the residential premises is concluded in writing, drawn up without errors, corrections and in printed form.

Download a sample contract with the HOA for maintenance (109.5 KiB, 411 hits)

Owner's agreement with the HOA (form) (47.5 KiB, 331 hits)

Sections of the document comply with the general requirements for drawing up legally significant bilateral agreements, with the mandatory inclusion of:

subject of the agreement (legal relations between the HOA and the owners regarding the management of apartment buildings);
rights and obligations with the establishment of the principle of mandatory provision of services subject to timely payment of fees;
the procedure for making changes and terminating the agreement at the initiative of either party and the presence of mutual consent;
liability in case of violation of conditions;
other conditions, special requirements, non-standard provisions relating to the interaction of the parties.

The more specific the text of the agreement, the better for both parties.

The procedure for concluding an agreement with the HOA

HOA - what is it: functions in an apartment building

To transfer a house for maintenance, it is necessary to obtain the consent of all owners of real estate included in the apartment building. The basis for transferring the house to the HOA will be the general decision of the owners who have chosen this form of management.

The sequence of concluding an agreement is represented by the following steps:

Choosing the type of organization. If desired, the residents themselves organize a legal entity, choosing a board from among themselves, or choose from existing HOAs.
Drawing up a contract taking into account the legislation and agreements of the parties. It is recommended to use an existing sample form to prepare the document. Following the example, they enter specific information and adjust the conditions.
The agreement is signed on behalf of the HOA and the homeowner in 2 copies for each of the parties.

After signing, the parties are obliged to adhere to the agreements reached, periodically extending and adjusting the agreement.

Maintenance of common property: what does it include?

According to Article 151 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the property of the partnership itself is movable and immovable property located inside and outside the house:

premises for servicing the activities of the HOA;
inventory;
office equipment;
furniture;
consumables, the use of which is mandatory for the performance of the tasks provided for in the charter.

The HOA has the right to acquire property at the expense of membership fees if such acquisition is carried out to achieve the statutory goals of the organization.

Note! The partnership does not have the ability to alienate, and, therefore, acquire shared property. However, by decision of the general meeting, such property may be transferred to the partnership for use.

Any acquisition of new movable property by the HOA is recorded in accounting entries and has documentary support and confirmation (check, agreement, etc.). Ownership of real estate is registered in the relevant title documents, where the owner is designated as a partnership.

The HOA may acquire at its disposal the property that belonged to the owners, but for use for purposes other than residence. For example, these could be various non-residential premises on the ground floor, which were used for arranging shops, pharmacies, studios, etc.

The maintenance and acquisition of property of the partnership is carried out at the expense of membership fees of home owners. With these funds, the HOA has the right to purchase anything that is directly related to achieving the goals specified in the charter. These funds also pay salaries to the administration and service personnel.

Board room

The premises in which the board and maintenance personnel carry out their work may be allocated from part of the shared ownership. This decision is made by all owners. An area in the corridor, basement, on the technical floor can be allocated, or a separate room in the house can be purchased at the expense of members of the HOA.

The premises must have access to electrical and heating networks, means for storing documentation (contracts, accounting reports), and, provided there is a cash register for accepting contributions and payments, a security system.

Required documents

The basis for signing the agreement will be documents confirming the provisions established in the text.

The HOA provides the current Charter of the organization and registration documents from the Federal Tax Service, indicating the right to engage in such activities.

The owner provides:

passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
documentation for the apartment indicating ownership (registration certificate, extract from the Unified State Register);
certificate of the composition of residents;
technical passport, cadastral passport;
certificate of absence of debt for housing and communal services.

All documents are presented upon signing and enclosed in the form of copies and originals (applies to prepared certificates of payment of housing and communal services receipts and the composition of residents from the BTI). To sign, it is necessary to submit a complete package of documentation specified above, and if some papers are missing, the conclusion date is postponed until all the documents stated in the list are received.

The number of copies corresponds to the number of signatories. 1 agreement remains with the HOA board, the rest is issued to each apartment owner.

Interaction of the parties

To conclude, no deposit of funds is required, but in the future, users and owners of premises will have to regularly pay receipts for utility services. The agreement with the HOA for the provision of utility services will regulate the scope of responsibility - the services performed and their payment.

The validity of the agreement is determined by mutual agreement. This may be for a specific period of time, or an open-ended relationship is established with the right of further adjustment or termination.

The basis for termination of interaction will be the mutual consent of the parties, or the break occurs at the initiative of the owner or partnership, on the basis of submitted documentation confirming the failure to fulfill the assigned obligations in court.

It is important to take into account that the right to manage property is granted on the basis of the provisions of the organization’s Charter only to owners who have registered membership in the partnership.