Members of the Homeowners' Association (TSN): membership, rights and obligations, register.

Last modified: January 2021

Managing an apartment building is a difficult task and impossible to accomplish alone. Homeowners unite to resolve current issues and interact. For these purposes, a partnership is created that maintains the property and communications of the house in good repair. The association of residents independently determines the responsibilities of the HOA, taking into account the norms of legislation and the Charter. Failure to perform or poor quality work of the organization serves as a reason for liquidation and transfer of powers to the management company.

Each apartment owner who is part of the partnership has the right to inquire about what the responsibilities of the HOA are and demand fulfillment of the terms of the concluded agreement.

Who is a member of the HOA

According to Art. 143 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the partnership is organized by the residents of the house. The same article also answers the question of who can be a member of the HOA. The founders of the HOA in this case are the residents themselves, or rather most of them. Only the holders of rights to real estate on the territory of the household have the right to be in a partnership. But the tenant or relative registered in the apartment will not be able to join the partnership.

There are no restrictions in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation regarding minor owners. The child's guardians cannot join the association in his place, even if they completely resolve all legal issues for him.

Since a child under 18 years of age is considered partially capable, joining a partnership will not allow him to take part in the functioning of the community. The minor's membership will be nominal.

What other powers exist?

If this does not affect the rights and freedoms of apartment owners provided for by law, the partnership has the right to:

1. leasing of premises (about what non-residential premises of an HOA are and about its use, concluding a lease agreement and other nuances, read here);
2. superstructure or reconstruction of structures;
3. setting the amount of contributions;
4. concluding transactions in the interests of the organization;
5. obtaining a share in real estate;
6. carry out development of the adjacent territory in the interests of the organization, if this does not contradict the law.

If the resident debtors do not eliminate the violations committed, do not repay the debt, that is, they do not understand what is called “good”, the HOA may initiate legal proceedings against them. Also, through the court, it can demand full compensation for losses, if any, from users of the premises.

How to join an HOA, entry procedure

The organization of a HOA in an apartment building does not imply automatic entry of each property owner into the organization. Purchasing housing in an apartment building managed by an organization also does not automatically give the right to stay in the structure.

In order for the owner to be included in the HOA members, it is necessary to submit an application for membership. Joining the structure by submitting an application is indicated in paragraph 1. Art. 143 Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Membership in the HOA is not possible without an application.

To join, you must comply with the regulations:

1. Own an apartment building that is managed by a non-profit organization
2. Provide an application and the necessary documents: a passport and a document that confirms that the applicant owns property in this household. For example, a purchase and sale agreement, an extract from the Unified State Register or a deed of gift
3. Attend a meeting of residents of the house. Participate in voting

There is no need to pay entry fees.

The application is drawn up in free form by hand or printed on a computer. The main thing is that the form contains the following information:

• Name of the partnership, its address, details of the chairman
• Applicant's address
• Title document details
• Area owned by the applicant
• Application for admission
• Date of compilation and signature of the applicant

After approval by a majority vote of the meeting participants, the applicant must enter into an agreement with the HOA. The document specifies specific information about both parties, property details, contacts, as well as terms and conditions of membership. In addition, the form must contain the following sections:

• Rights and obligations of the parties
• Their responsibility
• Document validity period
• Ways to resolve conflict situations

The most important thing is that the structure of the text takes into account the norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation and does not contradict the Charter of the organization.

Can a non-owner join a partnership?

The Housing Code strictly regulates this issue. Only the owner of property located on the territory of the home can become a member of the HOA.

Is it necessary to join an HOA?

No one can oblige the owners of MKD real estate to join the HOA (TSN) against his wishes. However, refusal to join does not exempt you from full payment of housing and communal services, but deprives you of the opportunity to vote on general house issues. All the benefits of being a member of an HOA are not available to the average resident.

What is regulated

The main activity of the partnership cannot be making a profit, however, the organization must be formalized and registered properly - with information entered into the register of legal entities and registration with the Federal Tax Service.

HOA is the most convenient form for apartment buildings, since the residents themselves directly influence the quality and volume of activities carried out for the maintenance and repair of common property and the local area. It is not for nothing that new houses that have just been completed immediately choose the form of HOA management. The decision to create a partnership is made jointly, at a general meeting of the house, based on a majority of votes recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

The work of the organization is regulated by the basic norms of federal legislation:

1. The Housing Code, as amended on March 1, 2005, the provisions of Section 6. The main articles useful in creating and regulating the activities of HOAs are defined by Art. 135-152.
2. Law No. 7-FZ, regulating the creation and operation of non-profit structures.
3. Article 30 of the Constitution establishes a voluntary procedure for the formation of a partnership based on applications submitted by the owners.

Register of HOA members

The Housing Code of the Russian Federation states: when organizing a partnership, its register must be created. It contains a list of all members of the partnership with data on the share of ownership in the apartment building.

If there is any change in information, the owner is obliged to provide corrected data to the board.

The title page of the register must display:

• city ​​name
• dates when the partnership was formed
• legal address of a non-profit organization
• registration information (name of organization, place and date of procedure)
• total area of ​​MKD
• size of private property
• information about the property of all owners
• Full name of the person responsible for maintaining the register

A copy of the document must be kept by the regulatory authorities.

Grounds for elections

A homeowners' association is a non-profit organization that maintains an apartment building. This organization consists of residents of the house, as well as nearby buildings, which aim to create all the conditions for proper maintenance .

Residents can choose a manager because they have just decided to create an HOA and now need a manager appropriate for this job.

Why might residents want to change their manager ? Before answering this question, it is necessary to first understand what role it plays.

So, the chairman is an official who, one might say, supervises the partnership, or rather the activities of its employees. This person controls the work of employees performing home maintenance, signs payment documents, and works with accounts.

Why might it be necessary to change this person?

reasons :

1. lost confidence.
2. mismanages funds.
3. does not report on the use of funds.
4. does not listen to the opinion of the owners' meeting.

Find out how to check the HOA for theft in our article.

Rights and obligations of society members

In accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the rights and obligations of participants are regulated by the Charter. First of all, each owner has the right to independently decide whether he wants to be part of the partnership. At any moment he can either join the organization or leave.

The HOA does not affect the owner’s ability to buy/sell real estate. Moreover, after joining the structure, the homeowner can use the property of the apartment building and take part in its work. Thus, everyone can freely express their opinion on current issues, be elected to the HOA board or be hired for any positions. In addition, each participant in the partnership has the right to:

• nominate yourself as chairman
• become a member of the audit committee
• make proposals on economic and financial issues related to MKD
• be elected to the position of chairman of the HOA if he is a member of the HOA board

In addition to rights, the participants of the partnership are endowed with certain responsibilities. They have to:

• pay utility bills on time
• comply with established norms and rules
• notify the board of the HOA about changes in real estate
• comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation, including the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

For violating the rules, the participant may be subject to administrative liability.

Responsibilities

Articles 148-149 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation provide a list of responsibilities of the board and chairman of the HOA. In most cases, to fulfill these duties, the board of the partnership is vested with its own rights.

It is worth highlighting separately the responsibilities of the HOA to the residents of the house:

• compliance with the law and requirements of the Charter;
• monitoring the fulfillment by residents of their responsibilities for maintaining the facility;
• direct management of the house or control of the management company;
• concluding agreements with contractors and subcontractors supplying utility services;
• concluding contracts for the maintenance and repair of buildings;
• maintaining a list of residents - members of the partnership;
• maintaining accounting records, drawing up estimates of expenses and income, calculating rent;
• maintaining records, issuing certificates to HOA members;
• holding a general meeting of residents;
• control over the activities of the HOA chairman.

The Chairman has the following obligations:

• give orders to all HOA officials, hire and fire personnel;
• act on behalf of the partnership within the framework of its powers without prior notification of the general meeting;
• submit for decision to the general meeting any documents developed by it.

Exit from the HOA

The exit procedure must be recorded in the Charter. It also reflects the reasons according to which the owner may leave the HOA.

The main ones:

• dissatisfaction with the work of the partnership
• lack of desire to deal with key issues, including participating in meetings
• structure transformation
• sale of property share
• termination of the partnership

Clause 3 of Article 143 of the RF Housing Code specifies how to leave the association. To do this, you must write a statement of voluntary withdrawal from the association addressed to the chairman. In this case, it is not at all necessary to explain the reason for the exit. The statement is not a request to leave, but informing board members about the action that has taken place.

After leaving, the owner undertakes to make monthly payments for housing and communal services, fully pay for repairs and maintenance of the property of the house, and also pay for the “Major repairs” column.

It is impossible by law to forcibly exclude an owner from a partnership.

Imminent Responsibility

By becoming a member of the HOA, each member bears certain responsibility for his actions. The responsibilities of the participants are as follows:

• each member of the partnership is responsible for failure to comply with management rules and failure to make contributions;
• members of the HOA are responsible for untimely notification of the partnership about changes in any data from the register;
• HOA members are responsible for publicizing confidential information about the work of the partnership;
• those members of the HOA whose actions disrupt the work of the partnership, as well as those participants who regularly violate the charter and perform their work in bad faith, may be punished for their actions (or inaction) administratively or in accordance with the charter;
• Each employee of the HOA who decided to convene a general meeting of participants, but did not warn about this ten days in advance, is liable for his negligence.

Compound

The number of members of the board is determined at the general meeting . In most cases it is five people. They elect a chairman from among themselves (how is the chairman’s salary determined?) by voting. The candidate for whom the majority voted is appointed. The body includes homeowners.

A member of the board of the partnership cannot be a person with whom the HOA has entered into an agreement for the management of apartment buildings, or a person holding a position in the management bodies of the organization with which such an agreement was signed, as well as a member of the audit commission (auditor) of the partnership.

A member of the board cannot combine his activities on the board with work in the partnership under an employment contract, or entrust or entrust another person with the performance of his duties. This rule is specified in paragraph 3.1 of Article 147 of the RF Housing Code.

Candidacy

Who do they choose from? You can choose from members of the board.

For this purpose, the one who is ready to take responsibility proposes his candidacy.

The candidate may also be invited from other partnerships whose activities seem intelligible to you.

These candidates must have an impeccable reputation and also be able to manage the work. Whenever possible, applicants should inform all residents of their program and the next steps they want to take.

If the leader is initially elected, then any member of the meeting can propose his candidacy.

Read our article about how to lead an HOA.

Resolution of controversial situations

The legislation does not provide a clear action plan for such cases. Therefore, the Charter of the Partnership is the main guide to their resolution. This act must necessarily stipulate a condition defining the only source of authority in matters of house management.

It is a general meeting of residents. Or, as they say simply, a meeting.

Only this body of the HOA structure decides on the acceptance or rejection of any initiatives. In addition, the meeting of homeowners has the right to cancel a previously made decision. Even if it is approved by the chairman of the partnership himself.

This process is carried out in a voting format. This can happen if two factors are met:

1. Residents are informed in advance about the upcoming meeting, its agenda and the issues awaiting general consideration.
2. At least half of all homeowners must attend this meeting.

The outcome of the event is determined by the largest number of “for/against” votes. Only on this basis the management structures of the HOA either begin to implement the adopted initiatives or postpone them.

Who can control?

The governing bodies are (Article 144 of the RF Housing Code):

• General meeting of members of the partnership.
• Board of the partnership.

The general meeting of HOA members is the highest governing body of the partnership, resolving the most important issues that organize the activities of the organization.

The HOA board is an executive instrument, accountable to the meeting of members of the partnership . Carry out the execution of decisions made by the general meeting and are elected from among the participants of the partnership by the general meeting.

What positions are there in a partnership?

1. Chairman _
   This is the central figure in the management of the MKD. He is the responsible person who organizes the work of the body. The chairman acts without a power of attorney on behalf of the owners. A possible candidate for chairman of the management of the owners' association must be the owner of living space in this building and be a member of the board. This is the main argument when considering candidates for this position. ATTENTION! A significant advantage will be the presence of a candidate with higher education and management experience, as well as the presence of leadership qualities. This must be a morally stable person who knows how to protect his rights and the interests of the residents on whose behalf he acts.
2. Manager .
   It is a non-legal entity, obligated to organize all administrative and legal functions in the work of the organization. When creating an HOA, a manager is appointed on the recommendation of the chairman. He acts strictly according to the job description, which defines the range of his responsibilities, enshrined in the organization’s charter. He represents the interests of the HOA in interactions with third parties. On the basis of a power of attorney, the manager has the right to apply to local authorities with petitions (Article 149 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). The requirements for a manager's candidacy are determined in accordance with the established regulations. The presence of a manager does not mean that the chairman and the board delegate all their functions and powers to him.

The manager and the chairman are two different positions that are endowed with different powers. The scope of functions is determined by the homeowners, and everything is fixed by the chairman. The form of the contract does not matter.

Documenting

The minutes of the meeting on the election of an official are compiled by the secretary , based on the events that occurred at the time of the meeting and voting.

This protocol is then signed by all meeting participants.

After this, the protocol is approved both with the seal of the homeowners association and with certification by a notary . Any of these methods are suitable to give the protocol legal force.

The order to assume office is also an official document. It is drawn up according to the model that should be in the partnership’s documentation. If there is no sample, do not be lazy to find it on the Internet.

The order must be certified with the appropriate seal and signed by members of the board and the new manager.

In addition, the elected person in this order must undertake to carry out all actions in accordance with the charter and not violate the rights of the owners.

The order must have two copies, one remains with the board, and the other with the elected person. additional items can be added to the order that are not in the standard sample document.