Who's for the new one: the maintenance fee will be allocated in a separate payment
The payment for the current repairs in the houses was proposed to be allocated in a separate line. The goal is to avoid the opacity of spending these funds. Today, current repairs are included in the line "maintenance of living space", and, according to deputies, the expenditure of these funds can often be inappropriate. In the near future, a bill will be submitted to the State Duma that will correct the situation. Its authors assure that Russians will not pay for maintenance if it is not required, however, if it is necessary, they will set the required amount themselves. Experts also note the risks of abuse if the charging procedure is not clearly prescribed.
Why do I need a separate line for current repairs?
A separate new line may appear in the payment receipt — "routine maintenance". As Izvestia found out, such a bill with amendments to the Housing Code will soon be submitted to the State Duma by representatives of the United Russia faction.
For the first time, the proposal to establish a separate payment for current repairs was announced by deputies last year. In the spring of 2024, such a bill was submitted to the State Duma.
However, the authors of the initiative then withdrew it after the comments of the government, which asked to specify the mechanism for determining the amount of the fee, the timing of its payment, and also to indicate the persons responsible for posting information about current repairs in the GIS housing and communal services system.
In addition, the Cabinet was asked to prescribe a mechanism for accounting and spending funds. The new version of the bill takes all these comments into account.
In the document (Izvestia has it) It is reported that it was developed in order to improve the planning procedure for routine repairs, the procedure for charging fees for the maintenance of residential premises, increase transparency and targeted spending of funds collected from tenants. At the same time, the developers of the initiative refer to the strategy for the development of the construction industry and housing and communal services of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030, which sets out tasks for improving pricing models in the field of housing management.
The authors of the project propose to allocate the maintenance fee as a separate, independent type of payment as part of the maintenance fee for residential premises, as well as to introduce the concept of a "Maintenance repair program" into legislation. It will be developed by the management company of the apartment building, and approved by the tenants at a general meeting. At the same time, the government will determine the procedure for developing this document.
To ensure transparency of charges, collection and expenditure of funds, as well as the implementation of program activities, the authors of the initiative propose to include all information about this in the state housing and communal services information system.
The provider of this data will be the person responsible for managing the apartment building, depending on the management method. That is, in the vast majority of cases, it is a management company (CC).
"An analysis of information publicly available in GIS housing and communal services shows that today most decisions on setting the amount of maintenance fees for residential premises do not contain details indicating the amount of charges for current repairs. As a result, it is not highlighted in a separate line in the payment documents," the authors note in the explanatory note.
They point out that the management companies today have the right to withdraw the accumulated funds for maintenance and current repairs, without doing so. According to the authors of the initiative, this can lead to further problems for homeowners, including deterioration of structures and systems in the house, an increase in the cost of further major repairs, as well as litigation.
"Our bill improves transparency for all parties in the maintenance and maintenance of apartment buildings: both for the owner and for the management company," State Duma deputy Marat Nuriev, one of the authors of the bill, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, today it is not clear how much money residents have actually spent and for what purposes, how much is left and what is planned. As well as there is no way for the Criminal Code to legally give a full calculation and keep a full line-by-line accounting of expenses.
— Naturally, residents who ask such questions remain unanswered. This creates even greater distrust of the Criminal Code," the parliamentarian explained.
According to him, another purpose of the new rules is to regulate the procedure for transferring such funds when changing the Criminal Code or management method. Currently, this option is not included in the legislation, which generates a large number of disputes and conflicts. In particular, for this purpose, the deputies propose to publish in the GIS housing and communal services information on the accrual, payment and expenditure of funds for current repairs, as well as on the implementation of the program, the parliamentarian noted.
— I know a lot of houses and homeowners who have been arguing with their management companies for years over ongoing repairs. People say that they are paying for it today and this is half the amount in the line of the receipt for housing maintenance. And the management company tells them that this is not the case, and if something needs to be repaired, then you need to additionally discount. And there are no criteria for resolving this dispute today," Svetlana Razvorotneva, co—author of the bill, explained the need for new norms to Izvestia.
However, she noted that if repairs are not required, the homeowners will not pay anything. As for reducing the amount of housing maintenance fees after deducting funds for current repairs, the deputy admitted that such a decrease would occur.
The press service of the Ministry of Construction told Izvestia that the agency had not received a revised version of the bill, and if it was submitted, this initiative would be considered in due course.
Utility fees
Konstantin Krokhin, Chairman of the Board of NP Union of Housing Organizations, believes that if this measure is not considered in its entirety, including with the lifting of the moratorium on inspections, then it makes no sense. According to him, there are a lot of financial abuses on the part of the Criminal Code today, including with payments from the public, but it is not possible to verify their work due to the moratorium. Therefore, there is no need to talk about increasing transparency yet and it is unlikely that it will appear only after the separation of payments, the expert noted.
Allocation to a separate payment will be useful if a special account is created for it with the possibility of accumulation for work, Sergey Septarov, director of the Vozrozhdenie ZhKKh Volgograd Region management company, told Izvestia.
— Today, this money goes into the common pot of utility bills, into one checking account, and it is very difficult to find it there. Therefore, if they are visible to both the management Company and the residents, who will be able to control, then this will be a very good option. In this case, I think, the payment for housing maintenance will decrease," the industry representative explained.
In housing and communal services, as in any type of services, it is important for consumers to have complete information and comprehensive information that would increase transparency in this area, Oleg Pavlov, head of the Public Consumer Initiative and head of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor, told Izvestia.
"Therefore, of course, additional detailing of the components that make up the rent, including maintenance fees, if they are visible to consumers, is a plus," the expert explained.
He noted that the amount of contributions should be determined by the methodology established by the state, and not by management companies or tenants. This is necessary in order to prevent distortions in the payment of citizens. If this issue is not controlled, consumers may pay more money for housing and communal services, the expert emphasized.
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