Home care: more than 60% of Russians are dissatisfied with the work of their management companies

More than half of citizens (62%) are dissatisfied with the work of their management companies in the housing and utilities sector. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted on the basis of a poll of T-Bank clients (Izvestiya has it). Most often Russians do not like the quality of repairs of apartments and entrances, landscaping of the adjacent territory, financial management and snow removal. In addition, the speed of answers of management companies in solving questions is too slow, the respondents noted. Experts believe that it is necessary to increase the transparency of management companies' work and establish interaction with residents. Among the possible options are open reports on where the money went, separate chats with MCs, as well as more active use of banking applications to solve questions on payment of bills. This will help to reduce the burden on management companies.

What people are dissatisfied with in the work of housing and communal services management companies

The work of management companies that provide housing and communal services in apartment buildings, 62% of Russians are dissatisfied. This is stated in the study of T-Bank. It surveyed clients of the financial organization over 18 years old, living in all regions of the country. Only 5% of respondents assessed the work of MC on "excellent", and 9% - on "good", 21% - on "satisfactory".

Most of all Russians are dissatisfied with the repair of apartments - 68% of survey participants gave low marks to the quality of this service. Repair of entrances (60%) and landscaping of the adjacent territory (60%) also received a lot of negative feedback. More than half of respondents also complained about financial management services (58%) and snow removal (53%).

The majority of Russians consider the charging of fees for housing and communal services to be non-transparent - 55% responded in this way. Only 9% gave high marks in this area. In addition, almost two-thirds of citizens were not satisfied with the cost of services.

At the same time, the interaction with management companies is not well established among residents, the study emphasizes. People mostly face problems related to the house or adjacent territory once a week or more often. However, the speed of answers of the management companies in solving issues is slow - this was reported by 61% of respondents.

Russians named several ways to improve interaction with management companies. The majority believe that this will be helped by the placement of reports on the work done by the MC in the public domain. Half of the respondents are sure that the problem will be solved by chatting with representatives of the company. Some also suggested holding regular meetings of tenants.

The issue of transparency in the work of management companies in the housing and utilities sector is long overdue, says Anna Gondusova, Director of Client Relations at Alfa Capital Management Company. According to her, the situation has already started to improve. For example, the state website GIS Housing and Communal Services mandatorily discloses information on the financial performance of MCs, on estimates for maintenance of houses and on their fulfillment.

However, numerous complaints about the quality of repairs and landscaping show that management companies do not fulfill their obligations at the proper level, emphasized Maxim Kolyadov, Head of Individuals at AMsec24 Insurance Brokerage. He added: tenants often face delays in repairs, insufficient cleanliness and lack of necessary services.

At the same time, the work of the management company may seem non-transparent due to the lack of information on how tariffs are formed, what exactly the collected funds are used for and what services are provided, the expert explained.

Kirill Chebakov, managing partner of the building design company WE-ON Group, agreed. He added: the apartment owner has to pay a certain amount every month. At the same time, a person does not know how this document is formed and where his funds go. But, for example, he can see a broken window or unpainted wall every day.

How to improve the transparency of the work of housing and communal services management companies

Issues of housing and communal services are the most sensitive for Russian citizens and one of the priorities in the work of the Ministry of Construction, the press service of the agency told Izvestia. They added: in order to improve their quality, systematic work is carried out to regulate the activities of management organizations. For example, this year the procedure for obtaining a license to manage an apartment building has been tightened.

Other measures have been developed to improve the situation. It is supposed to oblige management organizations to report to the residents on the work done. And also to introduce requirements for the staff of such companies, said in the press service of the Ministry of Construction.

Reports on the work done will help Russians to see how the money is spent, which will increase confidence in the MC, agreed Maxim Kolyadov from the company "Insurance broker AMsec24". In his opinion, several other innovations would help to improve the situation. It is worth establishing a more effective channel of communication with residents. For example, applications for cell phones, where people can quickly send requests and receive answers.

It may also be useful to create special sections in banking applications to solve questions about the house and payment for housing and utility services, the expert added.

Now banks, which are in constant contact with individual clients, already have fintech solutions that help management organizations to build relationships with residents and close some of their questions, in particular - to pay bills and transfer meter readings, said Anton Lomakin, head of the product "Payments Housing and Utilities" T-Bank Anton Lomakin. The functionality that simplifies the payment of utility bills is available in the main major banks of the country. In order to use all its advantages, service providers and MCs need to enter into a direct agreement with the bank so that the financial organization can transmit data and bills to service consumers more quickly and in greater volume. According to a representative of T-Bank, the bank's round-the-clock support will also help to sort out the payment of housing and utility bills. Thus, fintech solutions can reduce the burden on management companies and improve the collection of payments and satisfaction of residents, concluded Anton Lomakin.

Push notifications and payment reminders help people remember to pay on time, added Alexei Tarapovsky, founder of Anderida Financial Group. Fintech solutions are perfectly integrated into the new system to improve the work of MCs and their interaction with residents, agreed Kirill Chebakov of WE-ON Group.

- MCs can use banking applications as an educational platform or to get feedback. For example, to inform about tariff increases and opportunities to save money," said Alexei Tarapovsky.

In his opinion, the process of recalculation through banks could also be established in the future, but this would require improving the platforms and involving all market participants.