Most residents of multi-storey buildings are not satisfied with the services of management companies. In their opinion, the money collected from homeowners disappears in an unknown direction. They see a panacea for all ills in the HOA - a homeowners' association. However, not everything here is as transparent and simple as it seems at first glance. When making such a decision, you need to know both the pros and cons of an HOA for each home owner.

HOA: what is it?

The definition of HOA is given in Article 135 of the RF Housing Code. This is a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to own, use and dispose, by force of law, of an apartment building. Members of the HOA are in the house.

This form of management is established at a general meeting of owners of residential premises by voting. Votes are distributed depending on the area of ​​premises owned by the voter. The formation of a HOA is possible only with 50% or more of those voting for it. Each owner independently decides whether to join such an association or not.

The procedure for registering a non-profit organization is no different from registering a legal entity. The HOA has a current account in which residents' funds are accumulated.

What are the goals of the HOA?

The main goal is to ensure that every homeowner has access to the management of their homes. The funds of a non-profit organization are formed from:

• mandatory contributions from residents;
• income received from business activities.

Housing legislation does not place obstacles for a partnership to receive income. It can rent out premises, carry out repairs and maintenance of a residential building, and also make a profit from the use of the local area. It is worth noting that transferring it into ownership of a non-profit organization is possible only with the consent of local authorities.

Pros of partnership

1. Large degree of influence on the policy of a non-profit organization. All decisions are made by the HOA meeting. Every owner has the right to express their opinion.
2. Opportunity to conduct business and reduce residents' expenses for maintaining the house. Members of the partnership have the right to rent out basements and non-residential premises for the purpose of making a profit. This money is a good reserve for homeowners for unforeseen expenses.
3. The right to choose service providers and control their activities. The HOA can independently carry out all technical and operational work on the house. For those that it cannot handle, it can hire outside companies.
4. Landscaping. Clean houses, playgrounds, lawns in the yard - perhaps this is exactly what distinguishes houses managed by an HOA. Real estate market experts state the fact that the cost of housing in HOAs is higher than the market price.

Cons of HOAs

1. High costs for major repairs. As a rule, houses whose lifespan exceeds 30 years require significant investments. As long as the house is under the control of the management company (hereinafter referred to as the management company)? homeowners bear only the costs indicated in the receipt. The amount is too small, so it will take several years to completely renovate the building. There is no point in relying on government subsidies either, since our Government does not really delve into the problems of the housing stock. Thus, the pros and cons of an HOA in an old house are determined by the number of residents and their ability to pay. Experts believe that the formation of a partnership in the pulp of the old fund is an unbearable burden.
2. Difficulties in registering a partnership. To apply for registration of an HOA, you must provide the Minutes of the meeting and expression of will of the residents of the house. The legitimacy of elections depends on the turnout of owners or tenants. They are considered legal if the number of people present exceeds 50%. To conduct elections, an initiative group must assemble.
3. High building operating costs. It is worth noting that members of the partnership pay utility bills almost in the same amount as residents of other houses. Everything related to the improvement of a residential building is adopted at the General Meeting. This is where there is most disagreement.
4. Legislative barriers. Unfortunately, HOA members may encounter difficulties when interacting with authorities. The period for applying to court to collect debt from a defaulter is the same as for other legal entities. The partnership must cover all of these utility bills from reserve funds.
5. Problems also arise with beneficiaries, to whom the state provides bonuses when paying utility bills. In fact, the partnership must reimburse the difference between the accrued and paid payments, and the state must return them to it. In practice, this process does not always work.
6. Lack of professionalism. It is not always the case that the house is inhabited by literate people who know how to manage housing. Often the reins of management end up in the hands of people who have no idea about income generation schemes, etc. In this case, a “staff shortage” occurs. It is possible to attract outside specialists, but such services will only become an additional expense item for a non-profit organization.

Pros and cons of the HOA and the management company: which is more profitable for residents

More than 80% of the housing stock in the Russian Federation is serviced by management companies. Such a high figure is not accidental: there is no clear legislation regulating the activities of partnerships.

Significant arguments in favor of the Criminal Code include:

• resolving most issues without the participation of apartment owners. Cleaning of the territory and entrances, garbage removal is carried out in a timely manner;
• maintenance work is carried out even in the presence of persistent defaulters. Due to limited resources, the HOA may temporarily stop carrying out operational work.

The main arguments against the Criminal Code boil down to the following:

1. Lack of transparency of activities. Residents of the house are not aware of the volume of funds received and the items of their expenditure. Although Law No. 731 is now in force, on the basis of which apartment owners are required to be familiar with the budget of their home. Such information should be contained on the notice board. In practice, the Federal Law rarely works.
2. Independent selection of contractors. In most cases, the management company formalizes relationships with organizations that charge less for their work, which affects their quality.
3. Large staff. The costs of maintaining the administrative apparatus are several times higher than the costs of the HOA.
4. The main goal is profit. The management company operates on a commercial basis. To earn more income, she saves on contractors, home renovations, etc. This is reflected in the improvement of the sponsored house and the mood of the residents.

Thus, having considered the pros and cons of HOAs and management companies, we can come to the conclusion: a partnership is a promising way of running a business, but subject to amendments to the legislation. It is not yet known when the amended bill on HOAs will be adopted. Today, most owners give their vote to management companies, as this means stability and a complete lack of worries. They pay the receipts and don't think about anything else.

Homeowners' associations and housing cooperatives - comparative analysis

A housing construction cooperative (hereinafter referred to as HBC) is individuals and legal entities united for common purposes - providing citizens with apartments and managing the property of sponsored houses. Today, more than 23% of new buildings are sold through housing cooperatives.

The essence of the housing cooperative comes down to citizens joining the cooperative and paying them a share, which is equal to the cost of future housing. The main difference between such an organization and an HOA is the rule for determining votes during elections. In the case of a housing cooperative, a decision is made only with the unanimous consent of all voters; for an HOA, 50% + 1 vote is sufficient.

Advantages of housing cooperatives:

1. Temporary residence of unauthorized persons is possible only with the permission of all members of the cooperative. If someone is absent at the time the decision is made, then written notification is sent to him. This allows you to avoid social tension, violation of the rules of living in an apartment building and prevents illegal income-generating schemes.
2. Availability of an audit commission. She is elected for a term of one year. Its main goal is to analyze the financial and economic activities of housing cooperatives.
3. Income distribution. All profits received from the operation of the property of the house are distributed among the members of the cooperative.
4. The number of cooperative members must be at least five.

Disadvantages of housing cooperatives:

• The right of ownership arises after payment of the share. Until then, alienation of the property is practically impossible.
• Expenses for maintaining the audit commission.

After paying the shares, residents can take ownership and reorganize into a HOA.

Thus, the main differences between the forms of housekeeping are:

• by the time of formation. A housing cooperative is formed before the construction of a real estate object as a common “wallet” for accumulating funds, and a partnership arises only after the delivery of the object;
• to the purpose of existence. The HOA sets the main task of effective management of common property, the housing cooperative - only the construction of the facility;
• to the number of members. In a housing cooperative there cannot be less than five of them, and in a partnership - less than 50% of all owners of apartments in the building.

So, the pros and cons of HOAs and housing cooperatives give an idea of ​​each method of farming. Which one to choose is up to the tenant to decide. As for the experts, they consider housing cooperatives only as a transitional form to a partnership.

Citizens of our country are faced with the inaction of housing offices, lack of good service, and lack of repair work. That’s why they are being replaced by management companies or homeowners’ associations. But due to the fact that management companies are commercial organizations and, accordingly, are determined to obtain financial benefits.

Most residents prefer to create an alternative - a homeowners' association, an organization whose priority is the improvement of apartment buildings and the interests of homeowners. It is an official organization with its own responsibilities and powers, as well as official documentation.

What is a HOA

First of all, it must be said that HOA is an abbreviation that stands for homeowners' partnership. Most of the residents of apartment buildings are apartment owners. All apartment buildings must have organizations to manage building property. If neither the housing office nor the management company are satisfied with the residents, the apartment owners convene a general meeting at which they put to a vote the decision to create an association. And after the majority of positive results, an HOA is organized.

It can be created in one apartment building or between several residential buildings. Apartment owners who create an organization must write an application for acceptance, on the basis of which they will be included in its membership.

The majority of apartment owners consider this form of management of residential buildings to be the best option, which guarantees the assertion of the rights of apartment owners, in particular before utility services and government bodies, for example, on issues of carrying out repair work.

This is a governing body whose purpose is to preserve, maintain in proper shape, protect and improve common property. In addition, the partnership and its board are a lever of influence over utilities and contractors who carry out a number of tasks assigned to them. This is a non-profit organization and does not pursue commercial gain.

An association of real estate owners is created by individuals, but the organization is a legal entity. The partnership has its own current account, and the members of the board and the chairman must be registered with the ERGUL. An HOA, being a legal entity, must be registered with the fiscal service.

Purposes of creation

The goals of a joint association of homeowners in an apartment building are:

• shared leadership and direction;
• receiving income and distributing it to solve maintenance problems and;
• maintaining the house in good condition: both sanitary and technical.

The organization has the right to rent or lease part of the common property for the purpose. Receiving additional income, which will be used to solve certain problems of the partnership.

The homeowners' association coordinates activities aimed at managing the homes it owns as a non-profit organization. Therefore, it strives not to obtain maximum profit, but to distribute income for the needs of the partnership. But the association is not obliged to cover losses that may arise through additional contributions by homeowners.

Consolidation is a way to avoid the conditions imposed by the management company on the maintenance of the house. For example, choosing contractors and service providers on favorable terms for residents, rather than the management company. Utility companies and other companies, in turn, service the house on the basis of an agreement concluded with the HOA.

If members or simply residents of a building are dissatisfied with the actions of the association, they have every right to make complaints and put the issue to a vote. Thus, his main goal and function is to organize the proper management and management of the operation of the housing stock entrusted to him.

According to 136 articleHousing complex of the Russian Federation, in one apartment building, owners can create one HOA. The creation of a partnership is also possible between several closely located apartment buildings or those that have common land plots or infrastructure elements. A partnership can also be created at the stage of building a house ( Art. 139 LCD).

The decision on whether or not to join an HOA is made by the apartment owners; no one can force them to do so. It is not necessary that all residents of the house must be members of the partnership. The creation of a partnership is possible if 50% of the residents are present at the general meeting on the issue of its organization, and the same number of those present must vote positively.

Homeowners association functions

Often, before creating an association of real estate owners, its future members and other residents of the house have a question: what does the organization do, what functions are assigned to it. Rights and responsibilities are determined Article 135 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, and charter organizations. The main responsibilities of a homeowners association are:

• control the activities of companies that provide services to apartment owners: public utilities, enterprises and firms that provide household services, such as, and others;
• resolve issues regarding when and who carries out repairs;
• monitor compliance with the rules for the operation of the house and its maintenance;
• ensure the completion of work on the improvement of the house and local area according to the plan approved for the year;
• provide the required services to apartment owners and carry them out;
• ensure proper sanitary condition of common property (timely garbage removal, cleanliness of sites, in particular near garbage chutes, and so on);
• , children's playgrounds for residents of the house (the point must be specified in the charter);
• performing additional functions specified in the charter approved at the general meeting.

The HOA, as a representative of the interests of residents of apartment buildings, is obliged to defend the interests of the building and the rights of residents in particular before public utilities and government agencies. Most often, problems arise with repairs, both current and major. Members of the board and the chairman of the partnership in particular will have to deal more than once with the reluctance of utility companies to fulfill their obligations on time.

According to the law, being a legal entity, it has the right, on its own behalf, to enter into agreements with those providing utility services for the maintenance of an apartment building and others that home owners deem necessary. Another obligation of the association participants is to draw up and approve estimates for the subsequent period.

The responsibilities of HOA members include maintaining order in the house, cleanliness and safety of common property, in particular technical equipment, structures on the land plot adjacent to the apartment building, and so on. Thus, everything that an association of residential property owners does is aimed at improving or at least maintaining decent living conditions of a house or several apartment buildings under its management.

Procedure for reporting to residents

According to the law, the homeowners' association, namely the board members and its head, are required to regularly report to residents. Moreover, the regular reporting procedure is established by the charter. In addition, a report on the flow of funds, payments, expenses, income received or work done by the HOA must be provided upon the first request of the members of the association.

However, no piece of legislation has established a clear reporting format for either the board or the chairman. Based on this, the procedure for reporting to residents should be clearly stated in the charter of the partnership. Because it is the main document according to which members of the board and the head of the HOA must act.

Each of the residents who is a member of the partnership must familiarize themselves with the charter of the partnership. It describes the procedure for how, when and in what form it is obliged to report to apartment owners.

Charter

As already mentioned, the charter of the partnership is the main legal document regulating the rights, functions, and responsibilities of its members, board and chairman. It is filed as the articles of incorporation to register the partnership as a legal entity. At the first general meeting of the members of the partnership, the charter must be approved and signed by the chairman.

• approved by all apartment owners;
• must be numbered and signed by the chairman;
• Owner signatures are not required.

A copy of the certified articles of association must be certified by a notary. After which the HOA is registered on its basis with the federal tax service for further taxation of the association of homeowners.

The charter itself contains:

• addresses of buildings included in the HOA;
• place and date of compilation;
• the purpose for which the partnership was created;
• rights and obligations of its members.

If it is necessary to amend an existing charter, it is necessary to hold a general meeting and change the content of the document based on the minutes of the event.

Founders

Each of the residents of the house who supported the creation of a partnership is the founder of the HOA. But since there are many participants in the partnership and, accordingly, apartment owners, the application and documentation submitted for registration of the partnership indicate that the founders of the HOA are members of its board.

They act as the face of the partnership, its managing part, which, like the other members, is interested in the proper maintenance of the house and the proper quality of the services provided. If any of the members of the partnership wants to leave the founders of the HOA, he must write a corresponding application. In this case, the consent of the other residents is not required.

The founder can be any individual who lives in the house and is the owner of the living space in it. Mentioning the founders when registering an HOA as a legal entity is a formality. Members of the board and the chairman are registered with the ERGUL. If changes occur in the composition of the board, the fiscal service must be notified about this in order to make appropriate amendments.

Register of HOA members

The register of members of the homeowners' association must contain data that can be used to understand who exactly is the member of the HOA. Also, the information reflected in it will allow you, if necessary, to contact any of the participants in the partnership. The list of HOA members reflects information on the size of the share of common property belonging to each of them.

The standard registry form contains the following information:

• name of the homeowners association;
• legal address of the HOA;
• TIN data;
• creation date;
• list of houses included in the partnership.

It must be signed by the chairman of the HOA indicating his contact phone number.

Responsibility

The operating rules, functions, powers and responsibilities of the owners' association are written down in housing law and regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation. A board is elected from among the HOA participants, which includes several people. And also the head of the partnership is the chairman, who is responsible for the actions of the association.

So, the head of the HOA is responsible for the following actions:

• personnel selection;
• submitting reports to the tax office;
• maintaining and storing partnership records;
• conclusion of contracts.

Members of the HOA board are responsible for the implementation of agreements concluded with contractors and other services, including utilities, as well as to partners and residents of the house.

The liability of the partnership also includes the following obligations:

• use of areas that are in common shared ownership of all residents;
• maintaining and maintaining order in common areas;
• carrying out repair work;
• disposal of the common property of the partnership.

HOA members must ensure timely and high-quality supply of resources and utilities.

Decision making in a partnership

All decisions are made jointly based on the voting results of homeowners held at the general meeting. The creation of a HOA begins with such a meeting, at which 50% of the owners of apartments in a building or several apartment buildings must declare their desire to organize a partnership. The meeting can be held either in person or in absentia by written voting.

At such meetings, decisions are made on how to use free space, for example, they agree on the procedure, rights and other clauses of the charter, and resolve current issues, for example, on repairs. Also, it is the meeting of residents that decides the fate of the current chairman and the need to replace him.

To conduct voting at HOA meetings, it is necessary to inform the residents of the building in advance about its date, time and location. At the event, decisions can be made exclusively on those issues that, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, are within the competence of the partnership. It is necessary to prepare an agenda in advance, which reflects all the items necessary for discussion and decision-making.

All decisions made at the meeting are entered into the document, which is maintained throughout the entire event and, at the end of it, is certified by the signature of the initiator or chairman. A majority vote is required to make any decision. Residents who were not present at the meeting must be notified within 10 days of the results of the meeting.

Pros and cons of HOAs

A homeowners' association gives apartment owners the right to decide for themselves what the rules for managing the house and common property are, who will become the utility provider, and so on. But the ability to make decisions independently can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Among the undeniable advantages of such a form of house management as an HOA, the following should be highlighted:

• management of common property in the house in order to obtain additional funds for improvement, maintenance and repair of apartment buildings and: rent, advertising;
• quick resolution of emerging issues at general meetings by voting;
• financial transparency: at any time, each of the residents and members of the association has the right to become familiar with the movement of money and the expenditure of funds;
• you need to pay only for truly necessary services, and not those that the management company imposes or contributes to the payment by default, therefore, this will significantly reduce utility bills;
• independent selection of contractors.

When creating an HOA, responsibility for the safety of common property falls on each resident, as well as for the results of the decisions they make regarding the arrangement and maintenance of a residential building. One of the important ones is the possibility of reducing the size of utility bills. A competent manager can significantly reduce rent by making a profit for the partnership, for example, by providing non-residential space for rent.

Homeowners' associations also have their disadvantages. In every association there is a group of activists, but no one can guarantee that these are literate and competent people. Excessive initiative and inability to understand the issue that has arisen and to conduct business properly.

The partnership has a rather small equity capital, with the help of which it is difficult to pay off the debts that have arisen. And this can become a significant problem for the HOA, when it will have to urgently pay the contractors. In addition, performing some one-time work for an association may be more expensive than for the same management company, because many companies have minimal interest in single orders.

In our apartment building, a HOA (homeowners' association) has been organized.
And you know, everything suits me - general meetings are held, there are no interruptions in water and heat. A plumber, an electrician, an elevator operator are always at hand. The information board at the entrances is constantly updated, announcements are posted in a timely manner. I even personally know the chairman of our HOA.

Federal laws governing the creation of HOAs

First of all, I would like to note that the Federal Law “On Homeowners' Associations” dated June 15, 1996 No. 72-FZ lost force on March 1, 2005, i.e. from the moment the Housing Code of the Russian Federation came into force. However, there are still cases when it is referred to in the minutes of general meetings of owners on the creation of an HOA and in some other documents.

The following articles concern homeowners' associations in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation: Art. - (conducting general meetings of owners, voting at a general meeting, competence of the meeting), chapters, (creation and activities of HOAs, legal status of HOA members).

Of course, the Housing Code of the Russian Federation does not contain detailed instructions on how to create an HOA, but, nevertheless, everything is laid out in it quite clearly.

The list of documents required for registering a HOA as a legal entity, the timing and procedure for registration, is also regulated by the Federal Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” dated 08.08.2001 No. 129-FZ.

Where can a HOA be created?

A homeowners' association can be organized:

• in any apartment building (hereinafter referred to as MKD);
• by combining several apartment buildings and even blocks, the premises of which belong to different (two or more) homeowners of these buildings, located on a common plot of land or several neighboring (bordering each other) plots of land, with common networks of engineering and technical support and other elements infrastructure;
• when combining several closely located buildings, structures, structures, houses intended for single-family residence, country houses with or without personal plots, garages and others located on a common plot of land or several neighboring (bordering) plots of land with common facilities, utility networks - technical support and other infrastructure elements.

Advantages of an HOA over a management company

This method of managing an apartment building as managing a homeowners’ association, as opposed to, for example, managing a management company, has quite a few advantages.

Firstly, since the chairman of the HOA and members of the board themselves live in the same house, they act in the interests of the HOA members, i.e. care about creating the best comfortable living conditions for all residents of an apartment building.

In addition, the governing body of an apartment building, even if there is an HOA, is the general meeting of owners of residential and non-residential premises, which itself has the right to resolve all current issues.

This is also due to the fact that the financial activities of the HOA are absolutely transparent, because At any time, the owner of the premises has the right to familiarize himself with financial documents, estimates of income and expenses of the HOA, payment orders, issued invoices, i.e. find out why, for example, they take money from him.

In addition, the audit commission is obliged to regularly check the financial documents of the HOA and report on its work to the owners at the general meeting.

Secondly, in HOAs, payments to resource supply companies for the supplied utility resources (light, water, heat) come directly from the HOA’s current account, therefore, HOAs, unlike management companies, always have less debt to resource providers, or none at all.

Thirdly, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, the HOA is a non-profit organization, but at the same time has the right to engage in commercial activities if this does not contradict the goals and Charter of the HOA.

1. maintenance, operation and repair of real estate in an apartment building;
2. construction of additional premises and common property in an apartment building;
3. leasing, renting part of the common property in an apartment building.

For example, HOA personnel (electrician, plumber, elevator operator, janitor) can perform work under a contract with other HOAs that do not have such personnel. The HOA can also rent out empty non-residential premises, basements, attics (based on the decision of the general meeting), which is also important.

Thus, the HOA can have its own income.

Fourthly, state authorities and local governments very often make concessions to HOAs and encourage their creation.

For example, in some regions, owners of premises in apartment buildings where a homeowners' association was created, and who, in accordance with the tax legislation of the Russian Federation, are obligated to pay land tax, were exempt from paying it. In Moscow, for example, the Department of Housing, Communal Services and Improvement of the City of Moscow organizes training for chairmen of HOAs in accordance with the order of the Moscow government dated September 10, 2008 No. 2062-rp “On creating conditions for the development of self-government of citizens in the housing sector” .

At the same time, there is always the possibility of transferring management into the hands of the management company, even if a homeowners association has been created in the apartment building. In this case, all contracts will be concluded by the management company, and not by the HOA represented by the chairman.

In addition, resource supply companies do not have the desire to apply to the arbitration court to declare the HOA bankrupt if there is an outstanding debt of more than 100 thousand rubles, since in the future it is not possible to receive any funds or other liquid property from the HOA.

Basically, resource specialists go to the courts with such demands against management companies that are LLCs, because They, as a rule, have liquid property on the right of ownership.

Not many people know that the HOA does not have the right of ownership to the common premises in an apartment building, which can be foreclosed on for the HOA's debts; they belong to the owners of apartments and non-residential premises on the right of common shared ownership, just like the land plot on which the apartment building is located, and the corresponding local area.

Disadvantages of HOAs as a way to manage an apartment building

In addition to the advantages, HOAs have a number of disadvantages: for example, only one HOA can be created in one apartment building; there are some difficulties in determining the amount of mandatory payments when managing the common property of several apartment buildings that are part of one HOA.

HOAs may also impose additional membership fees for the maintenance of common property and the legal entity itself, but, as a rule, this happens quite rarely and is not an unbearable burden for the owners.

As I already noted above, the HOA does not have any premises on the right of ownership, therefore, there are no such premises to accommodate the service personnel (employees) of the HOA. In such cases, the chairman of the HOA most often hosts a reception at his home and speaks at general meetings.

When creating an HOA, it is necessary to take into account that the Housing Code of the Russian Federation does not stipulate that the decision to create an HOA can only be made at a general meeting of owners; therefore, in such cases, absentee voting is allowed.

I agree with those who argue that the possibility of holding an absentee vote when creating an HOA and selecting its board members provides greater freedom for forgery (falsification), since there is no opportunity to observe the voting and the summing up of its results.

In this regard, there are often simply criminal ways of creating an HOA and selecting board members (including the chairman) by forging the signatures of the owners of the premises, and then, after the HOA is registered, the apartment building is transferred to the management of some “subsidiary” management company. Sometimes it happened that a person unexpectedly found out that he was the chairman of the HOA.

However, even taking into account the above disadvantages, it should be recognized that, among others - direct management and the management company - the HOA is the most acceptable way to manage apartment buildings.

The main stages of creating an HOA

The main stages of creating an HOA are:

1. Creation of an initiative group, holding a general meeting of owners on the creation of an HOA, approval by the general meeting of the HOA Charter, selection of board members, chairman of the board, compilation of a register of HOA members, selection of a person entrusted with registering the HOA with the tax authorities
2. Registration of the HOA as a legal entity with the tax authorities, obtaining a certificate of registration (OGRN) and registration (TIN). Assignment of statistics codes, registration in extra-budgetary funds.
3. Opening a current account(s) for the HOA with a credit institution for settlements with service providers and receiving funds from the public. Transfer of apartment buildings to the balance sheet of the HOA, transfer of technical documentation.
4. Concluding agreements with resource supply organizations.

Everything related to the procedure for creating an HOA will be discussed in more detail in the following parts.

Lately, many have been talking about the need to organize homeowners' associations in houses. They say that for owners of apartments in high-rise buildings, HOAs are a real panacea for all ills.

Apologists for the creation of HOAs point out that under normal conditions, when the management company is responsible for maintaining the house, homeowners in an apartment building are actually deprived of the right to interfere in solving the most pressing problems of the house. At the same time, they regularly pay for housing maintenance services. This amount includes not only current repairs of the common areas of the house, but also work in the local area. True, as you know, these funds most often dissolve into obscurity. What happens to homeowners' money? Where do they go? Where to look for the truth? There are many more questions in this situation than answers.

In the situation with the HOA, enthusiasts of the new form of house management say, all funds will be in the hands of the residents, and they themselves will be able to make decisions about major repairs, installation of new doors and glass in the entrances.

Indeed, a homeowners' association is a duly registered legal entity, with elected governing bodies, an audit commission and its own current account. All payments received from the residents of the building where the HOA is organized are accumulated in the current account of the partnership. The main governing body of the HOA is the general meeting of residents. Ideally, almost all vital issues are resolved by a general meeting of homeowners through voting.

True, when deciding to create an HOA, it is necessary to fully understand both the pros and cons that joining an HOA brings to a person.

Chairman of the Commission on Local Self-Government, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Public Chamber of the Samara Region, Viktor Chasovskikh, notes in particular:

When initiative groups of residents come to me and want to organize a homeowners’ association in their building, I always invite them to soberly assess their strengths.

According to SI experts, the creation of a HOA in an apartment building has not only positive aspects. There are also a number of disadvantages to this method of control.

Minus the first one.

Major renovation

Major renovation of an apartment building is perhaps the main problem preventing the widespread creation of homeowners' associations. The author of the article once jokingly asked the woman in charge of the house: when are we going to create an HOA? And I received a completely expected answer:

Why should we take responsibility for this junk? When our house is completely renovated, we’ll build it right away.

From a layman's point of view, everything is correct. Even logical. But on the other hand, Soviet times, when the state was responsible for the state of the housing stock, have sunk into oblivion. Nowadays the capitalist point of view dominates: property is not only rights, but also responsibilities. If you are property owners, please take care of your property.

But if the receipts take into account the amounts collected for this very repair, then it will take 10-15 years until the required amount is collected. The house may well fall apart during this time. It turns out to be a vicious circle.

In fact, creating an HOA in five-story buildings of the Khrushchev era is not very profitable, says Viktor Chasovskikh. - Currently, the bulk of the population living in these houses cannot be called wealthy. These people simply will not bear the additional costs of major repairs to a house that is more than 30-40 years old.

Minus the second

Birth pangs

Creating a homeowners' association is a responsible and complex process. A difficult point is the state registration of HOAs. In order for the registration authorities to accept the documents of the future HOA for consideration, all legal requirements must be met. First of all, when creating an HOA, you should pay attention to such points as the development of the charter of the partnership, holding a general meeting of residents, the voting procedure and drawing up the minutes of the general meeting. To carry out all these activities, an initiative group must be elected. These must be literate people. It is desirable that they understand the intricacies of civil and housing legislation. To begin with, the initiative group must ask the city authorities to provide complete data on the lists of all apartments with a mandatory indication of the form of ownership. After this, you can begin preparing for a general meeting of residents of the house. In order for the meeting to be considered valid, the presence of 50% of all owners and tenants, plus one vote, must be present. Only in this case the general meeting is considered legitimate and competent. The attendance of residents at the meeting directly depends on the preparatory work of the initiative group. During it, all residents should be familiarized with the agenda of the meeting and the working version of the charter of the future partnership. During the general meeting, a decision is made to create a HOA, the charter of the partnership is approved, management and audit bodies are elected, and the method of managing the house is determined.

After the general meeting has been held and all constituent documents have been properly executed, an application for registration is submitted to the Federal Registration Service. As you can see, to create an HOA you need to work very hard.

Minus the third

Lack of initiative.

It is at the stage of creating an HOA that one significant disadvantage arises. It's about misunderstanding on the part of residents. Fathers and mothers of homeowners' associations have to deal with imperfect legislation and arbitrariness of the authorities. But the main problem, according to SI experts, remains the resistance of the residents of the house themselves, the owners themselves. They need to prove the usefulness of creating an HOA in the house and convince them to come to the meeting of owners. Therefore, explanatory work becomes one of the important areas of activity. This is what will require the lion's share of nerves and time. We must always remember this.

Minus the fourth

Higher operating fees.

For many, this point is a serious reason to have a negative attitude towards HOAs. Here you need to understand that mandatory utility payments in HOAs are exactly the same as the city average. It’s another matter if the residents themselves decide to “chip in” for improvements or some other needs. Okay, if we are talking about arranging a parking lot, installing locks on the entrance doors or hiring a concierge, these are essentially small costs. However, it may also happen that one of the residents will have a desire, for example, to line the entrance with marble or install a mini-boiler room in the basement coupled with a state-of-the-art heating unit. Here the costs will be very, very significant. True, that’s why there is a general meeting to make decisions collectively, but everyone’s needs and ideas about comfort are really different and disagreements cannot be avoided.

Minus the fifth

Imperfection of legislation

The mechanisms for interaction between homeowners' associations and authorities have not been fully developed. For example, if one of the residents does not want to pay, including mandatory utility bills, debts can only be collected from him through the court. For example, if a member or non-member of the HOA of an apartment building does not pay the costs of payment for residential premises and utilities, then the HOA board can sue him. To do this, a statement of claim for debt collection is drawn up and submitted to the court at the debtor’s place of residence. A case involving property disputes for a claim price not exceeding five hundred minimum wages (minimum wages) established on the day the application was filed is considered by a magistrate. If the price of the claim exceeds five hundred minimum wages, it is filed in the district court. During the trial, the debtor can pledge, hide or sell his property. And then the court decision will be impossible to implement. Therefore, simultaneously with filing a claim, an application for securing it is submitted to the court. The defendant may apply to the court to overturn the court decision. The deadline is seven days from the date of delivery of the copy. The parties can file a cassation against the court's decision in absentia, and an appeal against the decision of the magistrate. In general, as “Manager of the House” knows, until the case is resolved in court, it may take years, and all this time the shortfall will have to be covered by regularly paying residents.

Another problem is related to preferential categories of citizens entitled to subsidies for utility bills. By law, the city must return to the HOA the difference between the payments of beneficiaries and the actual costs of utilities, but in practice this does not always happen.

Minus six

Personnel shortage

Due to the house’s reserves and the competent work of managers, it is possible to reduce residents’ expenses, say enthusiasts of this form of management.

Unfortunately, this does not always happen. More often than not, the opposite situation occurs. The reason is banal - there are simply no competent specialists capable of effectively managing the management of an HOA. And where do they come from? Samara universities do not train such specialists. As a result, anyone can become housekeepers, for example, actors, artists or retired candidates of philosophical sciences. Agree, such personnel will be of little use to the partnership in modern economic conditions.

Most apartment buildings are transferred to the management of various organizations, as this is quite profitable and convenient for residents.

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One type of such management is a partnership.

What it is

An HOA or homeowners' association, by its legal nature, is a non-profit organization.

This means that one of the main goals of the organization is not to make a profit in the form of cash, but to satisfy the interests and non-material needs of the individuals included in its composition.

The HOA acts as one of the forms of management of apartment buildings, the residential premises in which are located in private ownership.

When transferring apartments to citizens through privatization, the state relieves itself of some of the responsibilities for their maintenance, thereby shifting them to the new owners.

Since citizens do not have practical experience in operating housing facilities, they are asked to choose one of the forms of organizing the management process - the creation of a partnership.

Thus, an HOA is a form of self-government of residents in relation to their own property, that is, a residential building and the adjacent territory.

The concept of management includes processes such as maintenance, operation, repair and provision of utilities to residential property owners.

It is worth noting that most apartment buildings will include not only residential, but also non-residential premises, the owners of which have an interest in managing the building.

In this regard, not only homeowners' associations, but also real estate owners' partnerships (TSN) will soon be created.

This form of management will allow the rights and interests of a wider range of subjects to be realized.

For what purposes?

Before defining the goals of the HOA, it is worth revealing its tasks, which include:

Based on the main objectives, the main goal of the partnership is to ensure high-quality public services at home, maintain general cleanliness and order, control over payment of fees and fulfill the direct responsibilities assigned to it by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Video: creating a HOA

Occupation

The main goal of the partnership can be combined into one concept - management. This concept is quite broad and includes various types of activities.

Housing legislation specifically highlights the management of an apartment building as its main area of ​​activity.

If we consider this concept broadly, we can distinguish management functions as maintenance and repair, including the provision of various types of public services.

The list of the main activities of the HOA includes:

The economic activities specified in and include:

• exploitation;
• service;
• carrying out repair work on common property;
• construction of new facilities;
• transactions;
• receipt and transfer of funds to service providers and contracting companies.

Despite the fact that, according to the rules, the HOA is created for non-commercial purposes, it has the right to receive profit from its own activities.

It can use the income only to achieve the goals for which it was created.

For example, use the funds received to carry out repairs or improvement of common property and territory.

All income received is subject to taxation, so funds must be documented, like any other actions of the organization’s board.

The management activity of the partnership consists of resolving a large number of organizational issues that are under the jurisdiction of the management bodies. This may include a meeting of homeowners.

Responsibilities of the organization

The responsibilities of the partnership are disclosed in housing legislation.

According to this norm, the HOA is obliged to:

The legislative framework

The HOA is dedicated to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first types of partnerships began to form.

In this regard, the need arose to create a legal act regulating the activities of partnerships. The Federal Law “On Homeowners' Associations” became such a legal act.

It was adopted in 1996 and lost its force in March 2005, when the current version of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation came into force.

All the pros and cons of HOAs

As mentioned earlier, a partnership is a non-profit organization whose main goal is not to generate income, but to meet the needs of the members of the partnership in terms of managing their common property located in an apartment building.

For all residents of an apartment building, the creation of an organization is a beneficial procedure. Homeowners association for or against - find out what needs to be taken into account.

Benefits Received

The benefits of the partnership include:

Thus, by creating an HOA, citizens receive a considerable number of benefits.

As many realtors note, based on their sales practice, square meters in residential buildings where this organization is located have a higher price category.

Negative points

A significant disadvantage of the partnership is the imperfection of legislation regarding the regulation of the settlement system.

If any member of the organization refuses to make payments, the service provider has the right to recover funds in court.

The court will not care where the payments come from, and it is possible that conscientious tenants will have to pay their bills twice.

In addition, the disadvantages may be slightly inflated prices for operation, increased risk when choosing an entity for the role of chairman.

The legislation does not provide for serious measures against unscrupulous payers.

Comparison table with other forms of government

Which method will be chosen depends on many factors, including the characteristics of the apartment building, residents, certain situations, etc.

When choosing, you should clearly understand all the main points, advantages and disadvantages of each method: