But sometimes residents begin to notice that the person heading this organization is spending the budget ineptly, or even trying to make money off the residents.
In this case, everyone living in a house under the control of the HOA and its chairman in particular should know and have an idea of how to remove an illiterate chairman who is misappropriating funds fraudulently.
In this article we will talk about changing the chairman of the HOA, the procedure for re-election and its grounds, and also get acquainted with all the documents that must be drawn up in connection with such a procedure.
Can the board be re-elected?
The chairman of the HOA should be interested in timely maintenance of the house and surrounding area, keeping them in perfect order and constant improvement. This is understandable, but in practice it does not always work out this way. It happens that an organization’s budget is not spent wisely or it is not at all clear what it is being spent on. Any owner of an apartment in the building should know that an unscrupulous head can be removed and re-elected.
Grounds and reasons for the re-election of the chairman of the HOA:
- constant ignoring of the demands and requests of the residents of the house;
- misappropriation of funds or their obvious embezzlement;
- non-compliance with decisions made by a member at the general meeting;
- extortion against members of the HOA.
Reference. The rules for the work of the partnership are established by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 135 - 152), as well as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 291).
How to change: where to start?
If a firm decision is made to begin actions to change the chairman of the HOA, you need to collect “compromising evidence” against him, i.e.
that information that can become evidence and serve as a reason for dismissal. Information that will help with this can be found in various sources.
Necessary:
- Conduct a social survey of residents - are they satisfied, do they have any complaints about the work of this chairman or not.
- Inspect the condition of the house yourself.
- Review expense documents.
You need to go into the building of the house, which is under the control of the chairman, and see if there are any violations? Upon inspection, it is clear that the staircase is old, wooden, and is about to fall apart - people could get hurt. Mice or cockroaches run across the floor, no one cleans the garbage disposal - it's unsanitary. Or the elevator does not work well, it constantly breaks down, the plaster on the walls has all fallen off, there is a smell in the apartments, and sometimes mold is visible.
There are so many deficiencies, and the residents of this building paid money for both major repairs and elevator repairs. It’s just not clear that this money was used to improve the condition of the entrance. This means that the chairman used them for something else. Such facts need to be recorded in photos, or better yet, on video.
In addition to this, you can go to the accountant of this Partnership and demand to provide information regarding all expenses that the chairman made. No one has the right to somehow prevent this desire.
If they start trying to escort you out the door so that no one finds out anything, you can refer to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation - it establishes that anyone has the right to familiarize themselves with all transactions with money paid by the residents of the house. Next, you need to figure out how to change the chairman of the HOA.
The final stage can be considered writing a message to the GIS Housing and Communal Services. This is a site where information regarding absolutely all actions of HOAs, housing cooperatives, etc. should be posted. There you can also find documents and any other information of interest for a specific apartment building (apartment building).
This is a recent innovation, the site is young, just gaining popularity, appeared in 2015. Thanks to him, all activities of the HOA are made as transparent as possible. And, if citizens’ appeals directly to the HOA office do not receive a response, then the solution is to write an appeal to them via the Internet.
On this site, the user can register and leave feedback messages about the work of public utilities and organizations. They regularly monitor all messages from residents and work with them. Therefore, using this method is the best option to re-elect the chairman of the Partnership.
Is it possible to change if a person does not fulfill his duties?
According to current legislation, the manager can be removed and another person can be chosen in his place. The initiators of change can be residents of the house (one or a group), the board, the housing or tax office.
To re-elect a boss, there must be irrefutable evidence of his misconduct. Such evidence will appear after a commission inspection of the condition of the houses included in the partnership.
Facts of dishonest performance of the duties of the chairman include entrances and elevators requiring repairs, and lack of lighting in the entrance. At the same time, receipts are attached as an illustration of the fact that money was received regularly into the partnership’s budget. It is possible to conduct an audit of the organization. The chairman of the HOA has no right to oppose its implementation.
Grounds for re-election of the chairman of the HOA
The Housing Code states that the chairman of an HOA can be removed at his own request (for example, for health reasons or due to relocation) or due to circumstances that have led residents to believe that he is not performing his duties correctly.
Let's take a closer look at these reasons in order to more clearly understand what is the main reason for the dismissal of the chairman.
- The procedure for changing the chairman of the HOA can be started if he, while occupying his post, systematically, and not just once, without reasoning, deviates from his immediate duties.
- If residents feel that their requests are constantly ignored and not considered, then the question of a change may also arise.
- If residents have verified information that funds are being spent for other purposes.
- If the chairman was convicted of extortion.
- In case the chairman violated labor, criminal, civil, housing or tax laws.
- When the chairman was caught misappropriating public property into his own.
- The fact of bribery or financial fraud.
There are also grounds that are not related to illegal behavior. For example, the chairman may retire or leave the business due to health reasons or other circumstances. To do this, he notifies residents in advance of his decision and, upon leaving his post, a vote is taken for a new candidate.
Process
According to Part 3 of Art. 147 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the board of a homeowners’ association elects from among its members the chairman of the partnership, if the election of the chairman of the partnership is not within the competence of the general meeting of members of the partnership by the charter of the partnership. Who can initiate the process is established in the charter.
The procedure for changing the chairman in the event of a vote by HOA members:
- After receiving all the necessary materials of the case, a general meeting of members is convened. Invitations are being distributed among the owners to host it. All residents must be notified in order for more than 50% of the owners to participate in the meeting. Only then will the decision of the meeting be valid.
- Residents decide what kind of voting (secret or open) will be held. Voting can be in person (at a general meeting) and in absentia (by door-to-door visits).
- Residents are informed in advance about possible candidates for the post of chairman, get acquainted and communicate with them.
- The meeting is provided with information and evidence that the current chairman of the board is not coping with his duties. Next comes discussion and voting.
- The head is removed from office by an absolute majority vote. If less than half of the participants vote for re-election, the chairman remains in his previous position.
- The voting results must be entered into the minutes.
- The new chosen one must appear at the housing committee and the tax authority to re-register the documentation in his name.
- The partnership issues an order to assume the position of chairman. The order specifies the passport details of the new manager and contact information about the HOA. The document is signed by members of the board, the housing committee, and the tax authority. The new chairman takes office from the moment the last signature is received.
If a decision is made by the board, the actions are similar.
Procedure for transferring cases
After the voting procedure has taken place, and the chairman has nominally left his post, and a new person has been chosen, it is necessary to transfer the matter to new management .
To do this, the old manager remains at his post for a period of two weeks in order to dedicate the new manager to all the details and nuances of management.
Also, the chairman prepares reports in which he reports on the work done and talks about what tasks remain unfinished. All documentation is transferred to new managers, as well as members of the board of the partnership.
According to the general rules, the seal of the partnership is transferred to them, and after the new manager assumes his rights with additional registration with the tax office, it is transferred to him.
The new manager should also get acquainted with the accounting documents and check the state of the budget (a sample estimate of income and expenses is on our website). After the two-week period, the new manager must be fully aware of all the responsibilities assigned to him by the new position.
Form p 14001 for registration with the tax office when changing the chairman of the HOA.
Watch the video: Pros and cons of HOAs
Pros and cons of HOAs
Documenting
The minutes are drawn up by the secretary of the meeting. The document is drawn up on clean white A4 sheets. Can be in printed or handwritten form.
The protocol includes:
- The grounds that led to the re-election of the chairman.
- Method of voting.
- List of those present and candidates.
- Voting results.
- Date of voting.
Attention! The document is signed by all members of the meeting and has legal force within the partnership, so it cannot be ignored. Subsequently, the fact of the elections being held is confirmed by this protocol.
Removal of powers
The transfer of cases
The chairman must be familiar with the minutes of the meeting, as evidenced by his signature. At the moment of signing the protocol, all powers from the manager are removed. The former manager transfers all documentation to his successor and also reports.
Provides reports:
- on the amounts of funds in the partnership’s accounts;
- about funds spent (how much and for what needs) during the last year;
- about events planned in the near future.
And, of course, it’s good if a new person is brought up to speed.
Dismissal at your own request
A change in the head of the HOA, in addition to his removal from office, may occur due to the end of his term of work established by the Charter, illness, or retirement.
Regardless of the reasons for the change of leader, he needs a replacement. The selection procedure follows the same rules.
Reference. The new chairman is appointed for the period established by the Charter, but not more than two years.
Who can initiate the procedure?
If you want to re-elect your HOA manager, but do not dare to undertake this procedure because you believe that you do not have the right to initiate the re-election procedure, then you are mistaken.
In fact, the initiator for this can be any person who is part of the partnership . This could be the manager himself, if he decided to leave his post on his own.
Don't forget about board members who also have voting rights. If they are dissatisfied with the activities of the chairmen, moreover, they have found any mistakes in his activities, then they can also initiate re-election.
The re-election of the chairman can be initiated at any stage of his leadership . It doesn't matter how much time has passed since the election. They may demand that the manager immediately leave his post.
If government bodies, such as the prosecutor's office or housing inspections , have found violations in the activities of the chairman, they can also demand that the head leave his post.
As you can see, the initiators of the procedure can be many people; it remains to understand the main stages of the procedure.
After a new person has been elected, the leader does not leave his post. He must transfer his powers in the proper form and bring the person up to date . Let's consider how feasible this is.
Registration with the tax service
The partnership is a taxpayer represented by its chairman, therefore the tax authority must be informed about the changes that have occurred in order for it to be correctly recorded in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. To do this, an application for a change of manager is drawn up in form P14001, and a copy of the protocol is attached. The entire package of documents is submitted to the tax authority.
The documents must be completed correctly, otherwise the tax office may refuse to register the chairman of the HOA.
Features of filling out form 14001:
- The application consists of 51 pages, but you only need to fill out those pages that are being changed. Blank pages do not need to be returned;
- when changing the manager, sheets 001, K, R are filled out;
- The application is filled out manually using a pen with black ink in block letters.
There is an approved document that should be followed when submitting information to the tax service.
Read our other articles about HOA management members:
- Election of the chairman of the board and preparation of the necessary documents.
- How is the chairman of the board of a partnership paid?
- Who can become the chairman of the HOA?
- Structure and content of the agreement with the HOA manager.
- Employment contract with the chairman.
- Job descriptions of the manager and chairman of the HOA.
Holding a general meeting
Before re-electing the chairman of the HOA, it is necessary to allow the owners of housing and non-residential premises in the house some time to study the information. Next, the initiators appoint a general meeting of premises owners.
It is advisable to notify each of the owners personally and against signature of the date and time of this event. This must be done at least 10 days before the meeting itself.
At the event, the work of the current head of the board is once again discussed, his removal from office is proposed, and several candidates are put forward to replace him. After which the owners vote on both issues. Everything that happens is recorded in a protocol in the prescribed form.
The most convenient way to vote is by absentee voting. To do this, ballots are prepared in advance and distributed to owners. No more than 10 days are given to fill out ballots. Then the papers are collected, votes are counted on them and the result is recorded in the protocol. The protocol must be signed by all citizens who voted.
The decision is considered adopted if at least 50% of the owners of apartment buildings voted for it.
