HOA - what is it: functions in an apartment building

Citizens of our country are faced with the inaction of housing offices, lack of good service, and lack of repair work. That’s why they are being replaced by management companies or homeowners’ associations. But due to the fact that management companies are commercial organizations and, accordingly, are determined to obtain financial benefits.

Most residents prefer to create an alternative - a homeowners' association, an organization whose priority is the improvement of apartment buildings and the interests of homeowners. It is an official organization with its own responsibilities and powers, as well as official documentation.

What is HOA

First of all, it must be said that HOA is an abbreviation that stands for homeowners' partnership. Most of the residents of apartment buildings are apartment owners. All apartment buildings must have organizations to manage building property. If neither the housing office nor the management company are satisfied with the residents, the apartment owners convene a general meeting at which they put to a vote the decision to create an association. And after the majority of positive results, an HOA is organized.

It can be created in one apartment building or between several residential buildings. Apartment owners who create an organization must write an application for acceptance, on the basis of which they will be included in its membership.

The majority of apartment owners consider this form of management of residential buildings to be the best option, which guarantees the assertion of the rights of apartment owners, in particular before utility services and government bodies, for example, on issues of carrying out repair work.

This is a governing body whose purpose is to preserve, maintain in proper shape, protect and improve common property. In addition, the partnership and its board are a lever of influence over utilities and contractors who carry out a number of tasks assigned to them. This is a non-profit organization and does not pursue commercial gain.

An association of real estate owners is created by individuals, but the organization is a legal entity. The partnership has its own current account, and the members of the board and the chairman must be registered with the ERGUL. An HOA, being a legal entity, must be registered with the fiscal service.

Purposes of creation

The goals of a joint association of homeowners in an apartment building are:

• joint management and disposal of common property;
• generating income and distributing it to solve maintenance and improvement tasks;
• maintaining the house in good condition: both sanitary and technical.

The organization has the right to rent or lease part of the common property for the purpose. Receiving additional income, which will be used to solve certain problems of the partnership.

The homeowners' association coordinates activities aimed at managing the homes it owns as a non-profit organization. Therefore, it strives not to obtain maximum profit, but to distribute income for the needs of the partnership. But the association is not obliged to cover losses that may arise through additional contributions by homeowners.

Consolidation is a way to avoid the conditions imposed by the management company on the maintenance of the house. For example, choosing contractors and service providers on favorable terms for residents, rather than the management company. Utility companies and other companies, in turn, service the house on the basis of an agreement concluded with the HOA.

If members or simply residents of a building are dissatisfied with the actions of the association, they have every right to make complaints and put the issue to a vote. Thus, his main goal and function is to organize the proper management and management of the operation of the housing stock entrusted to him.

According to Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, in one apartment building the owners can create one HOA. The creation of a partnership is also possible between several closely located apartment buildings or those that have common land plots or infrastructure elements. A partnership can also be created at the stage of building a house (Article 139 of the Housing Code).

The decision on whether or not to join an HOA is made by the apartment owners; no one can force them to do so. It is not necessary that all residents of the house must be members of the partnership. The creation of a partnership is possible if 50% of the residents are present at the general meeting on the issue of its organization, and the same number of those present must vote positively.

What to do with defaulters?

What to do if one of the owners ignores the mandatory fees and does not participate in paying for repairs, citing the fact that he did not agree to have the home maintained by the HOA? It is already clear that this disagreement does not give any right not to pay, but what should the board do in this situation? The only way out of the situation is forced collection through the court. The matter, of course, is not very pleasant and will take time; the executive body, by court decision, will withhold the necessary amount from the negligent payer (naturally, as a percentage of wages).

If a building that has switched to self-service has non-privatized apartments, then it should be understood that their part of the fees must be paid by the municipal authorities, since they act as owners. If no contributions for these apartments are transferred to the HOA account, then they can also be claimed through the court.

Homeowners association functions

Often, before creating an association of real estate owners, its future members and other residents of the house have a question: what does the organization do, what functions are assigned to it. Rights and obligations are determined by Article 135 of the RF Housing Code, as well as the organization’s charter. The main responsibilities of a homeowners association are:

• control the activities of companies that provide services to apartment owners: public utilities, enterprises and firms that provide household services, such as garbage collection, street cleaning, keeping hallways clean, and others;
• resolve issues regarding when and who carries out repairs;
• monitor compliance with the rules for the operation of the house and its maintenance;
• ensure the completion of work on the improvement of the house and local area according to the plan approved for the year;
• provide the required services to apartment owners and carry them out;
• ensure proper sanitary condition of common property (timely garbage removal, cleanliness of sites, in particular near garbage chutes, and so on);
• allocation of parking spaces and playgrounds for residents of the house (the point must be stipulated by the charter);
• performing additional functions specified in the charter approved at the general meeting.

The HOA, as a representative of the interests of residents of apartment buildings, is obliged to defend the interests of the building and the rights of residents in particular before public utilities and government agencies. Most often, problems arise with repairs, both current and major. Members of the board and the chairman of the partnership in particular will have to deal more than once with the reluctance of utility companies to fulfill their obligations on time.

According to the law, being a legal entity, it has the right, on its own behalf, to enter into agreements with resource supply organizations that provide utility services for the maintenance of an apartment building and others that home owners deem necessary. Another obligation of the association participants is to draw up and approve estimates for the subsequent period.

The responsibilities of HOA members include maintaining order in the house, cleanliness and safety of common property, in particular technical equipment, structures on the land plot adjacent to the apartment building, and so on. Thus, everything that an association of residential property owners does is aimed at improving or at least maintaining decent living conditions of a house or several apartment buildings under its management.

Procedure for reporting to residents

According to the law, the homeowners' association, namely the board members and its head, are required to regularly report to residents. Moreover, the regular reporting procedure is established by the charter. In addition, a report on the flow of funds, payments, expenses, income received or work done by the HOA must be provided upon the first request of the members of the association.

However, no piece of legislation has established a clear reporting format for either the board or the chairman. Based on this, the procedure for reporting to residents should be clearly stated in the charter of the partnership. Because it is the main document according to which members of the board and the head of the HOA must act.

Each of the residents who is a member of the partnership must familiarize themselves with the charter of the partnership. It describes the procedure for how, when and in what form it is obliged to report to apartment owners.

Charter

As already mentioned, the charter of the partnership is the main legal document regulating the rights, functions, and responsibilities of its members, board and chairman. It is filed as the founding document to register the partnership as a legal entity. At the first general meeting of the members of the partnership, the charter must be approved and signed by the chairman.

The form and content are determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation, according to which the charter:

• approved by all apartment owners;
• must be numbered and signed by the chairman;
• Owner signatures are not required.

A copy of the certified articles of association must be certified by a notary. After which the HOA is registered on its basis with the federal tax service for further taxation of the association of homeowners.

The charter itself contains:

• addresses of buildings included in the HOA;
• place and date of compilation;
• the purpose for which the partnership was created;
• rights and obligations of its members.

If it is necessary to amend an existing charter, it is necessary to hold a general meeting and change the content of the document based on the minutes of the event.

Entry procedure

To join a partnership, a number of conditions must be met:

1. be the owner of the premises of an apartment building to which the HOA belongs;
2. to write an application;
3. provide documents;
4. attend a meeting of residents and obtain their approval (votes).

There are no entry fees.

Documentation

To join, the chairman of the HOA must provide a passport and a document confirming ownership of the premises in this house.

Such a document could be:

• extract from the Unified State Register;
• certificate of ownership;
• deed of gift;
• agreement of inheritance rights;
• apartment purchase agreement.

Statement

The application form is not established by law, so it can be prepared in free written form. The document must include the following points:

1. in the header of the document - the name and address of the partnership and the full name of the chairman.
2. The title of the document is “Application for joining the HOA.”
3. Full name, date of birth, passport details and residential address of the applicant.
4. Details of the title document.
5. Apartment area.
6. Application for admission to the organization.
7. Date and signature.

The papers and application are first reviewed by the board. If the conditions for entry are met, then the presiding person raises the issue of admitting the applicant to the organization at a meeting of owners. Admission to the HOA is decided by a majority vote of the owners.

Founders

Each of the residents of the house who supported the creation of the partnership is the founder of the HOA. But since there are many participants in the partnership and, accordingly, apartment owners, the application and documentation submitted for registration of the partnership indicate that the founders of the HOA are members of its board.

They act as the face of the partnership, its managing part, which, like the other members, is interested in the proper maintenance of the house and the proper quality of the services provided. If any of the members of the partnership wants to leave the founders of the HOA, he must write a corresponding application. In this case, the consent of the other residents is not required.

The founder can be any individual who lives in the house and is the owner of the living space in it. Mentioning the founders when registering an HOA as a legal entity is a formality. Members of the board and the chairman are registered with the ERGUL. If changes occur in the composition of the board, the fiscal service must be notified about this in order to make appropriate amendments.

Initiative group

It is clear that in order for the owners to decide to unite in a partnership, an initiator is needed. According to the law, there must be at least 5 activists. And in order for them to correctly register a partnership, they must either have experience in such a matter, or have a legal or accounting education. As a rule, it is these activists who make up the board of the HOA. These are the people who will be in charge of all pressing problems and their elimination. The initiative group must notify all residents of its intentions and hold a meeting of apartment owners.

Register of HOA members

The register of members of the homeowners' association must contain data that can be used to understand who exactly is the member of the HOA. Also, the information reflected in it will allow you, if necessary, to contact any of the participants in the partnership. The list of HOA members reflects information about the size of the share of common property belonging to each of them.

The standard register form contains the following information:

• name of the homeowners association;
• legal address of the HOA;
• TIN data;
• creation date;
• list of houses included in the partnership.

It must be signed by the chairman of the HOA indicating his contact phone number.

Responsibility

The operating rules, functions, powers and responsibilities of the owners' association are written down in housing law and regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation. A board is elected from among the HOA participants, which includes several people. And also the head of the partnership is the chairman, who is responsible for the actions of the association.

So, the head of the HOA is responsible for the following actions:

• personnel selection;
• submission of reports to the tax office;
• maintaining and storing partnership records;
• conclusion of contracts.

Members of the HOA board are responsible for the implementation of agreements concluded with contractors and other services, including utilities, as well as to partners and residents of the house.

The liability of the partnership also includes the following obligations:

• use of areas that are in common shared ownership of all residents;
• maintaining and maintaining order in common areas;
• carrying out repair work;
• disposal of the common property of the partnership.

HOA members must ensure timely and high-quality supply of resources and utilities.

Membership exclusion

Withdrawal from membership is possible due to the termination of the participant's right to own living space. This means that when selling or donating his apartment, a member of the HOA automatically leaves the partnership.

Also, a participant in the managing company may resign from his position at any time by expressing such a desire and submitting a statement of his intention to the chairman.

The forced exclusion of a person from a HOA is not provided for by law , since Article 143, Part 3 speaks of only two possible ways to leave - at one’s own request and in the event of loss of ownership of an apartment in the house.

Joining a partnership is voluntary, as is leaving it. Membership in this organization expands the range of powers, but also provides responsibilities that must be strictly observed in the interests of all residents.

Decision making in a partnership

All decisions are made jointly based on the voting results of homeowners held at the general meeting. The creation of a HOA begins with such a meeting, at which 50% of the owners of apartments in a building or several apartment buildings must declare their desire to organize a partnership. The meeting can be held either in person or in absentia by written voting.

At such meetings, decisions are made on how to use free space, for example, a technical floor, procedures, rights and other clauses of the charter are agreed upon, and current issues are resolved, for example, repairs. Also, it is the meeting of residents that decides the fate of the current chairman and the need to replace him.

To conduct voting at HOA meetings, it is necessary to inform the residents of the building in advance about its date, time and location. At the event, decisions can be made exclusively on those issues that, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, are within the competence of the partnership. It is necessary to prepare an agenda in advance, which reflects all the items necessary for discussion and decision-making.

All decisions made at the meeting are included in the minutes, which are kept throughout the entire event and at the end of it are certified by the signature of the initiator or chairman. A majority vote is required to make any decision. Residents who were not present at the meeting must be notified within 10 days of the results of the meeting.

Related questions

Here, at the meeting, it is imperative that all those present must agree on the Charter of the partnership and have it notarized. To avoid any suspicions or questions afterwards, it is better to invite a notary directly to the meeting in order to legitimize this document on the spot immediately after its acceptance by the public.

The final stage of the meeting is the drawing up of a protocol, which includes all the issues discussed, those present and the results of voting regarding the problems of the HOA. This action must be carried out every time a general meeting is convened. The protocol must be notarized.