Photo: Svetlana Kholyavchuk/Interpress

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation did not find a violation of the Constitution in the contested provisions of the payment for major repairs. The corresponding decision was announced at today's court hearing. At the same time, the judges told the Russians how to jump out of the “common cauldron.”

Unknowingly

Deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (from the factions “A Just Russia” and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation) previously addressed the Constitutional Court with a request to check whether the provisions on the mandatory fee for major repairs comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The Socialist-Revolutionaries, in particular, disputed Part 4 of Article 179 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the operator can “transfer” money collected for major repairs by the residents of one house to work in another house. As the people's representatives noted, homeowners are placed in a “common pot” without their will. Let us remind you that according to the law, citizens can decide how to accumulate funds for major repairs: on the account of a regional operator (using the “common boiler” method) or on an individual account of an apartment building. “They ended up there [into the common pot] out of ignorance, out of haste, out of the impossibility of holding a general meeting,” said Galina Khovanskaya, head of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy and Housing and Public Utilities, a member of the A Just Russia faction.

According to G. Khovanskaya, the owners of housing construction cooperatives find themselves in the most deplorable situation, who have just renovated their house and are now forced to pay contributions to a common pot for 25 years with an unknown result. If an accident occurs or the time comes for emergency repairs, the owners included in the common boiler will have to pay fees and collect money for the necessary repairs. Moreover, no one guarantees the protection of the overhaul operator managing the boiler from bankruptcy.

On other people's shoulders

The communists asked high judges to check Part 1 of Article 169 and Parts 4 and 7 of Art. 170 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. The first article states that the owners of premises in an apartment building are required to pay monthly contributions for major repairs of common property, the second determines the right of local authorities to decide where the collected funds will be accumulated, if the residents themselves have not decided this issue.

As State Duma deputy from the Communist Party faction Vadim Solovyov noted, the state is trying to abandon its responsibilities and shift them to citizens. “For 20 years, the state has repaired only 10% of the housing stock. And when the cost turned out to be about a trillion, it was decided - let’s pass it on to the citizens,” he noted.

Reference

The law, which obliges homeowners in apartment buildings to pay for major repairs, was adopted at the end of 2012. It began operating in different regions of the country at different times. In particular, for Moscow the fee was introduced on July 1, 2015 and amounted to 15 rubles per square meter. m. In St. Petersburg, fees for major repairs were introduced at the end of 2014. Then it was a maximum of 2 rubles per square meter. m of housing. From January 1, 2015, the maximum fee was increased to 3 rubles per sq. m. m, in 2016 it will increase by another 50 kopecks.

In a common boiler

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, in turn, recalled that local authorities took measures to choose the method of forming a capital repair fund - to the account of a regional operator or to a special account. In addition, the judges noted that citizens were given the opportunity to change the method of accumulation.

According to the judges, there are no violations in the mechanism for redistributing funds by the regional operator when determining the priority of repairs. The judges added that nothing prevents the regional operator from improving its work mechanisms, including issues of compensation in the event of loss of funds accumulated by citizens. In its decision, the Constitutional Court also indicates that the law may establish that the collected funds will be directed to houses located on the territory of one or more municipalities, which will ensure the turnover, safety and efficiency of using the collected funds of the capital repair fund.

As a result, the Constitutional Court decided that the law on major repairs does not contradict the Constitution, but needs clarification. For example, the State Duma and the government should “establish a mechanism” for fulfilling the state’s old obligations to repair houses. And ordinary citizens, if they are faced with an unfair order of houses in the capital repair program, can challenge it in court. Those who believe that they were not sufficiently informed before being included in the “common pot” can also go to court.

The judges also recalled that there are currently mechanisms for changing the overhaul operator. So, if the residents of the house want to jump out of the common pot and save money in their special account, they can exercise this right without any problems. True, different regions of the Russian Federation have different deadlines for a possible change of operator (up to two years).

The Russians were explained how to jump out of the “common cauldron”