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- The decisive quarter: the State Duma proposed to simplify the change of management companies
The decisive quarter: the State Duma proposed to simplify the change of management companies
The State Duma proposed to simplify the change of management companies in multi-storey residential buildings. They want to reduce the quorum for a repeat meeting of owners to make this decision from 50 to 25%. The measure will make it possible to resolve important issues related to the maintenance of apartment buildings more quickly, experts say. However, it is important to consider the possible risks by working out mechanisms that will avoid abuse. Whether the initiative will help improve the quality of life of owners is discussed in the Izvestia article.
Lack of votes
They want to reduce the quorum for a repeat meeting of owners of multi-storey buildings to change management companies from 50 to 25%. This initiative was put forward in the State Duma. Marat Nuriev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, spoke about the development of the bill. RIA Novosti writes about this.
It is planned to submit the document to the lower house of parliament in the spring session. The draft law proposes to amend certain articles of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
It is noted that today, a quorum of 50% of owners is needed to make a decision on changing the Criminal Code. Because of this, more than 30-40% of residents' meetings are declared invalid, as there are fewer participants than necessary, says Irina Genzler, director of the Urban Economy department at the Institute of Urban Economics Foundation, who participated in the drafting of the bill.
To solve this problem, the authors of the initiative propose to reduce the quorum for meetings to 25%.
By the way, the new rule will affect not only the change of management companies, but also a number of other issues. In particular, we are talking about the way houses are managed, the redevelopment of premises, the use of land and its landscaping, routine repairs, garbage collection, the determination of fees for housing maintenance, as well as contracts for water, electricity and gas supply.
It is expected that the implementation of the bill will make it possible to make decisions on issues that most owners are not interested in. Due to the new rule, it will be possible not to postpone the discussion and not to shift problems to local authorities.
Process optimization
The change proposed by the parliamentarians is aimed at simplifying the decision-making process on important issues related to living in multi-storey residential buildings, said Dmitry Bondar, a public figure and housing and communal services expert.
— Currently, the change of the management company in an apartment building requires a general meeting of the owners of the premises. If the required quorum is not reached at the first meeting, a repeat meeting with the same agenda will be required. However, it often does not gain a quorum, which often complicates the process of changing the Criminal Code," he points out. This leads to the fact that residents cannot effectively manage their property and solve important issues.
The proposed changes are especially relevant in the case of a large number of owners. Simplification of the procedure will make it possible to respond more quickly to problems and improve living conditions.
— The owners will have the opportunity to carry out the necessary work in a timely manner and choose more competent management companies. This, in turn, will lead to an improvement in the condition of the common property, an increase in the level of service and comfort of living," he believes.
A lot depends on who will make the decision to change the management company — the district government or the residents of the house. In the event that the issue is more often referred to the tenants, simplification will indeed be useful, confirms Dmitry Zhuravlev, scientific director of the Institute of Regional Problems. However, it should still remain under the control of the authorities.
— Unfortunately, residents often lack the competence to effectively choose a management company. The proposed measure may make their lives easier, but on condition that they can take advantage of it. There may not be enough people in the house who can independently choose between two organizations, the expert believes.
It is important to make the system so simple that an ordinary person can understand it, the Izvestia interlocutor emphasizes. And in this case, the norm on reducing the quorum will really improve the quality of life of residents of apartment buildings.
Alternative paths
However, simplifying the voting procedure by itself will not completely solve the problems observed in the housing and communal services sector, says Yuri Pavlenkov, chairman of the Board of NP Industry Servicing.
— There are fundamental errors of housing regulation concerning much more serious problems. In particular, there is often no reliable up—to-date information about residential real estate, especially about common property," the expert notes.
Pavlenkov considers a significant reduction in the percentage of owners participating in voting in apartment buildings to be a violation of the principles of democratic decision-making.
— It is very important that the decision on issues related to the common property is made by at least half of the owners, because we are talking about the transfer of ownership functions, — emphasizes the interlocutor of Izvestia.
In order to really simplify decision-making procedures, it is necessary to increase the interest of owners, because today this process is too complicated by bureaucracy, he believes.
— The creation of digital electronic decision-making platforms could help solve the issues of simplifying voting, and Rosreestr should be involved in this work. This would make it possible to verify the share in the common property of the owners for the voting procedure. When people have a convenient electronic tool for participating in general meetings, they will not have to endlessly reduce the percentage of voters, the expert is convinced.
Another problem is that changing management companies does not always have the desired effect. After all, today there are no institutes for advanced training of employees of these organizations in the country.
The need for balance
The proposed reduction of the quorum threshold carries other significant risks, warns Oleg Golov, Senator of the Russian Federation from the Republic of Bashkortostan. This change opens up opportunities for unscrupulous participants in the real estate management market. The current rate of 50% seems to be more balanced, although it creates certain difficulties in organizing meetings of owners.
— Of course, we observe insufficient involvement of citizens in the management of apartment buildings, however, the solution to this problem should lie in the plane of increasing civic engagement and responsibility, and not reducing quorum requirements, — the senator is convinced.
In his opinion, the proposed measure will not only not improve the quality of life of the owners, but may also lead to a deterioration of the housing stock and the appearance of more unscrupulous management companies on the market.
Problems may arise at the level of adaptation to the new system, Dmitry Zhuravlev warns.
— Today there is a noticeable tension in the housing and communal services sector. And if adaptation to the new normal takes place calmly in Moscow, then difficulties may arise in the regions. It is important to understand that not all changes are necessarily successful. They can be dangerous simply because the system may not be able to handle them due to existing problems," the expert explains.
Transparency and legality of meetings should also be ensured to avoid possible abuses. It is necessary to develop mechanisms for monitoring and challenging decisions made with violations in order to protect the rights of all owners, adds Dmitry Bondar.
In this regard, the deputies' initiative needs to be further worked out, Golov believes. The expert community, representatives of housing associations and local governments should be involved in this process. All this is important for finding more effective mechanisms for improving the management system of apartment buildings, the senator concludes.
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