The choice of how to manage an apartment building is something that directly affects the quality of life and your wallet. Before accepting one or another option, you need to carefully compare the pros and cons of each control method.
If we are talking about an apartment building with more than thirty apartments, there are two management options:
- choose a management company,
- organize a partnership of real estate owners and control your home yourself.
Is the HOA responsible for the debts of its residents?
Is it possible to organize an HOA in an apartment building - legislative norms
The possibility of creating a HOA in an apartment building is determined by Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. The basis for creating a partnership is the will of the home owners.
An HOA can be created in the following cases:
- premises in the house belong to different owners, there are land plots on a common territory and infrastructure facilities;
- For effective management, it is proposed to combine several buildings that are located close to each other.
An HOA can only be created by homeowners. For example, if the apartment is not privatized, then the residents will not be able to take part in the formation of the partnership, but the municipality can act on their behalf.
Only one partnership can be created in one apartment building.
We talked about the pros and cons of HOAs and other nuances of their activities here.
Step-by-step instructions on how to create a homeowners association
The stages of HOA formation include::
- organization of an initiative group;
- preparation of necessary documentation;
- designating the agenda for the meeting;
- informing residents about its implementation.
Based on the results of the meeting, an appropriate decision is made. The procedure is completed by registering the HOA with the Federal Tax Service, opening a bank account and concluding service agreements.
Where to start the creation activity?
- The first step in forming a partnership is the creation of an initiative group . The law does not establish the number of its members. In practice, the group includes one person from each entrance to the apartment building, but there may be more. It is advisable to include people with experience in management, financing and jurisprudence. To carry out the activity effectively, you must include at least five people in the group.
- Next, you should prepare a register of homeowners . Information can be obtained from your local authority or management company. The result of the group’s work will be the decision to hold a meeting and set the agenda.
- After this, it is necessary to notify all residents about the meeting . Information must be posted in publicly accessible places at least 10 days before the meeting. The announcement must indicate the date, time and place of the meeting, the agenda, the procedure for familiarizing with the information and materials that will be presented at this meeting.
What documents need to be completed?
To form an HOA you will need to complete the following documentation:
- Minutes of the general meeting of apartment owners, which will indicate the results of consideration of the agenda items and the chosen method of management.
- Charter of the partnership. It must be issued in two copies.
- Minutes of the HOA board meeting. It is drawn up based on the results of the selection of the chairman of the partnership.
- Completed application for registration of a legal entity.
The documents must be accompanied by a receipt for payment of the state fee for registration of a legal entity.
Holding a meeting
According to the rules of Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the decision to create an HOA is made at a general meeting of owners of apartments in apartment buildings. A partnership will be formed if more than half of all owners vote in favor. The decision is documented in a protocol, which must be signed by all owners who voted “for”.
We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:
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The charter of the partnership must be approved at the meeting.
The meeting will be valid if more than half of the total number of owners is present.
State registration with the tax office
For the activities of an HOA to be legal, it must be registered as a legal entity. This is the responsibility of the founder of the partnership. In practice, all actions are performed by the HOA board.
It will be necessary to prepare an application for registration of a legal entity in form P11001, approved by Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated January 25, 2012 No. ММВ-7-6 / [email protected] Attached to it are the minutes of the general meeting, information about the owners who voted “for”, two copies charter, receipt of payment of the fee. These documents must be submitted to the Federal Tax Service. You can send the data by mail or submit it in person.
The amount of the state duty is determined by paragraph 1 of Article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and is 4,000 rubles. The partnership will be registered as a legal entity within 5 working days from the date of receipt of documents by the Federal Tax Service. Within one working day from the date of registration, the founder will receive a certificate.
Step-by-step instructions for organizing a partnership are given here.
Stage No. 1 - Organizing an initiative group of residents
First, you need to create an initiative group of owners or residents of the house, which will organize the HOA (or some of its stages).
Members of the initiative group do not necessarily have to be elected at any meeting of owners. It is desirable that the members of the initiative group have a legal, accounting specialty or knowledge of management in the field of housing and communal services, and enjoy trust and authority among residents, because often members of the initiative group in the future become members of the board of the future HOA.
Registration deadlines
For new housing, the developer creates a partnership before title to the property is registered. After shareholders have such a right to living space, they, as owners, can change the charter of the HOA and hold re-elections of the board.
For secondary housing, an HOA can be organized at any time, provided the residents have ownership rights.
The deadline for registering a partnership as a legal entity in both cases is 5 working days from the date of receipt of documents by the Federal Tax Service.
How long can it be open?
Article 135 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation states that a homeowners' association is created without a time limit, unless the charter provides otherwise. The specified regulatory act may determine the period for which the HOA is created. This approach is practiced because the composition of the owners may change. For example, if one of the members of the HOA sold his apartment, he cannot be a member of the partnership.
The partnership, as a legal entity, is endowed with a number of rights:
- conclude agreements for the provision of utility services, as well as for the repair and maintenance of housing;
- draw up and approve cost estimates annually;
- determine the amount of annual contribution for each owner;
- arrange bank loans for the needs of the partnership;
- conclude contracts and pay for the services of specialists in the interests of the owners;
- sell or change HOA property.
The responsibilities of the partnership include:
- ensuring the sanitary, hygienic and technical condition of the apartment building in accordance with current requirements;
- fulfillment of assumed contractual obligations;
- representing the interests of owners in various instances, for example, in court.
A detailed list of the rights and obligations of the partnership is specified in Articles 137 and 138 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
The Board is obliged:
- Operatively manage the activities of the HOA .
- Monitor the timely payment of contributions.
- Conclude contracts.
- Maintain document management and accounting.
- Prepare cost estimates and reports.
Before advising clients to buy an apartment managed by an HOA, realtors should carefully study all the positive and negative aspects of this type of management.
Realtors, take into account the increased amount of utility payments through the HOA than through other building managements.
Reorganization
The possibility of reorganizing the partnership is provided for in Article 140 of the RF Housing Code. An HOA can be transformed into a housing or housing-construction cooperative.
Reorganization of the partnership may take the form:
- Accessions . The rights and obligations of the partnership are transferred to the legal entity to which it was merged.
- Transformations . Transfer of rights and obligations to a newly formed legal entity from a reorganized one.
- Mergers . The newly formed legal entity assumes the rights and obligations of several partnerships.
- Discharge . There is a division of responsibilities and rights between legal entities.
- Divisions . The newly formed legal entities assume the responsibilities and rights of the reorganized entity.
Reasons may include:
- reorganization of the partnership into a housing cooperative;
- changing the form of management of apartment buildings, that is, transferring the rights of the management company;
- refusal of the services of a management company and joining a partnership (read about whether a management company can manage a house together with a homeowners association here).
The decision to reorganize the partnership is made at a general meeting by a majority vote. After the formation of a new legal entity, it must be registered. To do this, you will need to submit an application to the Federal Tax Service. The application must be accompanied by constituent documents, minutes of the general meeting and a receipt for payment of the state fee.
An HOA is a group of owners who jointly manage common property and resolve housing and communal issues. Read our articles about the structure of HOAs, about financial and economic activities and reporting, about liquidation, about the difference between HOAs and TSNs, about claims against HOAs.
Is the procedure different from opening and how?
The only difference between reorganization and opening is that the powers from one organization are transferred to another, or their current list is expanded. In the case of opening, the range of rights and responsibilities is determined anew .
Otherwise, the procedure is no different. For reorganization, the same documents will be required as for the formation of a partnership. Registration deadlines for the Federal Tax Service are the same.
The creation of an HOA is the result of the will of homeowners. The formed partnership must undergo state registration, along with other legal entities. The founders will need to collect a number of documents and pay a state fee.
Personnel and financial issues
Creating and registering an HOA is relatively inexpensive - these are the costs of stationery (paper for notices, ballots, protocols, etc.), state fees (4,000 rubles), notary fees, and, if necessary, payment for the services of lawyers and other specialists. You will need to spend money on paying for an electronic signature and bank services.
All these expenses are determined in advance, and at the first meeting of owners they are proposed to be distributed among everyone. Considering the large number of apartments, the amounts are not very large
.
But the future costs of the HOA will be much higher. It all depends on the region and city, because most of the costs come from labor. If the HOA includes a relatively small house, most of the employees can be hired on a part-time basis.
Then the accountant will work 1-2 days a week, the cleaner and janitor will receive a salary for the actual amount of work, and the mechanic and electrician will come on call, servicing several houses at once.
Practice shows that for a house with 180-250 apartments the wage fund will be 50-100 thousand rubles per month
. Plus 30% of this amount will be insurance premiums.
In larger houses or if an HOA is created for several houses at once, employees can work full time, with an appropriate salary. Technical specialists are already on duty there, ready to respond to utility emergencies at any time.
Another important part of the costs is what is required from management companies and homeowners associations according to the law: the work of a passport officer, periodic disinfestation/deratization, 24-hour emergency service.
These services are often outsourced (that is, under an agreement with a third party). As a result , instead of hiring your own passport specialist
You can entrust this work to the nearest management company for a moderate remuneration (3-5 thousand rubles per month). The same can be done with the emergency dispatch service.
It happens that residents entrust other functions to management companies. Then the essence of the HOA is that it is the partnership that monitors the fulfillment of the terms of the agreement by the management company.
As a result, all received costs are summed up and divided by the living area of the house
. Formally, the tariff is set by a vote of residents, but the law allows the governing bodies of the HOA to do this, taking into account the prepared cost estimate. In any case, residents have the right to demand a detailed explanation of exactly how the tariff is formed.
In most cases, the tariff for maintaining a house after the transition to HOA management is reduced, and the quality of work increases.
You can also reduce the tariff by renting out non-residential premises
, or by placing advertising on the facade.
