The housing issue still remains acute for Russian residents. Most of our country's population lives in apartment buildings, and only a few own private ones. Everyone is familiar with the abbreviation HOA. This is an organization in which the owners of apartments in multi-apartment buildings join and together solve all the necessary problems and manage the house.
It can be either multi-house or designed for a specific building. Sometimes a room is allocated for this organization to discuss important issues. A person decides for himself whether to join this society or not.
This association can only arise in apartment buildings; residents of the village do not have this privilege. However, even after enrollment in the HOA, the owner can leave this non-profit organization. Not all tenants know their rights, and this article is written for them. In it, readers will learn how to leave the HOA with one apartment.
The legislative framework
A homeowners' association is an organization created for the joint management of residents' resources at home and collective discussion of certain problems. To enter this organization, you only need a statement with the appropriate content. Creating and enrolling in a HOA does not oblige a person to do anything. The owner may leave this non-profit association at his own discretion. It is important to know this and not to succumb to provocations from other residents. According to the law, in order to leave the partnership, it is enough to write a corresponding statement. You can read more about this in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, Article 143, paragraph 3.
To completely close an HOA, it is necessary to exclude 50% of the residents from this organization. According to the law, after this the association will be dissolved. Another way to liquidate an HOA is for all residents to decide to close it.
Instructions for leaving the HOA
When leaving the HOA, we will consider two options: leaving one apartment and excluding the entire apartment building from the HOA.
Leaving a non-profit organization with one apartment
No one can prevent you from leaving the HOA. The law does not limit the number of people joining a given non-profit organization. A resident can enroll and leave the fellowship multiple times. To leave this organization, you must follow the following procedure:
- Paying off debts. If there is a debt before the association, it must be repaid. All invoices that were issued prior to leaving the association must be paid.
- Submitting an application. Write a letter about the exclusion of the owner from the association addressed to the chairman or manager of the partnership. Send an application to the HOA address using a registered letter with a notification function. In cases of sole withdrawal from the HOA, it is recommended to prepare 2 copies of the application. One will be given to the founder, the other will remain with the tenant. On each application, indicate the date and number of the incoming application. In this case, if one of the copies is deliberately lost, it can be restored. As soon as the petition is submitted to the manager, the owner acquires the status of leaving the HOA. However, according to the law, the manager himself must make a decision on the exclusion and record it at the general meeting.
- Agreement to further cooperation. The owner of the apartment must enter into an agreement agreeing to pay for major repairs, utilities and other bills. When signing documents, be sure to carefully study each point. It often happens that the partnership tries to impose unnecessary services, for example, paying for security, a concierge, or an area adjacent to the house. Careful reading will help you avoid unnecessary expenses.
How to remove a management company and create an HOA
Often, residents of apartment buildings decide to refuse the services of a management company and create an HOA. The reasons for this can be very different, ranging from misuse of common funds to improper fulfillment of one’s direct responsibilities for the maintenance of shared property and areas of the house.
In this case, the decision is also made at a general meeting of all residents of the house. After that, the results are documented in the appropriate protocol, on the basis of which further actions are taken.
HOA - pros and cons
The main advantages of creating a partnership include:
- apartment owners have the opportunity to influence the chosen management model, since most decisions are made at the meeting by voting;
- reduction of general household expenses through the use of additional sources of financing. According to current legislation, the HOA has the right to conduct commercial activities and use the income received to satisfy its needs;
- ensuring constant control over the process of managing the common property of apartment buildings;
- As practice shows, home maintenance is performed at a higher level, since the HOA is interested in its improvement.
However, a number of disadvantages characteristic of this form of residential building management cannot be ignored. We are talking about the following disadvantages of HOAs:
- higher fees are charged for maintaining the home. In this case, we are talking about additional fees that are organized by the residents of the house for its improvement. Not all apartment owners are happy with this situation;
- constant disagreements between residents and lack of coordination of actions;
- If there is a person in a residential building who has large debts on utility bills, his debt will be compensated by all other payers.
The procedure for transferring from a management company to a HOA
In order to replace the management company with a HOA, the following steps must be performed sequentially:
- First, at the general meeting, a decision is made to refuse the services provided by the management company and switch to a form of management with the help of an HOA.
- Further, on the basis of the decision made, the trust management agreement previously concluded with the Criminal Code is terminated (clause 8.2 of Article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
- The next step will be to create an apartment owners association and register it in the prescribed manner.
The procedure for creating an HOA step by step
The instructions for creating a HOA have a specific algorithm of actions. You need to take the following steps:
- Initially, an initiative group consisting of home owners must be created, which will deal with all the formalities.
- Next, the initiators contact the local administration with an application to take the following actions:
- providing a list of all apartments in a particular building;
- approval of the candidacy of a representative from the district, who must be present at the meeting of residents to establish a quorum.
- Preparation for the meeting - you need to develop a charter for the future HOA in order to immediately approve it, prepare voting sheets, etc.
- Holding a general meeting of apartment building residents - at it the issue related to the choice of a new option for managing the house should be finally resolved, and the developed draft charter of the HOA should be adopted.
- Registration of the partnership with the registration authority.
- Opening a bank account, as well as sending a notice of the creation of an HOA to all regulatory authorities (Housing Inspectorate, local administration, etc.).
After all these actions, the form of management of the common property of the house is considered officially changed.
The management company does not transfer the house to the HOA, what to do?
Sometimes in practice it is quite difficult to painlessly remove a management company that cannot cope with its responsibilities and transfer these powers to the HOA.
As noted earlier, when changing the management option of an apartment building, the organization that must leave is obliged to transfer all the necessary documentation and keys to its legal successor. However, sometimes situations occur when the management company categorically refuses to transfer the house. In this case, a completely logical question arises - what to do?
The way out of this situation is for the HOA to file a claim with the court at the location of the residential building.
Summarizing all of the above, it should be noted that the legislation does not prohibit citizens from leaving the HOA, giving preference to the management company, or from changing the management company to a homeowners’ association. In both cases, it all starts with making an appropriate decision at a general meeting of residents of an apartment building.
Next Accounting procedures Cancellation of a license to manage an apartment building
Rights and obligations of owners who are not members of the partnership
All rights and obligations of people who are not members of the HOA are described in the amendment to Article 143, published in 2011.
Owners can receive information about the work done by the partnership on an equal basis with its participants. They may examine the documents used by the nonprofit organization, such as the Articles of Incorporation or financial statements. If you are not satisfied with the work of the HOA in some way, you can report this and make a complaint about regulating the activities of the organization. By leaving the HOA, the owner loses some functions. For example, it is now impossible to influence the partnership management process. If demands arise to change the form of management of the building, they can only be expressed at general meetings of residents.
After leaving the partnership, a resident stops paying membership fees. However, you will still have to pay for repairs and maintenance. There is an article about such an obligation in the Housing Code. And leaving the company does not exclude payment for these services.
Civil legal relations develop between the owner who left the HOA and the partnership. Therefore, when leaving the organization, he is obliged to pay for the maintenance of housing, because this condition is described not in the agreement that was signed upon enrollment in the partnership, but in the Housing Code. Its provisions are implemented regardless of entry into the partnership.
It is very common to find people who have left their HOA and refuse to pay their bills. There are many options for dealing with such defaulters. For example, the manager of a partnership can go to court, citing Article 137 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. It states that if the homeowner refuses to pay the bills provided to him by the organization, the head of the partnership has the right to apply to the court to force the repayment of the defaulter’s debt. Debt refers to bills, contributions and, in the event of losses, their reimbursement.
Is the solution profitable?
If a citizen is not a member of the HOA, he does not pay fees, which results in significant cost savings. But here you need to carefully look at exactly what amounts are billed in a given case. Sometimes an apartment requires serious expenses.
But membership in the HOA also allows you to take an active part in resolving important issues related to home management. Each citizen decides for himself what is more important to him. On transferring to other partnerships
Changing the HOA is impossible solely at the discretion of the owner.
Current legislation does not provide for such options. But there is another way out of such situations. For example, you could split up an existing HOA to reorganize the company. This is relevant when several houses consuming utility resources are united under one company.
The option of creating two associations at once in one house is unacceptable. Only the general meeting has the right to make such decisions. In this case, an accompanying protocol is required. The chairman of the HOA, in accordance with the general rules, carries out the further reorganization procedure.
Regarding membership fees and utility bills
Those who are not members of the HOA are exempt from membership fees. These funds must be paid only by direct members of associations. But there remains a standard obligation associated with the transfer of money for the use of certain types of resources. It’s just that in this case, the citizen or owner himself enters into an appropriate agreement with the supplier. It will be the basis for further operations.
Then the receipt will simply not have a column related to fees for the HOA. Additional services provided by the company may simply be described.
Read how to open an HOA in an apartment building. What are the conditions for creating an HOA? Information here.
Does the HOA chairman receive a salary or remuneration? Details in this article.
Leaving the HOA by one owner or by an entire house is a fairly simple process. Only in certain circumstances does it cause difficulties. To avoid problems, just contact a lawyer and carefully study the relevant provisions of the Housing and Civil Code. It’s good if you have the opportunity to listen to the opinions of strangers.
Additional consultations are held when the decision to withdraw has been finalized. It is best to contact lawyers who specialize specifically in housing law.
Thanks to this, it will become much easier to avoid pitfalls that may appear in the process of resolving the issue.
The main thing is to remember that such decisions are voluntary and do not entail any consequences. If something does not correspond to such a statement, there is a high probability of violations and threats to the rights of citizens. Then you can turn to law enforcement agencies or the courts. This always helps to protect against unscrupulous participants in civil relations.
Grounds and reasons for owners leaving the partnership
The reasons and grounds for leaving the HOA may be different. There are examples when, due to the inaction of the partnership, the house turns into uninhabited. Just a few of them are described below. They are the most common, and it is them that most owners complain about:
- Residents do not like the system of distribution of collected funds.
Owners may notice unfair distribution of funds collected for a specific purpose. For example, after a major renovation was carried out, residents of an apartment building turned to the HOA to obtain a document certifying all the company’s expenses. However, in the report he provided, the numbers did not match. It is impossible to find out where part of the collected money was spent. This may serve as a reason for the liquidation of the HOA.
- There may be distrust of apartment owners in the composition of the management of the partnership.
Processing times and costs
The average time for consideration of an application to leave an organization or its complete liquidation is 7 days.
However, if the company tries to remove this statement or by any other means avoid its closure, it may be necessary to apply to the court with a corresponding request. The deadline for completing the task will be increased. The operation is free of charge. You will only need money for organizational issues. Such as purchasing an envelope and the cost of sending the application to the specified address.
Consequences of leaving the HOA
Membership in a HOA is not mandatory for all residents of an apartment building. Therefore, if a resident leaves this association, then, as a consequence, members of the organization or the management apparatus will not be able to make claims against him. They also cannot refuse to indicate the services provided to all apartment owners.
The only disadvantage that residents will have to face is that when they leave the HOA, they will lose the functions of managing it. From the moment of leaving the partnership, the owner can no longer influence the work without first discussing his proposal at the general meeting of the HOA members.
It is necessary to pay bills and donate money for major repairs in accordance with the clauses of the agreement concluded when purchasing an apartment. There is also a plus - the owner will no longer have to pay for the maintenance of the HOA after leaving it.
So, is it possible to leave a partnership? This can be organized not only for one apartment, but for the whole house. The main thing is to carefully study the above information and avoid mistakes when submitting an application. Joining this non-profit organization is voluntary. Nobody has the right to force you to do this. If a resident is subject to pressure from the participants of the partnership or its management apparatus, he can go to court with this problem. The final decision will be announced there.
On a note
The owners of premises in an apartment building that is part of a multi-building HOA have the right to change the management method at any time. To do this, they must initiate the reorganization of the owners' association by separating their home from it.
To separate from the HOA, the owners do not need the consent of the residents of other houses included in the partnership: such a decision is made at the OSS in a particular house. This is interpreted as a change in the method of controlling the MKD.
The agenda of the OSS should include issues about the reorganization of the HOA in the form of a spin-off, and approval of the procedure for such reorganization. After this, the owners must decide to create their own HOA or enter into an agreement with a management organization.
