A special account for major repairs of an apartment building requires monthly contributions from apartment owners. For many, such an obligation is associated with a significant financial burden, so understanding the meaning of such contributions and how to use them remains a pressing issue.
Special account: what is it?
Today, major repairs of apartment buildings are financed from a special fund, the main part of which is formed from contributions from residents and penalties accrued due to untimely repaid debts.
The legislation provides two ways to accumulate funds:
- by organizing a special account;
- receipt to the regional operator.
To create a special account, apartment owners are required to hold a general meeting and make a decision in favor of choosing this method by a majority vote.
If citizens do not take the initiative, then the capital repair fund is formed by the regional operator. At any time, a decision can be made to change the mechanism for the formation of savings, but this requires holding a meeting of the residents of the house and observing the legally regulated procedure. The owners of the special account can be housing cooperatives, HOAs, or a management company, that is, those organizations that resolve issues of managing a house on the basis of a concluded agreement.
The Public Movement “People's Control in Housing and Communal Services” daily receives several dozen requests from Krasnoyarsk residents about a new scheme for accumulating funds for major repairs. Activists of the movement tried to answer the most frequently asked questions in this material.
So, on December 25, 2012, the State Duma adopted amendments to the Housing Code, which established the principles of a new scheme for accumulating money for major repairs of the common property of apartment buildings.
On June 27, 2013, the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory adopted a law regulating these relationships at the level of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
What awaits residents
The main changes affected management companies. The new law unilaterally deprives them of the ability to manage the funds that owners transfer for major repairs.
Now this money will be managed either by the owners themselves (individual accumulation system) or by officials appointed by the regional government (collective accumulation system). Each owner of a residential premises in an apartment building will have to choose how to save for major repairs (together or separately).
Such a decision must be made at a general meeting of owners and reflected in the appropriate minutes. And, if the owners decided on individual savings and decided to open a special account in the name of the regional operator (a specialized non-profit organization is created in each subject of the Russian Federation, which collects funds and also ensures the overhaul of an apartment building. It has not yet appeared in the Krasnoyarsk Territory) , the protocol must be transferred to this operator.
We save separately
If residents of an apartment building have decided on an individual form of savings, they need to:
1. Hold a general meeting of owners in accordance with the requirements of Article 45 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Namely:
1.1. 10 days before the expected date of the meeting, notify each homeowner in writing about the upcoming event.
Clarification: if the owners, as part of the general meeting, did not approve a place for posting notices (for example, a notice board or an entrance door), then the Housing Code leaves them with only two appropriate forms of notification: in person with a signature, or by registered mail.
1.2. During the notification process, each owner must be given an information message (Sample Information Message) which must contain:
- Information about the organizer (initiator/initiative group)
- Form of delivery (full-time/correspondence)
- Date, place, time (in case of an in-person meeting)
- Closing date for decisions and place of transmission (in case of absentee voting)
- Agenda
- The procedure for familiarizing yourself with the information and materials that will be presented at this meeting + the place where you can get acquainted with them
Upon receipt of notice of a meeting, each owner must sign in the appropriate register (Sample register of notices).
1.3. In case of in-person voting, at the appointed date, place and time, owners must appear with documents confirming their ownership rights, as well as identification documents. Then sign the register confirming attendance (Sample register)
1.4. The meeting can be considered valid if more than half of the owners were present/voted.
Example: if the house has 4,000 square meters, the meeting can be recognized as having taken place based on the participation/voting of the owners who own 2,001 square meters.
1.5. If a quorum has not been reached, those gathered make a decision to vote in absentia and record in the minutes the end date for accepting decisions (a sample decision sheet) and the place of their transfer. After which the process of notifying owners (clause 1.1) is repeated for the second round, with appropriate changes made to the information message.
Requirements for the minutes of the general meeting on opening a special account:
It is mandatory that the minutes of the decision of the general meeting (sample minutes) contain decisions on 5 issues:
1. Amount of monthly contribution for major repairs. The amount of the contribution cannot be less than that established by the government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
2. List of works and services for major repairs of common property. The list of works and services cannot be less than that provided for by the regional capital repair program.
3. Timing for major repairs of common property. The dates cannot be later than the planned dates established by the regional capital repair program.
4. Owner of a special account. Nominal owners of special accounts can be:
- HOA (for houses managed by HOA);
- Housing cooperative (for houses managed by a cooperative);
- regional operator (for houses under direct management, as well as under the management of management companies).
Clarification: if the HOA manages several apartment buildings (the number of apartments in which exceeds 30), then residents will have to open two accounts: one special. the account will be issued to the HOA, the other to the regional operator.
5. The credit institution in which the special account will be opened.
Owners cannot choose any bank they like. The legislator limited the possibility of choosing from more than 900 banks operating in the Russian Federation to approximately 30, establishing as a mandatory requirement the minimum amount of own funds at 20 billion rubles.
Clarification: if a credit institution is not selected or does not meet the requirements of Part 2 of Article 176 of the RF Housing Code, the right to select a credit institution is transferred to the regional operator.
Who benefits?
It is beneficial for residents of relatively new houses, residents of houses where major repairs were carried out not so long ago, as well as owners who are good payers and are inclined to independently plan their expenses for major repairs and maximum personal control over the funds spent. There will be no financial assistance from the state in the case of individual savings.
Let's save together
The second option, which was the only one during the first consideration of the bill in the State Duma of the Russian Federation: the so-called “common boiler”. Owners are invited to “get in line” and, by making a monthly contribution for major repairs, wait until their turn comes.
Obviously, if after the publication of the regional program the owners find their house in the forefront for major repairs, it makes sense to think about a collective form of accumulation. Otherwise, if residents do not count on financial assistance from either the state or their neighbors, they have a direct route to special services. check.
In accordance with the letter of the law, residents are also required to hold a general meeting and approve the form of accumulation, however, if the corresponding decision is not made or the regional operator is not notified, the municipality will make the decision in favor of the “common boiler” for the owners.
Pros and cons of opening a special account
Today, the option that involves the formation of a fund on the account of a regional operator for carrying out capital repairs is called “boiler”, which reflects its essence. A regional program is approved and the money is to be distributed taking into account the needs of all houses in a particular region. When a special account is opened, funds are collected by residents of one building and spent only on repairs of that building only.
When organizing a special account, residents of the house receive a wider range of opportunities in terms of planning repair work, accepting and assessing their quality, and performing control measures regarding the expenditure of funds.
The advantages of choosing this method include:
- Independent determination of the final list of works;
- Variability in the choice of contractors;
- Absence of intermediaries and influence of third parties;
- Possibility of obtaining advice from a regional operator regarding the formation of a fund and issues of major repairs.
When apartment owners decide to open a special account, it should be taken into account that the responsibilities for planning repair work and monitoring funds will no longer fall under the competence of the regional operator. Often, residents do not have enough knowledge and experience to resolve such issues, which leads to a decrease in the efficiency of fund management. The regional operator closely interacts with local authorities, which also often helps resolve complex issues regarding the implementation of work related to complex repairs.
Carrying out major repairs is always associated with large expenses, so a situation may arise when the accumulated funds in a special account may not be enough to carry out the required list of works. Using bank services for servicing a special account, conducting settlements in terms of calculating contributions and penalties, printing and delivering receipts also requires certain costs. If funds stop flowing, a decision may be made to close it and transfer the balance to an operator operating in this region.
New in blogs
We all know that the owner of a special account for the general property overhaul fund can be a regional operator, a homeowners association or housing cooperative and management company. This is written in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation in Article 175.
I thought so too, out of my naivety. From this naive position, we filed applications to challenge the inaction of the city administration, and then the State Housing Inspectorate. The courts, as usual, lost, since in all courts there appeared either a letter from the HOA or a certain protocol of the general meeting of HOA members about opening a special account with an agreement with Sberbank attached.
You know, it’s useless to explain obvious things to judges. But that's not what this conversation is about. Dear comrades and no less dear opponents are talking about something else - today I once again looked at the Housing and Communal Services Reform website.
There was no information about the house required by the Disclosure Standard. But on the overhaul page at the address of our house I saw the following:
The method of forming a capital repair fund is a Special account, the owner of which is a person who is not a regional operator, management company, homeowners association, housing
That is, the owner of a special account is a person who is not provided for by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. I can guess who this person is, especially since back in November 2014 on the same page of the Housing and Communal Services Reform website it was written that the method of forming a capital repair fund had not been chosen.
What are your opinions about the mysterious owner of a special account to which the funds of the owners of the premises of the house are transferred for major repairs, and which is not provided for by current legislation?
https://www.reformagkh.ru/overhaul/overhaul/view?id=912983
If you follow the link and open the Yandex map, you will see two houses 34 - No. 34 and No. 34b. In fact, the houses have the same number 34. The fraudsters opened one special account for two houses in February 2014, which is not provided for by the legislation in force at that time. That is, it was necessary to open a special account for each house, and for this it was necessary to submit two protocols of the owners of the premises with the decisions provided for in Article 170 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
It’s good that we don’t pay the scammers who stole the shares of members of the cooperative and settled them in a self-built building built with state funds.
And now where will the owners of the premises look for their money for major repairs of supposedly common property? On overseas islands?
How to open a special account for major repairs of an apartment building
To open a special account, a general meeting of residents is required. Owners of more than 50% of the total number are required to attend, and if their personal participation is impossible, proxies can act instead. The final decision on this issue is considered legitimate if 2/3 of the owners vote for it.
There are strict requirements regarding the rules for conducting a meeting of apartment owners and preparing documentation, including for recording voting results. If legal standards are not observed, the results may be challenged and invalidated.
The process of creating a special account involves going through the following stages:
- checking whether the house is included in the regional overhaul program;
- creation of an initiative group of residents;
- holding a general meeting of apartment owners;
- making a decision to create a special account;
- compliance with all documentation requirements;
- sending a copy of the minutes of the meeting to the regional operator for registration;
- opening an account in a banking organization;
- notification to the operator and management company.
An important point is the choice of a credit institution for opening and further servicing a special account at home. The list of banks is limited, since there are quite strict requirements for the financial stability of organizations.
A special account can only be opened in a Russian bank, and the list of suitable organizations is subject to quarterly posting on the official portal of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Within 3 months, the regional operator must transfer the accumulated funds to a special account of the house, which will subsequently accumulate residents’ contributions for major repairs.
Stages of opening a special account for major repairs of HOAs
Opening a special account for major repairs of a house with an HOA takes place in several stages:
- Search for a home from a list of other homes included in the regional capital improvement plan. Familiarization with current laws.
- The HOA board must organize a meeting of residents. Notify the owners about it with a description of the issues on the agenda. It can be full-time or part-time.
In-person meeting:
- open voting of all owners of apartment buildings;
- registration of participants in the register, it will be attached to the Minutes of the meeting;
- 2/3 of the owners must participate. Votes are calculated based on the size of the area occupied by the owner (1 vote – 1 sq.m. of area occupied by each resident);
- The chairman or secretary counts the votes for each item on the agenda.
Absentee meeting:
- voting takes place in writing and the results are entered into a ballot, which is then handed over to the HOA board;
- counting ballots. They must be completed by at least 2/3 of the owners. Votes are calculated based on the size of the area occupied by the owner (1 vote – 1 sq.m. of area occupied by each resident).
Drawing up minutes of the decision of the meeting of owners to change the method of collecting funds for major repairs. The protocol should include the following questions:
- about the amount of contributions;
- about the list of various repair works (roof, facade, communications, elevator, etc.);
- on the timing of completion of repair work (no later than the deadlines determined by the regional program);
- on selecting a bank to open an account;
- on termination of contractual relations with the regional operator;
- on the transfer of funds from the regional operator to a special account;
- on the election of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owners;
- about the source of financing the costs of servicing the special account.
- After drawing up the Minutes of the meeting, you will need to transfer it to the account holder (within 5 days).
- Notify all owners of apartment buildings about decisions made by voting (no later than 10 days).
When choosing a method for creating a fund, sometimes you need to write an application for recalculation.
You can learn about the rights and responsibilities of HOA members, as well as its manager, from our articles.
To write an application you need:
- fill in your full name;
- write down your contact information (address, telephone);
- write the “body” of the application in any form;
- Add the minutes of the meeting and the register of residents to the completed application.
It is possible to open a current account under any form of government of the house (Articles 175, 176, 177 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
How to open a special account for major home repairs if there is no HOA?
Payment for major home repairs is the responsibility of any residential property owner. Opening a special account will help you get rid of problems with property and utilities.
You can find out why you need a special invoice for major repairs from the video:
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The procedure for carrying out major repairs of an apartment building: special account
At the meeting, the residents of the house set the tariff rate for every 1 m2 of housing owned by citizens. Depending on it, the amount of contributions to be paid to the capital repair fund is calculated, which are determined for each apartment. The tariff cannot be less than the value established in a particular region.
The following issues should also be resolved at the meeting of apartment owners:
- List of work carried out as part of the overhaul program;
- Timing of events according to plan;
- Account owner decision;
- Selecting a servicing bank;
- Determination of the person responsible for working with payment documents;
- The procedure for providing documents and terms of payment for services.
Major repairs are carried out when it is established that the structural elements of the house are worn out, faults and damage are identified that do not meet the necessary safety requirements. After the contractor has completed the list of works, an authorized person on behalf of all owners of apartments in the building carries out acceptance, signing the necessary acts.
How to withdraw money
At the general meeting of residents, the person whose powers will include issuing payments is determined. The total amounts of expenses and the conditions for their payment are also regulated. Money is transferred only upon full provision of supporting documents regarding the work performed by contractors, including the presence of an acceptance certificate.
To complete an operation to write off money from a special account, the bank must have the following documents:
- Minutes with the results of the meeting containing the decision on the work carried out as part of the overhaul;
- Contractual documents concluded with contractors;
- Acts regarding the list of work performed in accordance with agreements signed with the contractor.
The bank will refuse to carry out a transaction to write off funds in a situation if the owner of the special account is unable to provide documentary evidence regarding the work performed. If desired, owners can always control the size of the balance, incoming and outgoing transactions.
