Not everyone is at home: fines for hostels and baths in high-rise buildings want to double

Fines for the illegal placement of baths, hostels and dry cleaners in residential buildings can be doubled — such an initiative is being prepared by deputies and senators amid mass complaints from citizens. For legal entities, the sanctions may increase to 100 thousand rubles. In addition, it is proposed to give residents the right to decide for themselves whether such organizations can be placed in their house. At the same time, a ban on the opening of darkstory warehouses and quest sites in residential buildings is being discussed.

Is it possible to open a business in an apartment building

Fines for illegal accommodation in high-rise buildings of baths, hostels, dry cleaners and other commercial organizations may increase several times. State Duma deputies and senators are developing such a measure in connection with mass complaints from the population about apartment owners who, after foreclosure, will convert them to meet business needs.

Currently, among other things, industrial plants, hotels and hostels cannot be located in residential premises, as well as missionary activities (except in cases provided for by law). In addition, it is forbidden to open construction, furniture and hardware stores, laundries, dry cleaners, baths, funeral services stores and other similar facilities.

— The problem of illegal reconstruction and redevelopment is relevant for all regions of Russia today. This is due to the fact that, unfortunately, the placement of various businesses in apartment buildings (shops, restaurants, hostels, warehouses and production facilities) is currently very poorly regulated by law, including in terms of sentencing. Fines of several thousand rubles don't stop anyone, and it can take years to prove their case through the courts," Svetlana Razvorotneva, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, told Izvestia.

According to her, in this regard, tougher responsibility for such actions is proposed as one of the primary measures.

— At a minimum, fines for the use of residential real estate for commercial purposes should be doubled. We are currently working on these and other measures with colleagues from the Federation Council, where recently, with the participation of the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Economic Development and other departments, issues of the targeted use of non—residential premises in apartment buildings were discussed, Svetlana Razvorotneva told Izvestia.

According to the draft recommendations based on the results of one of the discussions (Izvestia has the document) with the participation of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Economic Development, parliamentarians propose to consider amendments to the Housing Code. We are talking about a ban on the use of non-residential premises in apartment buildings for warehouses-darkstores and quests.

In addition, the parliamentarians want to empower the owners of the premises through the general meeting to make a decision on whether or not to use the premises for commercial purposes.

In addition, the Ministry of Construction is proposed to develop a single regulatory act that will establish clear rules for the targeted use of non-residential premises in apartment buildings. Izvestia asked the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Economic Development to comment on the prospects for supporting these legislative proposals.

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Who supports the use of business premises in residential buildings

The fact that cases of conflict of interests between tenants and businesses are not uncommon is regularly reported by the media. So, last year, residents of a high-rise building contacted the editorial office of the REN TV channel, who were forced to live next to migrant workers who lived in an illegal hostel. The flophouse is located in several apartments of the building at once.

In another case, a resident tells reporters about the placement of a warehouse of one of the delivery networks on the ground floor of a single-entrance 20-storey building. "The exit for unloading and loading products is located a few meters from the front door. Couriers are also waiting to receive orders here. Their alarm system is constantly buzzing under the windows, they ride bicycles at high speed in the courtyard, where elderly people, parents with children walk," she complains.

On the one hand, responsibility for illegal use really needs to be tightened, but if the supervisory authority cannot apply the current sanctions, then this will not change anything, Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative, told Izvestia.

— Residents' complaints will just keep piling up. Therefore, the main thing, in our opinion, is the inevitability of punishment, including simplifying the procedure for conducting control measures in case of misuse of facilities," the social activist explained.

At the same time, he noted that now sole proprietors are in a more privileged position, who, taking advantage of a preferential supervisory regime and a more modest amount of administrative sanctions, do not reciprocate the state and become leaders in the number of violations in many sectors of the consumer market.

— We must take into account that darkstores, shops, cafes and other retail and service facilities located directly in residential buildings have become an integral part of modern urban infrastructure that meets the needs of tens of millions of consumers across the country. At the same time, we must also not forget about the interests of citizens living in the immediate vicinity of such facilities, and help ensure a balance of interests," Pavlov stressed.

Tatiana Gotsulenko, Director of the Association of Management and Maintenance Organizations in the Housing Sector, believes that empowering tenants to make their own decisions about housing a commercial facility in a house would be the best solution. According to her, all buildings are different, so different decisions can be made. She sees no point in explicitly banning this or that type of commercial activity.