In addition to monthly payments for consumed housing and communal services and rental/maintenance of housing, apartment owners must pay fees for major repairs of their home, which is necessary to maintain the house in a standard and safe condition for people, restore worn-out equipment, communications, and structural elements.

Contribution for major repairs - law

The obligation to bear the costs of one’s housing is assigned to the owner by civil legislation (Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and the obligation to regularly pay for major repairs of common premises in apartment buildings is also imposed by the Housing Code (). Funds are contributed by the owners: for a purchased or privatized apartment - by private individuals, and for municipal housing - by local authorities (local self-government bodies/municipalities).

The costs of major repairs are usually very high, so funds for them are accumulated over a period of time (from several years or longer), accumulating in a special MKD account, or in a regional capital repair fund determined in accordance with the laws of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. In the first case, you must pay within the deadlines established for payment for housing/housing and communal services (), or within the deadlines determined by the meeting of owners of the apartment building. If funds are collected from a regional operator, then they pay according to the bills of this operator, in accordance with regional standards.

Just as there are exceptions to any rule, this one has its own peculiarities. In some cases, homeowners are provided with benefits on payments, either due to the technical condition of the house or the legal situation; the fees themselves are not paid.

Who is exempt from paying for major repairs?

Major repairs of the common property of an apartment building are carried out at the expense of the owners. Accordingly, if the apartment (residential premises) is municipally owned and rented out under a social tenancy agreement, the tenant is exempt from payments for major repairs (these deductions are made by the municipality).

Other tenants of apartments also do not have to pay contributions, since this is the responsibility of the property owner.

In addition, the Housing Code (clause 2 of Article 169) establishes who is exempt from paying for capital repairs. No deductions are made in cases where:

• the house is in disrepair (recognized by it in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation) and is subject to demolition;
• the land under the building (house) is confiscated for state/municipal needs, and all apartments will be confiscated.

In these cases, there is no talk of any major repairs of the house in the future, and therefore no payments are made.

Categories of beneficiaries 2019

The legislation provides not only for cases of exemption from contributions, but also for the provision of benefits for certain categories of citizens. Since 2016, amendments have been made to the legislation of the Russian Federation affecting the list of beneficiaries for payments for major repairs (Article 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, Law No. 181-FZ “On Social Protection of Disabled Persons”). Benefits are also provided for in Part 21 of Art. 169 Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

Benefits are provided:

• For disabled people. Disabled people of groups 1 and 2, as well as persons who have disabled children in their care and such disabled children themselves contribute only half of the amount, the remaining half is paid (compensated) by the state.
• Low-income citizens. Such citizens have the right to apply for a subsidy to pay for housing and communal services and contributions for major repairs, provided that payments for housing, housing and communal services and major repairs exceed a certain share in their family income, established in each specific region of the Russian Federation. That is, part of the contributions will be made by the relevant budgets (regional, municipal) in the form of a subsidy, and the part not covered by the subsidy must be paid by citizens themselves.
• Veterans and participants of the Second World War, labor veterans, rehabilitated persons, citizens exposed to radiation.
• Large families.
• Single homeowners who are pensioners and not working (when they reach 70 years old - half of the contributions, after 80 years - they are completely exempt from paying for major repairs).
• Families of pensioners who have their own housing (from 70 years old - half, and after 80 years - 100%).

Important: benefits for major repairs to pensioners are provided when, in pursuance of federal law, local regulations are adopted, that is, local laws providing for the provision of these benefits to these individuals.

In addition, it should be remembered that the benefit itself does not cancel the obligation to pay the portion of contributions for major housing repairs not covered by it for all categories of the population.

Who else and in what cases may not pay for repairs?

Compensation for major repairs - who is entitled to it and how to get it

Amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (adopted by Law No. 399) granted benefit recipients at the federal and regional levels the right to compensation for contributions to pay for major repairs. Such compensation can be either full or partial, and is provided on an application basis.

Federal beneficiaries include disabled people (including disabled children) and veterans.

For regional beneficiaries, much depends on the laws adopted in each region (subject of the Russian Federation). Basically, these are citizens who have reached 70-80 years of age. Compensation for contributions for major repairs in the regions is usually calculated based on the area standard (54 square meters for a single person, 36 square meters for a family), provided that the citizen is registered and will live in the residential premises for which compensation is provided.

It is important to remember that if a citizen corresponds to several categories of beneficiaries at once, he has the right to choose only one, which is more profitable for him. In addition, if a citizen owns several apartments/living premises, contributions for only one of them are reimbursed.

What happens if you don't pay

If contributions for major repairs are not paid, a penalty will be charged on the amount of accumulated debt (1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for each day of delay). This is determined by Art. 255 Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

If there is a significant delay in payment, the organization holding the account for major repairs has the right to apply to the court to collect the debt. In this case, deductions can be made according to a writ of execution (by bailiffs).

It is important to remember that if there is a debt of two months, benefits for any category of citizens are suspended (until the debt is eliminated).

Contributions for major repairs are included in the structure of payments for housing; a citizen cannot refuse to pay them at the request of a citizen. Therefore, if it is possible to confirm that you belong to a preferential category, it is worth taking advantage of this measure of social support, thus reducing the burden on the family budget.

Citizens receive receipts every month; many pay them in the specified amount and do not try to challenge them.

Let’s try to figure out what will happen if it’s an apartment building.

After the adoption of the Federal Law on Capital Repairs, disputes and misunderstandings often arose regarding the amount of the contribution for capital repairs, who is responsible for collecting it, and where the funds are sent.

All activities of regional operators (funds) and specially created commissions are regulated by Federal legislation and the current Housing Code.

They also clearly stipulate that paying for capital repairs affecting the common property of an apartment building is the responsibility of the owner of non-residential premises and apartments located in this building.

Who pays contributions for major repairs and in what amount?

According to the law, the right to charge contributions has either a regional fund (operator), which owns constantly updated databases of real estate owners and the area of ​​their premises and apartments, or a division specially created by the owners.

The monthly capital contribution is calculated based on the area of ​​the premises and the coefficients approved by the subject of the federation. It varies in different regions of the country:

• Moscow and Moscow region - from 8.3 to 17 rubles/square meter.
• St. Petersburg - from 3.5 rubles/square meter.
• Murmansk – from 3 rubles/square meter.
• Samara – from 5 rubles/square meter.
• Voronezh - from 6.5 rubles/square meter.

Where can funds raised for major repairs be spent?

The types of activities for which funds collected by residents for capital repairs can be spent are directed exclusively to the repair of common property of residents and owners, and in no case for cosmetic repairs of individual premises and apartments.

It includes:

1. Work on insulation, restoration, painting and renovation of the building facade.
2. Repair work on restoration and repair of the foundation.
3. Maintaining the integrity of basements and common areas.
4. Cosmetic repairs of staircases, including replacement of steps and railings.
5. Roof and roof restoration, current and major repairs.
6. Maintaining the operability of elevators, elevator shafts, timely repair and replacement of elevator equipment.
7. Major and current repairs of engineering systems and communications of an apartment building.

If the operator of the funds collected for major repairs is a specially created unit of residents of an apartment building, then the owners of apartments and non-residential premises have the right to independently look for an organization that will carry out all repair work. Otherwise, the choice remains with the subject of the federation.

The program for carrying out capital repair work is approved annually by local governments and posted on the website for general information.

For whom are there benefits for paying contributions for major repairs?

• Owners of apartments in emergency and dilapidated buildings subject to demolition or resettlement.
• Persons who are tenants of apartments and premises located in apartment buildings owned by the state or municipality.
• Tenants of premises or apartments in an apartment building located on state or municipal land plots.
• Owners of real estate that should be seized into the ownership of the state or municipality.

There are also citizens who can reduce the amount of payment by an amount from 30 to 100%:

1. Single pensioners, apartment owners who are over 70 and 80 years old.
2. Persons with established disabilities of groups 1 and 2 or families raising children with established disabilities of groups 1 or 2.
3. Disabled people and participants in the Great Patriotic War and other military operations.
4. Liquidators of the man-made disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and tests in Semipalatinsk.
5. Persons working in certain professions in certain localities, for example, teachers in the Far North.

What happens if you don’t pay for major repairs of an apartment building

Monthly payments are actually equivalent to utility bills, so their late payment or non-payment for a long time can have quite serious consequences:

• To begin with, a representative of the regional operator or the apartment building commission will collect the balance of the debt and remind the defaulter every month about the existing debt in writing or by telephone.
• If the debt reaches more than 10,000 rubles, the debtor may be prohibited from crossing the state border.
• A debt in excess of 10 thousand rubles may entail the initiation of legal proceedings, during which the debtor’s property may be seized or it may be withdrawn from the citizen’s use and sold for debts.

Judicial practice in 2017 regarding whether or not to pay contributions for major repairs suggests that extreme measures of seizure or seizure of debt property are usually not used; housing remains the property of the citizen.

Judicial practice on the issue of overhaul in the video:

In 2017, reviews about whether it is worth paying for major repairs offer a couple of legal ways to avoid making monthly payments:

1. Carry out deprivatization - return previously privatized housing from private property to state property.
2. Hold a general meeting of residents, at which more than 50% of the votes will be in favor of carrying out major repairs on their own or independently finding construction crews who will carry out all the work.

Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:

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The payment that comes monthly cannot be excluded or not paid simply at the request of the property owner.

The minimum tariff for payment for this service is established in a specific subject of the Russian Federation.

Payers of utility bills are:

• owners of private property;
• owners of non-residential buildings such as hairdressers, shops and other facilities;
• owners of state and municipal facilities.

The money contributed by the residents of the house is summed up and sent to a special account or to the account of a regional operator.

After this, they are used to restore and update the common part of the home property.

Payment for housing and communal services

Residents will need to choose for themselves how exactly to transfer money for major home repairs. You can transfer them to the account of a regional operator or to a special account.

This must be done no later than two months from the entry into force of the adoption of a major overhaul program in the region.

If the decision is delayed or not made at all, the money will be automatically transferred to the account of the local operator.

A special account is usually the account of a housing cooperative or HOA representing no more than 30 tenants.

If this option is chosen, then the owners of the premises must independently:

• work with the bank;
• insure the account;
• bear full responsibility for the funds;
• determine the list and tariffs for the work performed;
• look for a company for estimating services and inspection of repair work.

A special account is created to store money transferred by the owners of a particular house.

It can only be spent on major repairs and is worth creating if the owners have the time and desire to deal with this issue.

The local operator account represents the account of government entities. When choosing this method, all worries fall on the shoulders of the regional operator.

What is included?

Major repairs include almost any service related to the performance of work on:

• repair;
• update;
• improving the condition of the common parts of the house.

Therefore, for the fee established by the tariff, paid every month, residents have the right to demand the necessary range of services for major repairs.

Utility payments for major repairs in 2018

Just a few years ago, the renovation of apartment buildings was a concern of the state, and apartment owners did not take part in this to the best of their ability.

During the 5 years of the active renovation program, more than 130 thousand residential buildings were repaired, changes affected 15.2 million people.

Law

In January 2018, residential building owners saw a new line for major repairs on their payment receipts.

Now, paying for repairs to the common parts of the house has become the responsibility of each apartment owner, and if payment is not made within a certain period, a penalty will be charged.

Now it will regulate utility payments for major repairs, so evasion of this type of payment can be considered a violation of the law.

Size

For each region, separate ones are established, including major repairs. On average, it turns out to be about 5-6 rubles per square meter.

For example, if you own an apartment of 60 sq. meters, then the amount of utility bills will increase by about 300 rubles.

List of repair work

The funds received from paying for the capital repair bill are used to implement the following type of work:

1. Roof renovation and reconstruction.
2. Insulation and repair of the facade.
3. Repair or partial replacement of the elevator.
4. Reorganization of basements.
5. Repair and insulation of the facade.
6. Updating and installing engineering systems throughout the house.
7. Installation of metering meters for general house needs.

Who doesn't pay?

According to the law, you can avoid paying utility bills for major repairs in 2018 in two cases:

1. If the house is declared unsafe or unfit for habitation. If, before the house is declared unsafe, there are funds left in the account for major repairs, they are returned to the homeowners.
2. Residents of apartments that will be seized by decision of the state or municipal authority will not have to pay for major repairs.

There is also no need to pay fees to tenants of state and municipal real estate, because they are not considered their owners.

Housing legislation took care of low-income citizens. They can count on .

There are even lesser-known ways that allow you to avoid paying for major home repairs. If apartment owners decide to collect funds into a special house account, then they have the right to carry out repairs at any time convenient for themselves.

According to the Housing Code, for homeowners who transfer money to a special account, the amount of payment is set at the minimum amount of the fund.

Therefore, when the amount in the account reaches the minimum level, apartment owners can stop collecting funds for major repairs.

You can try to receive funds through rental services for common property, for example, if the house has non-residential premises. There is also the option of renting out the facades of the house for the provision of advertising services.

Consequences of non-payment

Many are interested in the question of what will happen to those who are not going to pay the receipt for the new item of utility expenses. Of course, in theory, the owner of the apartment may not pay the receipt for major repairs in full or not pay it at all.

Sooner or later, the regional fund will begin to deal with all defaulters, adhering to the same scheme as for non-payment of other utility bills.

At the first stage, debtors will receive information that they must pay the entire overdue amount.

If this does not have an effect on the defaulter, then the company has every right to sue him for.

In addition, every month for unpaid receipts will be charged, which will also need to be paid.

Registration of a subsidy

The possibility of receiving a subsidy is provided for by law, and if everything is done in accordance with the established rules, then the applicant has every right to receive guaranteed payments.

Citizens whose payments for major repairs exceed the permissible percentage of expenses for housing and communal services can count on a subsidy.

The amount of the subsidy is individual for each region. On average across the country, the subsidy amount is 18-22% of total family income.

Now, paying for major repairs has become a mandatory requirement for every apartment owner.

And if someone considers it useless, then it is much more profitable to take care of the rational use of the collected funds than to look for loopholes for non-payment.

Video about tariffs

Attention!

• Due to frequent changes in legislation, information sometimes becomes outdated faster than we can update it on the website.
• All cases are very individual and depend on many factors. Basic information does not guarantee a solution to your specific problems.

Fees for major repairs began to be charged to residents of apartment buildings in Russia in 2014. Such an obligation is spelled out in the provisions of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. He decides that it is the residents who must gradually accumulate funds in the account of the management organization, and then use them for repair work.

At the same time, there are many useful tips on how to legally avoid unnecessary expenses.

What does a major overhaul include?

Do you need information on this issue? and our lawyers will contact you shortly.

Reasons for not paying receipts for major repairs

The question of how not to pay for major repairs worries most Russian citizens.

Many refuse to invest in the promised improvement in the comfort of their stay.

There are several reasons for this:

1. Firstly, the timing of the program focused on the renovation and restoration of apartment buildings does not have a clearly defined validity period. This raises doubts about the targeted use of funds. For example, most citizens will not be able to say exactly where payments for major repairs went in 2016.
2. Secondly, common areas, including attics, staircases, technical rooms, and foyers, do not belong to the residents of the houses (this is most often the property of the municipality). Nevertheless, the funds collected are most often used for their restoration. At the same time, in the future the municipality can rent them out to commercial organizations and third parties.
3. Thirdly, not all residents need property repaired with their money. For example, it makes no sense for residents of the lower floors to present money for restoring the operation of the elevator.

The last point is one of the reasons why citizens refuse to contribute funds to special funds for apartment buildings.

What are the consequences of refusing to pay for major repairs?

Many Russian citizens not only do not want, but actually do not pay for major repairs of the apartment buildings in which they live. What are the consequences of failure to comply with the standards prescribed by law in 2019?

1. Initially, the municipality will send notifications to the apartment owner’s phone and email about the need to repay the debt associated with major home repairs.
2. For each month of late contributions, the fund will charge a penalty on the amount of debt in the amount of 0.5 to 5% of the payment.
3. After six months, the issue can be referred to the judicial authorities.

If during the trial the guilty party cannot justify its refusal to pay for capital repairs, then by a court decision it may be obligated to pay the debt, pay off penalties and cover all legal costs.

How to legally avoid paying for major repairs in 2019

Even taking into account the circumstances discussed above, there is a very real possibility of refusing to pay for major repairs of an apartment building and, moreover, on completely legal grounds.

At the same time, refusal to pay for major repairs does not imply zero costs, but can ensure their significant reduction.

• Tenants to help

If the owner of an apartment rents out his home, he can shift the responsibility of paying for major repairs to the tenants. The latter currently live in the house, and, therefore, it is they who are interested in providing comfortable living conditions.

• Do-it-yourself repairs

If the residents of the house do not want to pay money for the services of repair teams, then they can carry out repairs to the facade, roof, foundation, and communications together on their own. However, in this case, it will not be possible to completely avoid costs, since restoration and restoration work requires special tools and materials.

• Advertising banners

The most popular way to reduce the cost of major repairs to nothing is to place advertising banners on the facade of the house. Income from this type of activity finances the capital repair fund without affecting the family budgets of the residents.

The latter option is convenient, but is appropriate only in large cities, in houses located in areas with high traffic.

Other methods of refusing to pay funds for major repairs are considered illegal and may entail administrative penalties in the form of penalties and fines.

Dear readers!

We describe typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique and requires individual legal assistance.

To quickly resolve your problem, we recommend contacting qualified lawyers of our site.

According to the Decree of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated 06/04/2014 N 57-APG14-2, payment for major repairs for homeowners is not mandatory. How is this consistent with Art. 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation on the obligation to pay contributions for major repairs?

V. Chistyakov, Lipetsk

The obligation to pay contributions for major repairs is directly provided for by the norms of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, according to the letter of the Ministry of Construction of Russia dated 05.08.2015 N 24470-OD/04 “On the issue of payment of contributions for major repairs by owners of premises in an apartment building,” owners of premises in an apartment building are required to pay contributions for major repairs, regardless of whether an agreement on the formation of a capital repair fund and the organization of capital repairs between the owner of premises in an apartment building and the regional operator (Federal Law dated June 29, 2015 N 176-FZ “On Amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” is excluded from the Housing Code norm on the mandatory conclusion of an agreement between the owners of premises in apartment buildings and the regional operator).

In accordance with the provisions of Art. 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, owners of premises in an apartment building are required to pay monthly contributions for major repairs of common property in an apartment building, except for the cases provided for in Part 2 of this norm, Part 8 of Art. 170 and part 4 of Art. 181 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, in the amount established in accordance with Part 8.1 of Art. 156 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, or, if the corresponding decision is made by the general meeting of owners of premises in an apartment building, in a larger amount.

Contributions for major repairs are not paid by the owners of premises in an apartment building, recognized in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation as unsafe and subject to demolition, as well as in the event that an executive body of state power or a local government body makes decisions to withdraw for state or municipal needs the land plot on which this apartment building is located, and about the seizure of each residential premises in this apartment building, with the exception of residential premises owned by the Russian Federation, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or a municipal entity (clause 2 of Article 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

Clause 8 of Art. 170 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation may establish a minimum size of capital repair funds in relation to apartment buildings, the owners of premises in which create these funds in special accounts. Owners of premises in an apartment building have the right to establish the size of the capital repair fund for their building in an amount greater than the established minimum size of the capital repair fund. Upon reaching the minimum size of the capital repair fund, the owners of premises in an apartment building at a general meeting of such owners have the right to decide to suspend the obligation to pay contributions for capital repairs, with the exception of owners who are in arrears in paying these contributions.

Moreover, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on April 12, 2016 in the Resolution on contributions for major repairs (Resolution on the case on checking the constitutionality of Part 1 of Article 169, Parts 4 and 7 of Article 170 and Part 4 of Article 179 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation) recognized the contributions for major repairs established by the Housing Code as legal and in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, indicating that the right of ownership includes concern for common property and the safety of an apartment building. The resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has direct effect, is not subject to revision and cannot be appealed, that is, contributions for major repairs will have to be paid and the state’s decision on this matter is final.

In particular, the Resolution states that the order of major repairs in houses must be objective and transparent. Residents who do not agree with the decisions of local authorities on this issue can challenge these decisions in court, which was done by the applicant N.V. Bezugly in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on 06/04/2014 (the applicant filed a demand to challenge the Law of the Belgorod Region dated 01/31/2013 “On the creation of a system for financing capital repairs of common property in apartment buildings of the Belgorod Region”, to recognize it as contrary to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), considering that he illegally imposes on owners the obligation to pay contributions for capital repairs.

However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in its Determination No. A-57-APG14-2, completely rejected this requirement, in particular pointing out that the obligation to pay the costs of major repairs of an apartment building applies to all owners of premises in this building from the moment ownership rights arise for the premises in this house. Thus, the contested Law does not violate the rights and legitimate interests of the applicant, since it does not establish the obligation of the owners of apartment buildings to pay contributions for major repairs.

Based on the above, at present, payment for major repairs is mandatory (links to exceptions are indicated in Article 169 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).