All the nuances of a complaint about the major renovation of an apartment building

Author of the article:

Muzyko Tatyana Andreevna - lawyer.

The legislator obliged owners of premises in apartment buildings to pay monthly contributions for major repairs.
In turn, a specialized Fund or management company, on whose account funds are accumulated, has the right to dispose of them. They are responsible for the integrity of the contractor and the quality of the overhaul work.

Legislation

1. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates relations in the field of property, non-property and intellectual rights, contractual obligations.
2. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation lists the criteria for the quality of service provision in housing and communal services.
3. Federal Law No. 271-FZ dated December 25, 2012 “On Amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation” contains rules for the production and payment of major repairs in residential apartment buildings.
4. Federal Law “OZPP” dated 02/07/1993 No. 2300-1 establishes the rules of interaction between sellers (suppliers) and buyers, defines the concept of quality of services and products and prescribes a mechanism for protecting consumer rights.
5. Federal Law “On the Procedure for Considering Appeals from Citizens of the Russian Federation” dated May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ is applied in the event of complaints received regarding the work of state, municipal or private enterprises.

What does a claim look like and what should I do if there are errors in it?

Let's move on to the complaint itself. It does not have a strict form established by the state, so each fund draws up its own single model. But this does not mean that the claim must be anything - in a correctly drawn up appeal to the defaulter there must be:

• Information about the fund filing the complaint, indicating the name, address, and contact information. Other details must also be indicated, such as legal address, TIN, checkpoint and others;
• Complete information on the person to whom the claim is being filed, including the debtor’s full name, address, contract number and other information related to the debt;
• Information about the debt itself: a fully detailed amount, an indication of fines, penalties, the amount to be repaid, payment details or an indication of the bank through which the debt can be repaid;
• Justification of debt and fines: references to legislation (Articles 155, 169 and 171 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, as well as other additional norms, excerpts from the contract, etc.;
• Indication of requirements and possible consequences of non-compliance;
• Seals of the housing stock itself and signatures of responsible persons.

Information

If you open a letter from a housing fund and find a simple note demanding payments, you can safely ignore it - complaints that do not comply with the requirements are invalidated by law. However, it is better to save them just in case.

Where can I complain about the fund if the repairs have not been completed or are bad?

The work is carried out by contracting companies on behalf of a specialized Fund, in the account of which funds contributed by the owners are accumulated. Major repairs are paid exclusively by residents, so they have the right to evaluate and demand high-quality work from the contractor.

If there is clearly misappropriation of funds or a negligent attitude of contractors towards their obligations, this must be dealt with. State authorities have sufficient powers to hold accountable and force the Foundation and repair contractors to act in accordance with the stated regulations.

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The first step is to write directly to the Foundation. After 30 days, applicants will receive a response. If they are not satisfied with it, you can move on.

Housing inspection

The state authority where you can apply to protect the rights and interests of the consumer of utility services is the Housing Inspectorate. Its branches are in cities and regional centers. This is where you should complain about poorly performed or unfinished major repairs. Based on the results of the inspection of the activities of the Fund and contractors, the inspector has the right to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine.

Complaints, statements, and appeals to government agencies are drawn up according to general rules:

1. Indicate the name of the authority - the addressee.
2. Next, the initiator indicates his data and address.

ADVICE! Anonymous complaints will not be accepted for consideration.

1. Below in the center of the page is the name of the document - Complaint.
2. Then you need to describe the problem in detail:

• indicate who is the customer for the home renovation work and with whom the contract was concluded;
• state what work is included in the contract, what of the entire scope remained unfulfilled or was done poorly;
• list what steps the owners took to confirm the low level of services, for example, they ordered an examination.

1. Inform of your intention to seek protection of rights from higher authorities if the issue is not resolved at this level.
2. At the end there is the date of drawing up the document and the signature of the initiator.
3. Attachments to the complaint - a copy of the contract, a certificate of ownership, paid receipts for major repairs confirming the absence of debt, an extract from the Fund on the formation of the amount for repairs, correspondence with the Fund and other authorities.

IMPORTANT! The complaint must be written in legally competent language. Emotional assessments and insults are excluded. If the conditions are not met, the authorities have the right to leave the document without movement.

Rospotrebnadzor

This is a government body that is vested with extensive powers to combat unscrupulous performers of contractual obligations in any area of ​​service provision.
They are especially concerned with the issue of housing and communal services. It involves not only deception of customers by performers, but also maintenance of a residential building in inadequate sanitary conditions. Lack of major repairs can lead to the proliferation of rodents, the formation of fungus, mold, structural destruction, and environmental pollution, which makes living in the building dangerous.

This combination of two core issues for Rospotrebnadzor in one is the reason to go there to identify those responsible for poor overhauls and punish them.

You can complain to this body if deficiencies are identified within 5 years after the overhaul, that is, about hidden deficiencies.

Based on the results of the unscheduled inspection, an order to eliminate violations will be issued and an administrative fine will be imposed. In the event of an unlawfully increased fee for services, the penalty will be half of the overcharged amount.

If government authorities do not act, the owners can only contact the prosecutor's office.

Prosecutor's office

This is a supervisory body where you can complain about violations of laws, including housing. It makes no sense to contact the prosecutor's office without going through all the previous authorities, otherwise the complaint will be sent down for consideration by the relevant departments.

If the prosecutor finds grounds, an inspection of the activities of the Fund and the company performing the work will be organized, and an assessment will be made of the negligent actions of officials.

The result of the prosecutor's inspection is an order to eliminate violations and, if there are grounds, a fine.

Sample claim to the Fund

A claim to the Fund is made according to standard rules:

1. The name of the addressee is indicated in the header - Capital Repair Fund.
2. Next, the initiator indicates his personal data and address.
3. Below is the title of the document – ​​Claim.
4. Then follows the essence of the owners' grievances. It is necessary to describe in detail what repair work, in their opinion, remained unfinished or undone.
5. Warn about your intention to seek protection of rights from higher authorities if the issue is not resolved at this level.
6. At the end there is the date of drawing up the document and the signature of the initiator.
7. Attachments to the complaint are a copy of the certificate of ownership, paid receipts for major repairs, acts of non-compliance and improper work completed by residents.

A form or sample complaint can be found on the official website of the government agency.

The Foundation is the customer, and its functions include quality control of the work performed. If the work was completed with defects and no one took proper measures to eliminate the shortcomings, then the Foundation failed to cope with its direct responsibilities. In addition to the listed deficiencies, the complaint should indicate the date of their elimination.

A response to a utility complaint must be given within 10 days.

How to submit an appeal

You can make a complaint either in writing on an A4 sheet or electronically. Such appeals are not subject to unification and are therefore written in free form. However, it is recommended to follow the rules of business correspondence. This will help you create clear and compelling copy that is more likely to be noticed.

First, the header of the document is drawn up; it is located in the upper right corner of the page.

Here you need to indicate:

• name of the organization to which the claim is sent;
• contact details: address and postal code of the company;
• official (recipient of the complaint);
• Sender's full name;
• address and contact details of the sender for feedback.

In the middle of the page you must indicate “Complaint” or “Application”. Next, you will need to state the reason for the application and the applicant’s requirements. At the end of the document, the date and signature with a transcript are indicated.

Text structure

Typically, the text is divided into two interconnected parts: introductory and main. The introductory part contains the reasons for filing the claim. This includes facts and circumstances, references to legislative acts.

The main part contains requirements to eliminate the violation of the applicant’s rights and support his legitimate interests. The owner can offer his own way to solve the problem here and make a request for assistance. You can start the main part with the word “Please.”

A balance should be found between a laconic description of the request and the maximum amount of valuable details and facts. When writing an application, you must refer to the terms of the contract, as well as the laws presented above.

It is better to divide the text of the letter into paragraphs. It is best if there is one complete thought in each paragraph. This is especially convenient for long requests, since structured text is much easier to understand.

Proof

Attaching additional documents, as well as paper or digital media, will help organize the evidence base. These can be photographs of imperfections taken with a camera, as well as:

• conclusion of a third-party examination;
• recordings of conversations with management company employees;
• receipts for payment of contributions to the capital repair fund;
• written testimony from residents;
• receipt for payment of the contractor's work.

The need to prepare evidence is explained by the fact that the management company or capital repair fund may not respond to the complaint. In this case, applications are used to appeal to other authorities and will be especially needed in court.

It is more convenient to operate with evidence if the application is generated electronically. E-mail and e-receptions of various organizations support the application of digital files.

Collective complaint

You can enlist the support of other residents and make a collective complaint. It is written in the same way as an individual address, with the exception of some points.

The full names of other applicants should be indicated in the header, as well as their signatures with a transcript and apartment numbers at the end of the letter. If too many owners join the appeal, you can write in the header: “Claim from the owners of apartments in the building at the address.”

It is also indicated in the middle of the page that the claim is collective. The more apartment owners are involved in the application, the more likely it is that officials will respond to the letter.

Collective complaint

A collective complaint looks more significant in the eyes of the Foundation. The more owners involved in the claim, the more serious the attention it will receive. If the contractors are doing a poor job of renovating the house, you should organize a meeting of the owners and file a complaint.

The rules for drawing up a collective document are similar to an individual one. The difference is that the header lists all the initiators, their full names and addresses. At the end, all owners, dissatisfied with the quality of the overhaul, put their signatures and transcripts.

results

Having submitted a claim to the Fund, the owners will receive a response within the prescribed period.

What to do if you receive an unsubscribe or refusal

If the response received from the prosecutor's office contains an outright repudiation or refusal to satisfy the requirements, the owners have the right to contact the Prosecutor General's Office. Its employees will evaluate the actions or inactions of officials and will forward the complaint for further consideration if they find grounds.

The last authority that can help resolve the issue of poor-quality overhaul is the court. You need to file a claim there, indicating not only the shortcomings of the repair work, but also the unlawful actions of the authorized bodies.

How can they influence

Upon complaint, employees of the Housing Inspectorate or Rospotrebnadzor will organize an unscheduled inspection of the Fund and the contractor, during which they will comprehensively evaluate their activities.

Legal documents, licenses, certificates, and the procedure for calculating fees for services are analyzed. The repair objects are inspected, the sanitary condition of the common area is assessed, and the compliance of the declared works with their actual implementation is assessed.

Based on the results, an order will be issued to eliminate violations and an administrative fine will be imposed. In the event of an incorrectly calculated service fee, the penalty will be half of the overcharged amount.

Residents' rights during work

Owners of premises in an apartment building have the right at any time to decide at a general meeting on the need to carry out major repairs.
At the same time, it reflects the following information:

• types of jobs;
• costings;
• timing;
• who pays;
• a person from among the owners authorized to sign the acceptance certificate.

If such a decision has not been made, then the proposal to the owners is sent either by the management company (housing cooperative) no later than six months before the year of the proposed work. According to it, the owners must accept the relevant document within three months. If the deadline has passed and there is no result, the decision is made by the local government body.