Who can be a member of the housing cooperative and what are the rights of a person who is part of this board, how is the admission and entry procedure, and how to draw up a power of attorney?

Last update: 10/18/2019

Formally, housing cooperatives are voluntary non-profit associations of citizens created to meet the housing needs of the members of these cooperatives. This is a type of consumer cooperative.

In fact, housing cooperatives , most often, were created at the suggestion of Developers, for whom this form of selling apartments under construction is more convenient than selling apartments under DDU, since the legislative regulation here is much weaker than the strict requirements for shared construction.

Briefly it looked like this. For a separate project, a developer creates his own “pocket” housing cooperative (HCC) , with the shareholders of which Share Contribution Agreements or Share Accumulation Agreements , and thus quite legally raises money for the construction of a new house. The housing cooperative accumulates funds from shareholders and then enters into an investment contract with a development company for the construction of an apartment building.

The initial prices in such a cooperative were often temptingly low, but the responsibility of the Developer was minimized here. Therefore, buying a new apartment in a housing cooperative has always looked attractive, but quite risky.

True, as of July 1, 2021, legislators have closed this loophole for Developers, although purchasing an apartment through a cooperative still remains possible (more on this at the end of the article).

Scams and fraud with housing (special section). Instructive stories with practical examples.

Definition

Housing cooperative is an association of citizens, necessarily voluntary, or legal entities who are members for the purpose of building housing, as well as managing apartment buildings.

Modern legislation establishes clear rules and boundaries for the operation of such a structure. Today housing cooperatives are building social housing, so-called “teachers’ houses,” houses for employees of internal affairs bodies, and more. All members of the cooperative are required to participate financially in the construction of the building, reconstruction and maintenance of the apartment building (apartment building). Who can be a member of such a structure? Citizens over 16 years of age and separately registered legal entities can join the cooperative; the last ones are the developers.

We talked in more detail about what a housing cooperative is and how the organization works here, and how the organization differs from other governing bodies can be found here.

Advantages of organizational forms

So, after all, what organizational form to choose? So:

The HOA is deprived of the following advantages of housing cooperatives and housing cooperatives and can only be chosen to manage existing housing. The main advantage of an HOA compared to a management company is the transparency of the costs of maintaining and repairing a home, and for utilities.
A housing cooperative is selected only in the case of new construction or reconstruction of an apartment building (in the case of reconstruction, you can also select a housing cooperative). Advantages:
In a housing cooperative, unlike a homeowners' association, income from business activities (renting out premises) is distributed among the members of the cooperative.

In conclusion, I would like to note that cooperatives have now taken on a new form and are an excellent means for the construction , acquisition and management of housing. This is the best form for people with a managerial approach to their own real estate.

Legislative information

What law regulates the activities of housing cooperatives? This is primarily Article 5 of the Federal Law “On Promoting the Development of Housing Construction”. There are enough legal acts that distinguish between concepts and give clear definitions to the structure. This means that the code determines not only the legal status of housing and housing-construction cooperatives, but also the features of their civil legal status.

Attention ! The very regulation of the activities of housing cooperatives is ensured by Article 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “Consumer cooperative”.

The laws contain important definitions that relate to urban planning activities. Thus, a housing cooperative can legally act as a developer after receiving the necessary permission. By the way, according to the restriction, one cooperative cannot build more than one house at a time.

The difference between housing cooperatives and residential complexes

Types of housing cooperatives.
LCD is a housing cooperative. Like housing cooperatives, it is a non-profit organization. But these concepts are not identical; there are differences between them. In housing cooperatives we are talking about the construction of apartment buildings. That is, the founders are directly concerned with the construction of the building and its commissioning.

Members of the Housing Committee deal exclusively with financial issues. That is, collecting and raising money for the purchase of ready-made residential real estate. In all other respects, including governing bodies, the procedure for organizing and carrying out activities, there is no difference between residential complexes and housing cooperatives. The Law on Housing Cooperatives regulates the activities of both organizations.

What are human rights?

There are basic rights that are reserved for members of such cooperatives:

to participate in a meeting of potential residents;
to receive housing in a cooperative house;
on share;
it is allowed to move temporary residents into the apartment and rent it out;
ownership comes after full payment of the share contribution.

Of course, the basic right of any member of a cooperative is the opportunity to obtain home ownership. This right is granted to him after voting at the general meeting. Previously, people could only move in using special orders, but today market relations have eliminated this concept.

Any member of the cooperative who regularly pays dues receives an apartment. From the moment the share contribution is paid in full, the person receives full access to housing. But there are also clauses that allow a member of the cooperative to move into the house without full payment. This should be regulated by the charter, which the housing cooperative will adopt.

What is a share contribution?

These are funds that are contributed towards the cost of housing, which, after construction, a member of the housing cooperative receives ownership of. Until a person fails to pay this fee, the housing is owned by the cooperative.

Let us note that the Housing Code has not established a procedure for making a share contribution by members of the cooperative. This issue is resolved on the basis of the charter - an internal document of the cooperative.

Advantages of housing cooperatives

By organizing a housing cooperative, its founders receive the following benefits:

They have the opportunity to pay in installments for housing under construction on favorable terms;
After the house is put into operation, the right to manage it passes to the housing cooperative;
Insures in case of bankruptcy of the developer - housing cooperatives will be able to complete the construction of the facility.
The founders can take a direct part in the construction of apartment buildings;
Contributed funds (share contributions) are not subject to tax.

Developers provide the founders of housing cooperatives with favorable installment plans. Its terms can reach up to 10 years. In the case of an equity participation agreement (DPA), they are limited to 1-3 years.

For reference! This calculation is most profitable in comparison with a mortgage, in which the borrower will overpay 100% of the cost of housing over 10 years.

In addition, the founders can pay part of the amount after they have moved into the apartments. With DDU, this form of calculation is not provided. After the introduction of the mandatory use of escrow accounts, the participant in shared construction is obliged to transfer the entire amount under the shared construction agreement to a bank account before the completion of construction.

The transfer of responsibilities to the housing cooperative for the management of the apartment building immediately after its commissioning is a profitable solution. It will take time to create a TSN - a partnership of real estate owners. During this period, the house is left without proper management, which can lead to undesirable consequences, debt.

If the developer goes bankrupt, the housing cooperative may turn to another contractor. Participants in shared construction will not be able to do this. Escrow accounts protect their deposits; the money invested will be returned over time, however:

Shareholders will lose due to inflation - interest is not accrued on escrow accounts;
After the money is returned, it will have to be invested in new construction. This is a waste of time during which real estate prices are rising.

The founders of the housing cooperative get access to the financial statements and primary accounting documents of the contractor, as well as the cooperative itself. The entire process is transparent to them, they have the right to make the necessary adjustments and make decisions at intermediate stages of construction, including re-election of the board.

Responsibilities

There is also a separate category of responsibilities:

Making share contributions on time.
Other obligations that are provided for by the charter.
Compliance and strict adherence to the rules of the charter, as well as housing legislation.

In accordance with Part 4 of Article 130 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a member of the housing cooperative in the event of gross failure to fulfill his duties may be expelled from the cooperative by decision of the general meeting. Such a person is subject to eviction from the residential premises provided to him on the basis of Article 133 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

What can a non-member of the cooperative claim? A citizen who is not a member of the housing cooperative, applying for an apartment in a building under construction, does not have the rights and responsibilities of someone who is a member of the board and is a member of the cooperative.

Important! If a relative of a housing cooperative member tries to obtain an apartment through the court without having the consent of the owner, he will be refused.

Although family members of the shareholder do not acquire independent shareholder rights, they can receive the apartment after it becomes the property of their relative, but only with his consent. In the event of the death of a shareholder, family members of the deceased retain the right to use the residential premises, subject to one of them becoming a member of the housing cooperative.

Housing cooperatives and public housing cooperatives: about the housing construction type of corporate curtain

This autumn has been rich in cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation getting involved in the problem of determining the place of housing construction cooperatives in the system of relations regarding shared construction. Moreover, this connection took place in the person of two boards at once - administrative and civil.

On September 2, the Administrative Board adopted determination No. 44-KA19-6 on one of the disputes related to the division of the problematic inheritance left to the shareholders of the Perm housing cooperative Triumph, which was sensational in local circles. Quarter 2".

The shareholder challenged the decision of the regional government to refuse to include him in the register of affected shareholders on the grounds that a member of the housing cooperative is not a shareholder under the law “On participation in shared construction...”. SKAD of the Supreme Court did not support this point of view, following the Reviews of judicial practice dated December 4, 2013 and July 19, 2017, indicating that the share accumulation agreement is not in form, but in essence, an agreement for participation in shared construction, and therefore the shareholder of the cooperative is equal to a shareholder and enjoys the rights that are established for shareholders by the law on participation in shared construction. Including the right to be included in the register of affected shareholders.

A few days ago, the administrator of this resource, Gulnara Ismagilova, kindly drew my attention to the fact that the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases entered the fight for the rights of shareholders of housing cooperatives in connection with their participation in shared construction, revealing to the world a ruling dated October 15 of this year. No. 5-КГ19-186.

In this case, everything was much more gratifying for the shareholder. He received housing, but its actual area turned out to be 5 square meters less than the designed area. Shortage! In anticipation of this shortfall, the cooperative refused to voluntarily return the money to the shareholder.

The shareholder brought his claim against the cooperative, which is completely logical, since it was with him that he entered into a share accumulation agreement. But neither the court of first instance nor the Moscow city appeal supported this logic[1].

Their position was as follows.

A review of judicial practice on disputes in the field of participation in shared-equity construction of housing dated December 4, 2013 indicates that relations between shareholders and housing cooperatives are not regulated by the provisions of the law “On participation in shared-equity construction...”. This means that the shareholder in relation to the cooperative is not a shareholder, and the cooperative in relation to the shareholder is not a developer according to the norms of this law, although he is a developer in the broad sense established by the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation.

This means that if the law “On participation in shared construction...” says that money for housing construction can be raised by housing construction cooperatives, but the provisions of this law do not apply to relations between shareholders and housing cooperatives, then the shareholder’s demand, based on the provisions of the law, “ About participation in shared construction..." must be presented to the person for whom these norms are mandatory, i.e. a real developer. After all, it was he, and not the housing cooperative, who built the house with an apartment 5 square meters less than he promised, and must bear responsibility for this in accordance with the said law.

The accumulating agreement presented in the case materials is completely “bare” in the sense that it actually contains only the condition “you give me money, I give you an apartment that will be built by developer N.” There are no provisions from the field of corporate law, as befits any decent housing cooperative, in the agreement. In general, in terms of its content, this is not an agreement on joining a housing cooperative, but a contract for the purchase and sale of a future apartment, for the sake of order, called a share accumulation agreement.

The court especially noted the fact that the parties to the accumulation agreement in no way connected its conclusion with the establishment of any corporate relations between themselves, and for complete clarity of its approach indicated that in the case under consideration the housing cooperative is nothing more than a technical payer or transferee. agent between the shareholder and the developer according to the scheme “transferred the money - transferred the apartment.”

Thus, the housing cooperative is an improper defendant, and the shareholder must turn his claim regarding the defects of the apartment against the real developer, the court of first instance decided and was confirmed by the Moscow city appeal. The absence of any contractual ties between the shareholder and the developer did not bother the courts at all.

Beyond the words of judicial acts, there remained a latent thought: you constantly demand that the courts look into the essence of relations, and not approach them formally? Please. Everything is as you want. In this case, the housing cooperative is a simple shell, a cooperative SPV through which the developer collected money for construction. By signing a share accumulation agreement, in which not a single word was mentioned on any corporate topic, the shareholder demonstrated that he was not at all interested in participating in the housing cooperative. He had no will to participate in this. He only needed an apartment of the size he paid for. Who should be responsible for the non-compliance of this apartment with the design documentation, and to whom should the requirement based on the norms of the law “On participation in shared-equity construction...” be addressed? Obviously, not to the cooperative, which itself did not build anything. Here is the breakthrough of the corporate curtain called housing cooperatives. Just like in Europe and America.

The cassation appeal of the shareholder was accepted for consideration by the SKGD of the Supreme Court.

She indicated that the housing cooperative is a consumer corporation, relations in which are regulated by the norms of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, and not by the law “On participation in shared construction...”, which directly follows from the same Review of Judicial Practice dated December 4, 2013.

The shareholder is not a participant in shared construction and is not in any relationship with the developer, and therefore cannot have any claims against the developer. The accumulation agreement, taking into account which the lower courts made opposite conclusions, was not found by the Judicial Panel at all in the case materials (?!).

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Thus, we have two rulings of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation adopted with a difference of one month on the same subject and with references to the same rules of law and conclusions previously made in the Review of Judicial Practice.

In one case, the impossibility of extending the provisions of the law “On Participation in Shared Construction...” to the relationship between the housing cooperative and the shareholder did not prevent the Supreme Court from recognizing the shareholder as a shareholder in the sense of this law and obliging the public body to include the shareholder in the register of affected shareholders.

At the same time, the Supreme Court suggested that lower courts, when considering similar disputes, move away from formalism and take a closer look at the content of the relations that have arisen between the housing cooperative and the shareholder to collect money for housing construction in order to see in them the relations regulated by the law “On participation in shared construction...” .

In another case, the Supreme Court took a strictly opposite position, pointing out the inadmissibility of such a free approach to the law on participation in shared construction to the detriment of the corporate norms of the Housing Code.

But in this last case, the situation was greatly complicated by the fact that the shareholder was suing the cooperative itself under an agreement, in the execution of which the actual developer did not take any part, and this most important circumstance gives reason to say that there is no contradiction between both definitions of the Supreme Court in fact no matter.

When a shareholder of a cooperative defends his rights to third parties, but not to the housing cooperative and certainly not to the developer, these rights can be determined from the position of the rights of shareholders under agreements for participation in shared construction. On what basis? The fact is that the shareholder, who is not a “real shareholder,” nevertheless participates in relations regarding raising funds for housing construction, as the law directly states.

The Housing Code regulates internal corporate relations in housing cooperatives, but says nothing about regulating relations between shareholders as subjects of raising funds to create housing in the future on a “share” basis and third parties, including public bodies. This means, and this is quite logical, the regulation of such relations should, by virtue of the analogy of the law, be carried out in accordance with the norms of the law “On participation in shared construction...”, in the text of which housing construction cooperatives, by the way, are mentioned repeatedly.

From this point of view, the Administrative Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is right in its assertion that this law is not a law only and exclusively about agreements for participation in shared construction, but is, in a broad sense, a law on raising funds from citizens to finance the construction of housing with the subsequent transfer of apartments to these citizens . Regardless of how such citizens are called - participants in shared construction (shareholders) or shareholders of housing cooperatives.

The situation looks completely different when it comes to a dispute between a shareholder and the cooperative itself.

Bearing in mind the existence of an agreement between the housing cooperative and the shareholder, whatever you call it, for accumulating shares or joining a cooperative, the housing cooperative, even being a purely paper layer between the shareholder and the developer, cannot oppose the shareholder’s demand with the objection that the shareholder must address all his claims to the developer , since these requirements are based on the norms of the law “On participation in shared construction...”, and the cooperative is not a developer according to these norms.

Why? Because the shareholder’s requirements, even regarding the quality of the apartment transferred to him by the cooperative or its footage, are in fact not at all based on the norms of this law, but are only similar to the requirements that shareholders can declare to developers by virtue of the law and agreements for participation in shared construction.

The presence of such an analogy, no matter how complete, does not transform a share accumulation agreement into an agreement for participation in shared construction, and unexpectedly does not make the developer responsible to a shareholder of the cooperative that is completely unknown to him.

Therefore, the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases is also absolutely right in its determination.

True, there is something that is very confusing in all this apparently correct and truly law-based logic. Namely, the figure of the cooperative as a ploy for collecting money from citizens, the presence of a real beneficiary of this process in the person of the developer and the comrades standing behind him, and the fact that the shareholder makes his demand not at all in order to simply make a scandal in court, but in order to achieve real effect, expressed in the return of the money paid by him.

Taking into account such reservations, the position implied in the decision of the court of first instance in the case of shortage of square footage certainly deserves attention, according to which a claim for defects in housing, filed by a shareholder against a cooperative, the existence of which has no other purpose or meaning other than the transfer of funds from citizens to the developer, can break through the corporate curtain in the form of such a housing cooperative in order to reach the real violator of the promise to build quality housing within the stipulated period. Moreover, such a violator, who, unlike a laying cooperative, has a direct and immediate interest in receiving money from shareholders, including keeping a significant part of it as profit.

After all, the demand of a dissatisfied shareholder to a shell cooperative housing cooperative, devoid of any hint of real corporate existence and active activity, is actually turned against other shareholders, since there are no other funds other than their contributions in the current account of the cooperative, against which a writ of execution will be issued, and there will not be Maybe.

Gradually, a situation arises of the property liability of some shareholders of the housing cooperative to other shareholders for the outrages of the developer, who is the obvious beneficiary of the entire scheme for raising funds from citizens through the housing cooperative system.

All risks of the developer’s failure to perform are transferred not to the cooperative, but to its shareholders.

Moreover, the presence of a housing construction project also means the creation on the developer’s side of intangible benefits in the form of obvious organizational amenities.

How much easier is the life of a developer when he is legally opposed not by a couple of hundred very real embittered citizens who gave their money, often credit, for the promised housing, but by some pocket housing cooperative.

It is quite likely that it was precisely this clearly unjust “corporate-cooperative” curtain that the Kuntsevsky District Court wanted to pierce with its decision, and in this sense, it was its decision, and not the decision of the Supreme Court, that could create, pardon the pun, breakthrough judicial practice in housing construction with participation of housing cooperatives existing only on paper.

It's not meant to be.

The Civil Division of the Supreme Court did not at all touch upon the topic of the acquisition by the cheating developer of all the benefits from the implementation of such a scheme for attracting funds from citizens. That is, she showed that same formalism, even, rather, extreme legalism and literalism, which she calls on lower courts to get rid of.

“The situation will be saved by the cooperative’s recourse claim against the developer,” someone might say. But to file such a claim, you must at least have the desire to file it. Will a pocket housing cooperative show such a desire, will it selflessly and fiercely fight the developer that controls it? Not sure.

In addition, it is far from a fact that in the described situation the cooperative generally has the right to file a recourse claim against the developer, rather than an independent one. Our Civil Code does not know the general rule on recourse, but considers recourse obligations limited to an exhaustive list of specific cases of their occurrence according to the principle of numerus clausus. In addition, formally, the responsibility of the housing cooperative to the shareholder is not derived from the responsibility of the developer to the cooperative. But that's a completely different story.

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Recognition of a share accumulation agreement as an agreement of participation in shared construction, i.e. agreement for the purchase and sale of future property, breaks the maxim established in the Housing Code and dating back to the Law of the USSR “On Property” that the right of ownership of residential premises arises from a member of the cooperative who has paid the share contribution in full, by force of law, and not by force transfer of ownership of housing from the cooperative to its participant. To acquire the right of ownership of housing, a cooperative member is not required to perform any actions to transfer housing, and a cooperative member is not required to accept housing. No agreement is needed, neither a quasi-DDU, nor a purchase and sale agreement for future real estate.

Moreover, the agreement of share accumulation or the agreement of participation in a housing-construction cooperative is completely unnecessary and devoid of any legal and practical meaning, since neither the admission of a new person as a member of the cooperative, nor the payment of an entrance or share fee by him require as their basis the conclusion of any agreement with the cooperative, and the conditions for such acceptance or such payment, regardless of the conclusion of any agreement, must be determined by the charter, and equally for all participants of the cooperative.

The only thing that can justify the conclusion of a pension accumulation agreement is the need to demonstrate it to tax officials, who sincerely believe that the basis for the payment must necessarily be either an agreement, or a judicial act, or a decision of a public body. It is impossible to explain to the tax inspector the miracle that it is possible to pay contributions to a cooperative even in the absence of any agreement with the cooperative. He will call an ambulance for psychiatric help. Both to yourself and to your interlocutor.

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[1] Decision of the Kuntsevsky District Court of Moscow dated December 12, 2018 in case No. 2-5634/18.

Appeal ruling of the Moscow City Court in case No. 33-15498/2019.

Procedure for joining the board

The procedure is very simple. To join a housing-construction cooperative, you need to write an application for admission, which will be considered at a general meeting of members of the cooperative. The review period is a month. After this the answer is given. Recognition as a member of the housing cooperative will be after an individual or legal entity pays the first entrance fee, only then the candidacy will be accepted at the general founding meeting.

Joining a cooperative is a fairly simple procedure. Let's look at a step-by-step example of how this happens. You are a teacher who learned from your colleagues that a housing cooperative has been created in your city, which is going to build a house for teachers. The housing cooperative is called “Teacher’s”.

Contact the organization's management directly or the ministry of construction in your region, where they will help you find contacts. Sometimes contacts are available on a special housing and communal services portal.
Write a statement. Below is the form.

To the Chairman of the Uchitelsky housing cooperative from his full name.

Statement

I ask you to accept me as a member of the Uchitelsky housing construction cooperative. I undertake to comply with the requirements of the Charter of the cooperative and to comply with all decisions of the governing bodies related to its activities, to make contributions provided for by the charter and internal documents of the organization.

I provide the following information about myself:

Date of Birth.
Registration address.
Residence address.
Telephone.
List of family members.
Passport details: series, number, where, by whom and when issued.
Title document for the apartment - series, number, by whom and when issued (attach a copy).

I undertake to promptly report changes in the specified data.

I am familiar with the Charter and internal regulatory documents of the cooperative.

Last name, date, signature.

Note that usually an application, according to the charter of the cooperative, can be obtained from the management of the housing cooperative.

For more information on completing and submitting an application for membership and other types of applications, read this article.

Activities and powers, functions and responsibilities

The housing cooperative operates according to the rules prescribed in the Housing Code. The specifics of the work depend on the purpose for which the cooperative operates - housing construction or its maintenance.

Apartment building management form

The work of the housing cooperative begins from the moment of its creation with the aim of constructing an apartment building. After the building is erected, the cooperative can perform the functions of managing and maintaining the constructed facility.

Main functions of housing cooperatives:

Monitoring the sanitary and technical condition of the house (cleaning the area, garbage removal, repairs).
Monitoring compliance with the terms of contracts concluded with home service companies.
Representing the interests of all homeowners.
Providing homeowners with parking spaces and playgrounds, if specified in the charter.

The governing bodies of a housing construction cooperative are:

General meeting of members.
Board (read about the board of residential complexes and housing cooperatives here).
Chairman.

Functions of the Chairman:

Monitoring the technical condition of the house and the operation of communications.
Interaction with representatives of the municipal administration.
Interaction with contractors performing work on the house.
Cooperation with apartment owners and board members.

Functions of the board:

An annual report to the general meeting on the work done during the year.
Drawing up a work plan for the current year.
Monitoring the housing cooperative's compliance with all applicable norms and laws.
Hiring contractors to clean your home and surrounding area.

Housing construction cooperative as a way to build and purchase housing

To organize the construction of an apartment building, citizens unite in a housing cooperative. The creation of a cooperative occurs as follows:

A meeting of founders is held (their total number should not exceed the number of premises that must be built).
It approves the charter of the cooperative.
The decision to create an association and approve its charter is made by a general vote of citizens wishing to join the housing cooperative (Article 112 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).
The cooperative is registered with the Federal Tax Service as a legal entity.

All activities are regulated by the adopted charter. The document contains:

Goals of the cooperative.
Membership rules (read about the specifics of joining and leaving the membership of a housing cooperative, as well as the rules for issuing a certificate of payment of a share here).
Principles of payment of contributions.
Rules for managing a cooperative, functions and composition of the board.

We do not recommend completing the documents yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

8 (800) 302-76-94

The process of building a house is completely controlled by the housing cooperative, which acts as the developer. The cooperative has the right:

Register ownership of a land plot for construction.
Prepare design documentation.
Obtain a construction permit.
Fully control the process of building a house.

The governing bodies include:

General meeting of participants (if more than 50 members attend the meeting - a conference).
Governing body.
Chairman.

All significant issues in the management of housing cooperatives are resolved at general meetings, where the board and control bodies are also elected. The chairman of the cooperative is elected from the board of directors, who is assigned the following responsibilities:

Ensuring the implementation of decisions made by the governing bodies of the cooperative.
Protecting the interests of the association.
Concluding deals with contractors.

Upon completion of construction, members of the cooperative receive ownership of the apartments after full payment of the share (Article 129 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 4 of Article 218 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Responsibility

According to the law, the housing cooperative is obliged to inform its members about all actions, as well as provide, at the request of participants, any required information, including project documentation, documents for a land plot, minutes of general meetings, etc. (Article 123.1 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

At the same time, the housing cooperative does not bear any responsibility for failure to deliver the house on time. All conditions for cooperation between citizens are prescribed in the Charter and the agreement on making share contributions. If these documents do not contain separate clauses on the responsibility of the housing cooperative to shareholders, then it will not be possible to recover anything from the cooperative in the event of problems.

How to pay the entry fee?

In accordance with the Charter, the following types of contributions are established in the housing cooperative:

entrance fees;
membership fee;
share contributions;
targeted contributions;
additional fees.

All amounts are specified in the Charter; usually the amount must be paid by a certain date by transferring the money to an account assigned to the housing cooperative. That is, no transfers of funds from hand to hand - at least, that’s what is written in most charters.

Risks when paying - if you change your mind and decide to leave the members of the housing cooperative, then the money will not be returned to you, since you voluntarily contributed it to the general cash register and took someone else’s place. Therefore, by making contributions, we accept these risk conditions.

Membership fees are required. They are paid every month and range from five thousand rubles. The deadline for making payments to the settlement account of the housing cooperative for payment of membership fees is the last day of the current month. At the request of a member of the housing cooperative, the membership fee can be paid ahead of schedule.

What may be contained in a housing cooperative agreement?

Some agreements so openly drive the shareholder into traps that everyone who reads the document notices it. For example, some clearly state that when leaving a housing cooperative, a shareholder cannot withdraw his money - in no way and never. And the complaint of such a shareholder that the deposited funds are not returned to him only causes bewilderment - after all, this is precisely the development of events that the agreement provides for.

Or another case when they promise to return the money not immediately after release, but after a year and a half. And the entrance fee, for example, is not refundable at all.

Although not all tricks are so clearly visible - some risks of housing cooperative shareholders can only be recognized by a competent lawyer.

What is a power of attorney and when is it needed?

If you cannot personally attend meetings or personally monitor the entire process of the housing cooperative’s work, it is possible to assign these responsibilities to a trusted person.

The power of attorney is issued by a notary. It is necessary to write down a list of entrusted powers; it is better to look at all the clear wording in the charter and state them verbatim in the document. Also, do not forget to indicate the expiration date of the power of attorney, when you will be able to take control of the affairs yourself.

conclusions

Buying a home is a responsible and important matter. When for some reason you do not have enough personal funds to cover the full cost of the property, you can take advantage of membership in housing cooperatives. Its essence is the opportunity to purchase an apartment in installments. This type of association is regulated by Russian legislation. When choosing a cooperative, you need to pay attention to its reliability, reviews and financial statements - in this case, the risks will be minimal. If you have any questions, please contact the specialists of the Academy of Sciences “Transfer” for advice!

Creating a structure

What if there is no such structure in the house? It happens that when you want to join a cooperative, you are faced with the fact that this structure does not exist. You can create it yourself with the help of lawyers and specialists in the housing and communal services sector.

Attention! You can turn to already created organizations for help and take from them constituent documents, on the basis of which you will create your own cooperative.

More information about the creation and registration of housing cooperatives can be found in our material.

The meaning of a housing cooperative

From a legislative point of view, there are two documents regulating the activities of cooperatives - the Housing Code (Section V, Articles 110-134) and Federal Law No. 215-FZ dated December 30, 2004, as amended on June 27, 2019. Their definitions vary somewhat, but the essence remains the same - uniting people on a voluntary basis with the aim of providing cooperative members with residential real estate. It is a non-profit organization, that is, it does not have the goal of making a profit.

A housing cooperative is an opportunity to purchase an apartment in installments without paying banks millions in interest. Fees are paid for membership in the community, which are used to purchase housing for its representatives in the order of approved priority. The total amount of contributions is exactly the cost of the property, allowing you to become the owner of the living space without extra charges.

To become a member of a housing cooperative, you need to choose a suitable one, check the eligibility of its work and submit an application to the chairman of the board. Residents' consent will be required for a new member to join. A candidate for membership can be either a legal entity or an individual. In the latter case, his age should not be less than 16 years; the application is confirmed by the parents or other legal representative.

How does the exclusion process work?

Exclusion from housing cooperatives occurs for several reasons:

Voluntary departure from the cooperative.
Systematic non-payment of fees.
Avoidance of fulfilling one's direct duties.
Other reasons provided for by the charter.

Please note that a member can be expelled only at a general meeting, by voting and explaining the position on both sides. The decision can be challenged at the constituent meeting itself, as well as in court.

The main differences between a housing cooperative and a mortgage

The most popular competitor of housing associations is the purchase of real estate with a mortgage. For a real estate buyer, the situation is as follows: there is a certain amount for the down payment, which is not enough to purchase real estate. A mortgage is a loan of the required balance at a fairly high interest rate. As a result, it turns out that the amount of overpayments sometimes reaches the original cost of the apartment. Purchasing through a housing cooperative is an installment plan, that is, the cooperative does not make money on the debt of the shareholder.

With a mortgage, there are other significant disadvantages for many - this is the presence of an official job with a “white” salary, which will convince the bank of the client’s solvency. The second point is various mandatory insurances, without which the loan will either not be given or the interest rate on it will be increased. The minimum set is life insurance of the borrower and the real estate itself.

Purchasing through a housing cooperative also has disadvantages compared to a mortgage - there are not many associations in the country, and in fact, most such organizations often go bankrupt. And the second point is that with a mortgage, the borrower immediately becomes the owner of the home, and as a member of the cooperative, only after paying the full cost.

Advantages and disadvantages of buying an apartment through a housing cooperative

The activities of housing cooperatives occur in accordance with the positive and negative aspects of the work. So, the advantages of the organization include:

the ability to deposit funds gradually, in installments (this is a profitable way to purchase real estate);
the right to purchase property at a lower cost than indicated by average market indicators;
the ability of participants to independently choose the desired developer, as well as change the construction company in the event of bankruptcy or violation of the rules of operation of the current company;
the possibility of obtaining ownership rights to real estate immediately after completion of construction work;
the formation of a further HOA created to manage the organization.

These are the main advantages of a cooperative. In addition, there are also disadvantages to this solution, these include:

the risk of using the services of dishonest organizations;
the number of apartments cannot be greater than the number of participants in the company (this is due to the fact that the cooperative cannot sell real estate and conduct commercial activities).

Thus, after construction work is completed and the building is put into operation, shareholders will be able to receive apartments of the area that was agreed upon in the contract. Additionally, the location of the property and the design characteristics of the property are taken into account.

Possible risks

All possible risks are closely related to the disadvantages of cooperatives. Firstly, despite the mandatory presence of a charter, it still does not fully protect the rights of shareholders .

Secondly, the scheme for selling apartments is not sufficiently regulated by law , which is why controversial issues and blind spots appear in practice.

In addition, during the process of building a house, shareholders may lose an amount exceeding the estimate in case of losses, penalties, inflation or errors at the layout stage. This happens due to the fact that the law does not prohibit housing cooperatives from charging more than the established amount from their members. Moreover, for housing cooperatives there is no concept of a fixed cost of housing.

There is also a risk that the bank will not approve a mortgage if your finances are depleted . In this case, you risk being expelled from the cooperative without the right to receive housing.

And finally, in the event of bankruptcy of the developer or general contractor, all further construction costs will fall on the shoulders of the shareholders . Thus, members of housing construction cooperatives are less protected than buyers under DDU.

The procedure for purchasing an apartment in a housing cooperative

Buying an apartment in a housing construction cooperative is a legal and simple scheme . First, you need to join a cooperative or create your own. As noted above, a cooperative must have at least five people. By paying all fees in good faith, you increase your chance of getting ownership of the apartment immediately after the project is completed.

It can be useful:
Allocation of shares of property to children from maternity capital: sample agreement
How to check an apartment for encumbrances: online instructions

However, it is important to remember that the housing will become your property only if its cost is paid in full . This means that you can live in it, but you cannot sell, donate, or bequeath these square meters. The basis for moving into a new apartment will not be your ideal payment history, but the general opinion of all members of the housing cooperative.

Let's sum it up

So, we have come to some conclusions. Firstly, the question of the advantage of housing cooperatives over shared construction is a controversial and ambiguous issue. Secondly, as it turned out, there are much more disadvantages than advantages. In our opinion, the identified disadvantages are more serious in their consequences than the identified advantages. And finally, the risks when purchasing cooperative housing are really high, if only because there is not even a minimum state requirement. support.

However, we do not forget that each individual case requires detailed study: what kind of cooperative is it, what is stated in its charter, what guarantees it can give, etc. In any case, buying real estate is always a risk, and sometimes this risk can be justified.