Residents want to know how their home is managed and contact the HOA with requests to provide documents to familiarize themselves with the information they need. But partnerships do not always agree and do so in vain. Read what information the HOA is required to provide to the owner of the premises in the apartment building upon his request.
How to create a real estate owners' association
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Why do owners have the right to get acquainted with HOA documents?
Owners of premises in apartment buildings and members of the partnership contact the HOA with a request to provide information about what work on the house has been carried out and what is planned, and how their funds are spent. HOAs do not always provide the necessary documents in response to written requests from residents.
Sometimes they motivate this by the fact that the partnership should provide information only to its members. This is the wrong position. Both members of the HOA and other owners of premises in the apartment building have the right to get acquainted with the documents. The list of such documents is specified in Art. 143.1 Housing Code of the Russian Federation:
- charter of the partnership;
- certificate of state registration of the partnership;
- register of partnership members;
- accounting statements of the partnership: estimates of income and expenses, reports on their execution and audit reports, if any;
- conclusions of the audit commission of the partnership;
- documents confirming the partnership’s rights to property reflected on its balance sheet;
- minutes of general meetings of members of the partnership, meetings of the board and the audit commission;
- documents confirming the results of the general meeting of members of the partnership: voting ballots, voting proxies or copies thereof;
- decisions of owners of premises in apartment buildings, confirming the results of general meetings of owners;
- technical documentation for an apartment building;
- other documents related to the management of apartment buildings;
- internal documents provided for by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the charter of the partnership and decisions of the general meeting of members of the partnership.
Is it possible to oblige the owner of an apartment building to join an HOA?
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Where is the information about which HOA covers my home?
How to find out which HOA a house belongs to?
A homeowners' association is an association of residents of an apartment building, which was created for the purpose of managing the building.
This means that residents independently elect board members, as well as a chairman from among the direct owners.
These persons are representatives of the residents, and on their behalf they manage the apartment building. At the same time, the main thing remains the opinion of the general meeting , and not the members of the board or the chairman.
It's very strange if your home is managed by a homeowners association, and you still don't know how to contact it. The fact is that within the framework of the partnership, a meeting of homeowners is always convened to make important decisions for the house.
Therefore, three conclusions can be drawn from the current situation:
- You just recently became the owner of the property in this building, and have not had time to get acquainted with representatives of the management organization.
- The second option is that you simply do not attend or avoid attending meetings .
- The third option includes situations where the homeowners' association is headed by unscrupulous persons who are negligent in their duties and do not convene a general meeting.
In such cases, there are several options for how to find out who heads your HOA and how to contact him.
The age of the Internet and high technology allows us to find out the necessary information without leaving home . But despite this, we suggest you use the simplest and most affordable option.
Every month you pay bills that are sent to you for using services from resource supply organizations, as well as partnerships.
You systematically pay the debt in good faith, without paying attention to the information that is written on the receipt .
In addition to the resources spent, it should contain information about the organization that sent you this notification.
If this was done by the HOA, then the document must contain a mention of its contact phone number and office address.
If you just recently moved and for some reason have not yet received a payment receipt, contact your neighbors .
Surely they have receipts that can help you.
In addition, it is quite possible that your neighbors are better informed than you and will be able to tell you the coordinates of the management organization.
Also, if the homeowners’ association is quite active and seeks to attract all residents, then in crowded places, namely in entrances or elevators, there may be notices that invite residents to a meeting or other events.
If the author of this invitation is a partnership, be sure to pay attention to the contact information. The above methods are the simplest and most accessible.
But if the representatives of the partnership are dishonest in their duties, it is quite possible that you will not be able to find out the information you are interested in in this way.
Then you will have to use other options. We will look at which ones exactly in the next paragraph.
What happens if the HOA does not provide documents upon request
If the partnership refuses to provide documents, the owner of the premises in the apartment building has the right to appeal to the court or the prosecutor's office.
If the prosecutor's office reveals violations, it can initiate a case of an administrative offense under Art. 5.39 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for refusal to provide information. The official, the chairman of the board of the HOA, will receive a fine in the amount of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.
Residents also have the right to go to court immediately, bypassing the prosecutor’s office. Courts make different decisions depending on the case materials. Let's look at a few of these cases.
RF PP No. 331: information disclosure rules for HOAs, residential complexes, housing cooperatives
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Negative judicial practice for HOAs
The owner of one of the residential premises contacted the HOA with a written statement, in which he asked for clarification of the reasons for the arrears in payment for utilities and the unsatisfactory provision of housing and communal services. The HOA did not respond to the owner.
The owner of the premises contacted the prosecutor's office, which opened a case of an administrative offense under Art. 5.39 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and referred the case to court. The court agreed with the position of the prosecutor and in its decision indicated that the chairman of the HOA violated:
- provisions of Art. 138 Housing Code of the Russian Federation;
- requirements of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2010 No. 731.
The court brought an official of the partnership to administrative liability for unlawful refusal to provide information.
Availability of official website
Are associations of owners required to have their own official website? Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 731 does not oblige the association of residents to have its own website , but it obliges it to make information about its activities accessible by posting it, if not on its portal, then on the websites of the Housing and Communal Services Reform Assistance Fund or the State Housing Inspectorate of the region.
News on the page of any of the sites must be constantly updated so that information disclosure standards are not violated.
Those associations that can afford it and have created their own portal remove almost all questions from residents, leaving only those that require the intervention and participation of the HOA board.
The Partnership posts the following information on its website:
- listing of houses served by the community, history of creation, main indicators;
- development plan, main activities;
- charter, minutes of meetings, acts of audit commissions, estimates, reports, etc.;
- rules of residence, sample application for joining the community;
- news, tariffs, prices;
- contacts, opening hours.
Example of the main page of the site:
On the main page there must be an office address, as well as an email for contact.
Is there information about maintaining a specific home? On the website pages you can find out which objects are serviced by this partnership. Each association creates - if board employees are busy, they themselves will dial the phone number of the resident who tried to contact them.
Usually a specific house is reported in the “News” , and if no information can be found, then the board of the partnership needs to be puzzled.
Is it possible to get consultations through the website and email? They also always organize online communication between employees and residents on the website; in this case, the owner will receive an answer to his question, if not right now, then later, when the employee of the partnership is free.
Exchange of questions and answers electronically is also effective - those who want more personal, separate communication can write an email to the HOA and ask everything they would like to know.
You can also make suggestions, express dissatisfaction or gratitude, and also get advice on any issue regarding living in the house and its maintenance by the partnership.
Positive judicial practice for HOAs
The Belgorod Regional Court considered the claim of the owner in the HOA, in which the resident referred to the lack of information on the official website of the partnership. Previously, the prosecutor's office refused to satisfy the owner's demands and bring the chairman of the HOA to administrative responsibility under Art. 5.39 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The court concluded that the lack of information on the website violates the legislation on the disclosure of information by organizations engaged in managing apartment buildings. There were no signs of unlawful refusal to provide information. Therefore, the court decided not to hold the chairman of the HOA liable under Art. 5.39 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Also, the court explained that in accordance with Art. 56 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the owner may be refused consideration of the case if he does not provide sufficient evidence of his appeal to the HOA with a request to familiarize himself with the documents.
Why will the chairman of the HOA be held vicariously liable?
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Community rating
Is there a list of the best HOAs? Every year, based on indicators, each municipal government compiles a list of exemplary associations , the so-called “rating”. You can find out statistics about what place a particular partnership was awarded from the list on the portal of the district administration of the locality.
Are there requirements for the number of HOAs to serve? Article 136 of the RF Housing Code, clause 1 states that only one partnership can be created in one apartment building, and clause 2 says that a community can cover two houses, but the number of apartments in them should not exceed 30 .
From this it follows, roughly speaking, that the law has derived the formula: one apartment building - one community.
Disputes over the right to make copies of documents
In the Krasnodar Territory, the owner of a premises in an apartment building filed a lawsuit against the HOA. She learned about the holding of an absentee meeting of the HOA members, at which members of the association’s board were re-elected. The owner did not like the decision made, and she made a written request to the chairman of the partnership to familiarize herself with the results of the meeting and make copies of such materials, but the HOA refused her.
The court decided that the chairman is obliged to provide the owners of premises in the apartment building with documents for review for at least three consecutive hours during the working day without the presence of other citizens. At the same time, it is allowed to make extracts from documents, but not to make photocopies.
The chairman of the board of the HOA did not agree with the court's decision and asked that the owner familiarize himself with the documents in the presence of the chairman and members of the board of the partnership. The owner of the premises was also dissatisfied with the result of the process and asked to be allowed to make copies and to lift the restriction on the time of review.
The regional court upheld the previous decision, noting that the right to make copies of documents is not provided for by the housing legislation of the Russian Federation. Also Art. 143.1 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation does not contain requirements for the presence of the chairman of the HOA when reviewing the documents.
The opposite opinion can be found in the decision of the Lyubertsy City Court No. 2-6305/2018. The owner of the premises in the apartment building appealed to the court with a request to give him the opportunity to familiarize himself with the documents and make copies of them.
The court indicated that the HOA is not obliged to provide owners with copies of documents, but the owner has the right to familiarize themselves with the documents and the HOA cannot create obstacles in copying documents.
The HOA indicated that the information requested by the owner was posted on the website. But the court noted that the website contains scanned copies of documents, and the owner has the right to familiarize himself with the original documents in accordance with clause 3 of Art. 143.1 Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
How to formalize the withdrawal of a HOA member from the partnership
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How to check the work of the management company for the maintenance of a residential building in the Moscow region
Any complaints about the maintenance of common property in an apartment building (MCD) must be immediately eliminated by management companies (MCs). It happens that management companies are in no hurry to fulfill their duties efficiently. What to do in this case for residents of the Moscow region, read on the portal mosreg.ru.
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Responsibilities of the management company
The State Housing Inspectorate summed up the work of management organizations in the Moscow region since the beginning of the year
Source: Main Directorate of the State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region
When a person buys an apartment in a multi-apartment building, he purchases not only the housing itself, but also part of the common property of the building, which belongs to all residents.
This property, in particular, includes inter-apartment landings, stairs, elevators, elevator shafts, corridors, technical floors, attics, basements, mechanical, electrical, sanitary and other equipment, and land under the house.
The common property of the MKD must be maintained in proper form and condition - it must be safe and comfortable to use for its intended purpose. For this purpose, residents create a homeowners' association (HOA) or a cooperative or enter into an agreement with a management company (MC).
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How to tell if your home is poorly managed
If there is insufficient hot water in the apartment, utility bills are inflated, the roof is leaking, mold has appeared on the walls and ceilings, or there are other complaints about the maintenance of the house, the owner has the right to demand that the management company eliminate the violations. Deficiencies must be immediately eliminated by employees of management organizations at the request of residents.
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Where to contact
The first thing you need to do if you have any complaints about the contents of an apartment building is to contact your management company directly.
If a misunderstanding has arisen, management company employees are in no hurry to resolve complaints, or a situation has arisen that requires an immediate response, you need to call the hotline of the Unified Dispatch Service of the Moscow Region (EDS MO) in your municipality or send a request through the website. Today this is one of the most effective methods of influencing management companies. The deadlines for the execution of applications in this system are clearly regulated.
If in this case there is no action on the part of the Criminal Code, the intervention of the State Housing Inspectorate (GZHI) will be required.
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How to initiate a civil housing inspection
Inspector of the State Housing Inspectorate
Source: Main Directorate of the State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region
In order for the department to take up the solution to the problem, it is necessary to issue an official request.
If you have an account on State Services, the request can be submitted through the website of the State Information System of Housing and Communal Services (GIS Housing and Communal Services). Applications are registered within three days.
The second option is to send the application by Russian Post to the GZHI office at the address: Moscow region, Odintsovo urban district, rural settlement of Barvikhinskoye, village of Razdory, 1st km of Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway, house No. 1A. The information contained in the application is verified by inspectors within 30 days.
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Test results
Roof repair
Source: Main Directorate of the State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region
If the State Housing Inspectorate identifies violations of housing legislation on the part of the management organization, inspectors will help influence it and oblige them to eliminate them.
According to the instructions of the State Housing Inspectorate, residents of the Moscow region can receive a refund for housing and communal services that were not provided, services of inadequate quality, or for the fact that the wrong formula was used when calculating fees.
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