GZHI (abbreviation used for state housing inspection) is a government organization, which exercises control over the management of apartment buildings, and is also endowed with licensing functions related to the operation of real estate.
As practice shows, citizens do not fully understand what this service should do, so it is advisable to point out that the housing inspectorate is an independent intermediary between state/municipal authorities on the one hand and residents/owners of apartments on the other.
What is a home inspection
The State Housing Inspectorate in the Russian Federation is a body that controls the work of housing and communal services management associations. It is a subject of executive power that keeps the entire housing stock under supervision. Housing inspections have been created on a regional or regional scale and represent part of the unified system of housing and communal services of the Russian Federation.
The need to create such structures arose due to the variety of forms of management of multi-apartment residential buildings. All management companies, homeowners' associations and other associations must coordinate actions for managing apartment buildings with the housing inspectorate located in their region. State Housing Institutions are vested with a number of powers that allow them to monitor compliance with the requirements of laws relating to the public utility sector.
Contents of the regulations on civil housing estate
This document contains the following:
- General provisions - to whom it reports, what it is guided by, in accordance with what it was created, structure and number, financing, etc.;
- The main tasks assigned to the State Housing Inspectorate;
- Inspection functions that are carried out within the framework of the tasks performed;
- The rights of the Civil Housing Authority with which it is vested to implement functions and perform tasks;
- Management and composition of the State Housing Inspectorate, their powers and financing;
- The procedure for interaction between the State Property Committee and other government bodies;
- Procedure for reorganization and liquidation of the inspection.
The document regulates the activities of the State Property Committee on the most basic issues and provides it with legal instruments. It is its provisions that guide the employees and management of the inspectorate in their professional activities.
If necessary, the provision may be supplemented with other clauses. All changes are approved by the government of the relevant subject of the federation.
How are the powers of the state housing inspection regulated by law?
The actions of inspecting organizations are regulated by legislative documents:
- The Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- Regulations on state housing supervision No. 493 dated June 11, 2013;
- Housing Code of the Russian Federation;
- Code of Administrative Offences.
They establish a procedure for supervision and control of management companies, define the rights, responsibilities of the body and a scheme for interaction with territorial self-government bodies.
Goals and objectives of GZHI
To achieve the main goal of accounting and control over the safety and security of the housing stock, the GZHI bodies are authorized to:
- receive complaints and appeals from the population regarding violations of the law, consider them and prescribe measures to eliminate illegal actions;
- consider controversial issues in the field of public services, based on the law on the protection of the rights of consumers of services;
- control the management company in order to identify negligence in its obligations;
GZHI is tasked with monitoring the level of quality of living in apartment buildings and preventing worsening changes in the operating conditions of residential buildings.
Rights and powers
The State Housing Inspectorate is vested with great powers. She has the right:
- inspect the work of management companies;
- identify and suppress deviations from regulations by enterprises that provide utility and housing services (legal entities, territorial authorities, entrepreneurs, individuals);
- control the formation of standard values for supplied household services;
- monitor the work of capital repair funds for apartment buildings;
- carry out inspections of the residential sector.
Also, the powers of the housing inspection include licensing supervision of housing and communal services management organizations.
Expert opinion
Mironova Anna Sergeevna
Generalist lawyer. Specializes in family issues, civil, criminal and housing law
State Housing Inspections have the right to carry out scheduled inspections of management organizations after the end of one year from the beginning of their activities. They are also authorized to carry out unscheduled events if there is a significant reason for this. This may be the identification of violations of legislative acts, citizens' appeals for non-compliance with the contractual obligations of the management company, improper maintenance of the housing stock and other controversial issues requiring the intervention of the supervisory authority.
Representatives of the inspecting body have every reason to send letters to management offices, as well as to private entrepreneurs and individuals who are obliged to provide the requested information. Home inspectors have the right to inspect homes and surrounding areas. With the permission of copyright holders, they can enter their apartments to conduct control procedures (research, examination, investigation). They are also obliged to check how the maintenance and repair of common premises has been carried out.
The rights and obligations of the Housing Housing Inspectorate are defined in Article 20 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, as well as in the Regulations on State Housing Supervision.
How does the population interact with public housing in practice?
Citizens who are dissatisfied with the quality of services provided by the management company can send a written complaint to the State Housing Inspectorate. Analysis of law enforcement practice shows the following:
- Some of the complaints are biased due to the applicants’ poor knowledge of the norms of current legislation. Therefore, the answers to them leave citizens unsatisfied;
- If violations are detected on the part of the management company, the latter are fined. The company can pay the fine (the amount of which reaches 200 rubles) using funds raised from residents. Accordingly, a small amount remains for house maintenance; the quality of services continues to deteriorate, causing dissatisfaction among the population;
- Some complaints are answered; applicants are advised to go to court.
In this regard, it is recommended to contact the State Housing Inspectorate with real and significant problems.
This will prevent unjustified paralysis of the work of the management company. The statements must be supported by similar appeals to Rospotrebnadzor (in case of violations of consumer rights) and the prosecutor's office. Such requests, addressed to several regulatory authorities at once, are checked more thoroughly. Their efficiency is higher. State housing inspection.
What functions does GZHI perform?
The primary functions of the housing inspection are:
- monitoring the technical condition of housing, issuing decisions on its suitability for use;
- making decisions on the timing of major repairs of residential buildings and acceptance of work after its completion;
- consideration of facts of violations of legislation on the maintenance and operation of housing;
- imposing a fine or bringing to justice under an article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation officials of an organization or citizens in cases of violation of the rules for operating the premises of apartment buildings;
- monitoring the validity of standards for provided public services;
- checking the preparation of housing infrastructure communications for the season.
Housing inspectors also check illegal redevelopment and reconstruction of premises and apartments that infringe on the rights of other owners. It should be clarified here that inspectors bear criminal, material and disciplinary liability for unjustified actions that violate the rights of citizens.
Reasons for refusal to consider a complaint
GZHI employees are required to accept applications from individuals. After all, working with requests is one of the main functional responsibilities. There must be compelling reasons for refusal:
- complaints about drafting – unreadable handwriting, lack of applicant’s passport data;
- the issues raised are not within the scope of the inspection's mandate. These may be some economic aspects of managing a multi-unit building;
- the addressee is other government bodies;
- the necessary measures have already been taken regarding this fact, and an official response has been provided.
If none of the above applies to your application, but they still refused to accept it, then you have the right to file a complaint with the housing inspector.
What problems can GZHI solve?
Supervision of the activities of the management company (with the exception of finance) is within the competence of the housing inspectorate. For example, the maintenance and servicing of common property in an apartment building, the operation and functioning of engineering systems, compliance with the law when concluding agreements and contracts by management enterprises, repairing common areas of apartment buildings and others. In other words, problems that the Criminal Code does not want to solve can be considered by the State Housing Inspectorate.
If the adjacent territory is not cleaned, household waste is not removed in a timely manner, elevators do not work, there is no lighting in common areas, and entrances are not cleaned or emergency fire exits are blocked, then these issues can also be considered by the housing commission. There you can also complain about the failure of chairmen or managers to fulfill their duties. The inspectorate also controls the creation of management enterprises and their work.
Housing inspectors can submit claims to the court to cancel decisions of general meetings of housing rights holders, to terminate the activities of management companies, to cancel lease agreements and on many other issues that may arise due to non-compliance with housing legislation. This measure is applied when officials and individuals fail to comply with previously issued orders to eliminate identified violations.
Issues considered by the housing inspectorate may relate to:
- violations of rules and regulations for the provision of public services;
- unreasonably inflated tariffs;
- non-compliance with legislation when creating a governing body;
- failure to comply with clauses of the contract for the provision of various types of housing services;
- poor-quality current or major repairs of housing:
- poor maintenance of common property in an apartment building;
- ineffective care of the adjacent area of the territory.
The Housing Inspectorate monitors compliance with the rules for the provision of public services to the population and protects their interests. In cases of inaction of the management organization in resolving any issues, the owners’ appeal to the inspectorate allows the problem to be quickly resolved.
However, inspection authorities do not have the right to interfere in the financial affairs of enterprises. These issues are dealt with by the prosecutor's office.
General concept of the State Housing Inspectorate
As noted above, the Housing and Communal Inspectorate is designed to establish interaction between homeowners in apartment buildings and municipalities. The need to form a separate regulatory body is due to the fact that in multi-storey buildings, in addition to private apartments, there are common areas that require constant maintenance and repair. And the state, for its part, guarantees every citizen safety during the operation of residential and non-residential structures.
Housing inspection specialists prepare an opinion on the possibility of safe operation of the house, which influences the assignment of the building to the status of emergency or dilapidated.
The implementation of housing supervision by GZHI bodies occurs only within the framework of a specific subject of the Federation (powers are limited to regional territories). City departments are formed for local management.
In its work, the inspection must comply with the law. Namely, the Constitution of the Russian Federation (every resident of Russia is guaranteed the right to protection of personal property), the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (regarding the rules for the intended use of housing and management of houses), departmental laws establishing the rules for the implementation of supervision and targeted inspections.
GZHI emblem
How to deal with the management company through the housing inspection
Maintaining and managing an apartment building (AMD) is not an easy task. Owners are often dissatisfied with the work of management companies. If enterprise management is interested in improving business efficiency, then citizens’ questions do not remain unattended. But what if the problems are not solved, and the officials of the Criminal Code are indifferent to them?
One of the effective options to get things moving is to contact the housing inspector. It is best to submit a complaint in writing, dated and signed, since the inspection body will not consider anonymous letters. Upon receipt of the complaint, a representative will conduct an unscheduled inspection to determine whether a violation has occurred. Depending on the problem, he has the right to issue a regulatory act on eliminating the violation, indicating the period within which it must be carried out, or draw up a protocol on the administrative offense of the responsible persons with the subsequent imposition of punishment.
All appeals to the housing inspection are registered, and within 30 calendar days the applicant is given a written response.
Citizens can use the hotline number, which is listed on the official website of the inspection, if a problem arises that requires urgent intervention from a representative of the inspection.
How does the State Housing Inspectorate act in the event of a complaint from residents?
The official executive activities of Goszhilnadzor are carried out on the basis of departmental Regulations. The articles of the regulatory legal act set out the procedure for officials to respond to all complaints and appeals from residents. The algorithm of actions is as follows:
- The consumer submits a written statement to the local department, in which he indicates the current complaints. There is no single form of appeal, but to clarify the circumstances, it is necessary to display the date of the appeal, the name of the official who committed the violations, as well as material damage, if any, was caused. The application is prepared in two copies, one of which remains with the citizen.
- The appeal is registered in the Journal, after which the proceedings begin. The maximum period for conducting an inspection has not been established, but after 10 days the applicant should receive a response with a specified list of actions taken.
- A responsible inspector is appointed who verifies the validity of the complaint. For this purpose, the responsible person personally goes to the house to check for violations and also requests documentation from the competent organizations.
- When a violation is confirmed, a report is drawn up that reflects the essence of the offense. The report is signed by the inspector, the violator, the applicant and two independent witnesses. Additionally, an Order is being prepared with demands to eliminate the violation and stop illegal actions.
The order is handed over to the guilty authorities and there is 30 days for its execution. During this period, all deficiencies must be eliminated.
How to deal with the inaction of the housing inspection
The activities of regional housing commissions are controlled by regional bodies. The highest level is the Main Housing Inspectorate of the Russian Federation.
If citizens' appeal to the regional inspection organization does not help in resolving the issue, then they have the right to appeal to a higher authority, which has the right, without coordination with the prosecutor's office and prior notice, to conduct an extraordinary inspection of the actions of local inspectors. To ensure that the proceedings do not drag on indefinitely, a citizen may need to consult a lawyer to correctly explain the essence of the issue and prepare documents related to the problem.
The creation of housing inspection authorities in Russia allows citizens to feel more protected in housing and communal services matters. They allow people to fight fraud and poor quality services in the public utilities sector.
Registry
To ensure open access to information about the work of state authorities and executive authorities, a special register of GZHI licenses is maintained. Information is posted on the websites of regional governments (for example, for St. Petersburg a rating of management companies is presented on the website https://data.gov.spb.ru/)
Main objectives of the rating:
- Increasing the level of citizen involvement in the activities of IP bodies.
- Simplifying access to information that society requires.
- Increasing the speed of high-quality provision of official data on the work of government agencies.
- Stimulating the development of electronic resources, portals to simplify the solution of problems related to utility issues and more.
Through the rating, you can clarify any information about companies related to the maintenance of apartment buildings.
What redevelopment will be approved by the Moscow Housing Inspectorate?
In order to understand what kind of redevelopment can be agreed upon, at the initial stage, it will be necessary to determine the compliance of the upcoming/completed work with current standards. The easiest way to do this is with an organization that has experience in designing and coordinating redevelopments.
To do this, you will need BTI documents with the original apartment plan and a copy of the plan with changes applied to it.
For advice on the admissibility of certain decisions, you can also contact the Moscow Housing Inspectorate directly, which will allow you to obtain first-hand information. As a rule, such consultation is required for “borderline” redevelopment options, where the opinion of MZhI specialists is decisive.
If the repair work does not contradict Moscow government decree No. 508, which regulates the scope of redevelopment and reconstruction, as well as current sanitary and construction standards, it will be possible to order the development of the necessary design documentation from such organizations.
Prosecution
Having received information about violations from other persons or having identified them during an inspection, an authorized service employee is obliged to draw up a protocol and take measures to collect evidence.
The collected materials are transferred to the official who reviews them, and a decision is made. This is usually done by the head of the department or another employee who has received the appropriate instructions.
Main functions
In addition to the Criminal Code, the inspectorate monitors the activities of legal entities involved in the processes of organizing the residence of citizens: housing maintenance departments, homeowners' associations (HOA), housing construction cooperatives. Her main responsibilities include checking:
- the procedure for the operation of residential buildings and adjacent areas;
- condition of residential buildings, their inclusion in capital repair programs;
- timely repair work and proper maintenance of life support systems at home;
- the amount of consumption of utilities, as well as the legality of established standards;
- carrying out seasonal work related to municipal equipment;
- condition of residential apartments, repair of utility systems in them.
The Housing Inspectorate provides advisory assistance and interacts with the management organization receiving the license.
Addresses of branches of the Moscow Housing Inspectorate and their opening hours
The central office of the housing inspection of the city of Moscow is located at Mira Avenue, 19с1. Email
| District housing inspections of the city of Moscow - addresses and telephone numbers | ||
| Moszhilinspektsiya VAO | st. Kolodezny lane, 14. | (499) 268-38-36 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya CJSC | st. Polotskaya, 25, building 1. | (495) 416-60-15 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya ZelAO | Zelenograd, bldg. 841, item 14. | (499) 732-91-42 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya SAO | st. Khodynsky Boulevard, 11. | (499) 158-56-11 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya NEAD | st. Snezhnaya, 19. | (495) 656-67-54 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya SZAO | st. Marshala Malinovsky, 8. | (499) 192-80-00 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya TiNAO | st. Yuzhnobutovskaya, 52. | (495) 714-60-12 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya Central Administrative District | st. Novy Arbat, 11, building 1, 23rd floor. | (495) 531-01-06 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya SEAD | 1st Novokuzminskaya st., 10. | (499) 784-95-44 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya South-Western Administrative District | st. Simferopolsky blvd., 24, room 7. | (495) 310-51-27 |
| Moszhilinspektsiya Southern Administrative District | Varshavskoe highway, 74, building 3. | (499) 619-63-07 |
