Apartment building residents may face change: they suspect they want to impose a financial burden and ruin communities

In December of last year Delphi House He shared the concerns of apartment residents about the apartment management bill introduced by the Ministry of the Environment. The project offered not only more responsibilities for the presidents of voluntary associations, but also stricter requirements for private companies that manage apartment buildings. Such changes, according to representatives of department residents who were concerned at the time, would not only cause chaos, but would also dismantle communities.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, it had prepared a project to enshrine in a law the principles of management, use, maintenance, repair, renovation and disposal of multiple apartment buildings. However, the presidents of participating apartment buildings, creates preconditions for abuse and corruption, does not protect the rights of consumers, service providers (companies and administrators), does not guarantee the possibilities of police institutions (municipalities) to perform the assigned functions.

After strong public opposition, the bill lay in the ministry drawer. However, another bill on apartment building management was soon presented to the public for evaluation, which he said Delphi House The interviewed representatives of the apartment building are almost identical to the first.

Claims that an identical invoice has been submitted

Virginija Remeikienė, President of Šiauliai Apartment House Association, says the bill currently under study contains minor corrections. First, according to the interlocutor, the draft prepared in the previous fall referred to the abolition of the boards of apartment buildings, leaving only one president of the association as responsible. Now, according to V. Remeikienė, the bill includes the boards in the process of managing multiple apartments. The interlocutor goes on to say that the draft under consideration now proposes another reporting period, until the end of March (the previous law proposed to report before the last day of February).

All other proposals, according to V. Remeikienė, are the same as those proposed in the draft law.

“The president is responsible for everything, there are practically no communities left, because the quarterly report must be approved by all the residents of the house, if one does not agree, then the president has to pay out of pocket,” emphasizes the interlocutor.

V. Remeikienė says that the adoption of the new bill would not only threaten the existence of the communities, but would possibly increase the taxes paid by the population. Because the law provides for multiple apartment management procedures to be paid.

First of all, according to the interlocutor, the presidents would be taxed with additional work (preparation for five meetings per year, preparation of reports, organization of public procurement, etc.), which should lead to an increase in their salaries. The Communities would also incur additional costs in organizing the acquisition of works through the Central Procurement Organization (CPO). They would be required to do so under the new bill.

“This nonsense could only have been invented by employees of the Ministry of the Environment and the Minister. First of all, nobody will buy small works. For example, if I need to repair a roof when the time comes, then I have to prepare the documents to buy Through the CPO, I have to hire a technician to prepare the documentation. Then we provide a CPO, hoping someone is interested in the proposal. The cost of buying documents made only for the community increases from 800 to 1,000 euros. Imagine if it would cost about 3,000 euros change the roof, with the consent of the residents, to find the company with the lowest price, after an analysis of the possible service providers. Which company will go to work when it knows that it is a small and unique job ? ”, Asks V. Remeikienė.

Too many rights for municipalities

V. Remeikienė, President of the Šiauliai Apartment House Association, is convinced that the new law on apartment management gives too many rights to municipalities. It is up to municipalities to decide whether to remove the president and revoke the permission to provide services from companies that manage apartment buildings for a year. They can do so after receiving complaints from 3 residents about the activities of the company president or the managing company.

“It doesn’t matter if you complain three times about the administrator or the president, but if the municipality doesn’t like it at all, the president of the association will be fired for a year. Then another president will be chosen for the year, who may not want resign later, which will lead to a fight. ” New chairs. The municipality may also decide to completely dismantle the community. You can appoint an administrator. And if the administrator is deprived of the right to work for a year, the company practically declares bankruptcy ”, explains V. Remeikienė.

The presidents made statements

The president of the Šiauliai Apartment House Association says that if this apartment administration bill were to be adopted, most community presidents would leave office.

“Our association has about 70 members. There were threats from the presidents that the law would change, many presidents came to the association and said that if the law was passed they would leave and leave office. I have 8 communities, and I also quit my job. , leaving a total of 78 communities without leaders. Other presidents of all Lithuanian communities should not be forgotten. This is the destruction of the Lithuanian housing economy. Because there are no concepts. Who benefits? Probably only for municipalities that They have their own companies and can house all the houses that are left without presidents, “says the interlocutor, adding that there are real problems in some communities, but that this law, according to her, does not solve them. V. Remeikienė is convinced that for to improve the work of the associations, the current legal act that regulates the activities of the associations must be adjusted, and according to the interlocutor, the presidents of the co municipalities need training. In that case, they would make fewer mistakes.

Doubts about the transparency of the law.

The lawyers were also interested in the apartment building management bill that is being prepared by the Ministry of the Environment. Lawyer of the Lithuanian Republican Chamber of Housing Management and Supervision Andrius Iškauskas Delphi for housing In the first place, he says, lawmakers’ persistence asks him a lot to come up with an almost identical bill a second time, potentially ruining apartment communities.

“The doubts about this law can be seen in its history. The Ministry of the Environment has already established three working groups to consider the previous bill. Considered, the three groups turned the project into flour, saying that it was not necessary. The ministry did not seem to like it, they did not make a decision of the working group and threw the first project in the trash. And suddenly a month has passed, a new bill supposedly appears, which has already been presented by the ministry through the Government without any working group, but it is not new, it is based on the same thing, agreed by the same people, some technical things changed. ” A. Iškauskas emphasizes.

Speaking about the content of the bill, the lawyer emphasizes that the position of the president of the association is responsible, so it is currently difficult to find the right person to fill this position. According to A. Iškauskas, due to the fact that the new bill establishes the full financial responsibility of the association’s president, the search will make it impossible.

“Communities will collapse because no one will want to be president. And today, it is difficult to persuade people to take responsibility and become presidents. Often they are people who do it in their spare time and even for nothing or very little. Little money The president’s job is hard, and the population is often unsatisfied The bill now states that if residents disagree with the president’s proposals or the work done, he is responsible for everything with his property Personal apartment, garden, car or the like. What kind of sensitive older person needs this burden on their shoulders? “The interlocutor considers.

According to A. Iškauskas, residents of apartment buildings often have little involvement in the management of their property, but according to the lawyer, the new law would not solve this problem. Ensures that the best way to avoid conflict between apartment residents and presidents is to further strengthen communities.

“We suggest going the western way, looking at the Estonian model, which would encourage the formation of communities, because communities are the optimal way of unifying the population. There are ideas on how to improve it, but first we have to find out what problems we want to solve and how solve them ”, says the interviewer.

It aims to clarify the work of the community presidents.

This bill on apartment building management is now being considered, and later, after submitting comments, the law will be amended and finally presented to Seimas. One of the law’s drafters, Environment Minister Kęstutis Mažeika, when asked why the ministry is proposing a project that is almost identical to the one that has already been rejected, says that this law is necessary to establish clear legal regulation. of the apartment buildings.

“Transparency is essential to what we are trying to do with this bill. People need to see reports on the work done, where their money is spent, because residents of apartment buildings pay regular contributions and we often hear that there is no there is clarity, the reports, the estimates are huge, inconsistent, the work is not coordinated and planned, so we see the need for transparency here, Minister.

K. Mažeika continues that the other objective of this bill is to further involve residents of apartment buildings in the process of managing their properties. According to the interlocutor, decisions must be made by residents, not by presidents or apartment companies.

The environment minister says the bill is opposed because presidents fear transparency. He emphasizes that, for example, the fear of missing a vote, which is emphasized by presidents when it comes to possible financial responsibility, is unfounded, as the law requires that slightly more than half of the community vote on one financial issue or another (50 + 1 principle)

“It means that if a lot of the population agrees, then the work continues. Here we see that once a year there should be a report, in the same way as a presentation of next year’s work, if there are problems, a meeting is needed. I heard that we are talking about live meetings for everyone to make decisions. The coronavirus situation has shown that it is also possible to work remotely. There are a variety of ways to consult with people, manage your facilities, plan investments, etc. That fear is irrational, more fear of responsibility, which angers people, “explains the minister.

According to K. Mažeika, there are a number of good examples when apartment building presidents report to residents for every job done. According to the Minister, this is good practice and should be followed.

“In some cases, arbitrariness should end, those complaints are not fictitious and people are very concerned,” says the environment minister.

K. Mažeika is also convinced that the publicly declared fears of representatives of apartment buildings about possible tax increases if certain procedures are introduced, such as the purchase of repairs or other work through the CPO, are related to the fear of that presidents have to work transparently.

“I see fear of other things: those who are honest do not see problems. Probably the main fear comes from purchases from related parties, which is prohibited by this law. Or an exception is made if the residents of the home agree. Buying through CPO is exactly the same process, because when buying jobs in one way or another, it is necessary to interview, select companies; If done transparently, it is all the same procedure. In addition, the CPO ensures that the winning contractor is trustworthy, has certain guarantees, people will have no problem if poor quality work is done or if the contractor fails and does not complete the work. This should provide guarantees for both presidents and residents, ”explains K. Mažeika.

Delphi House remember that around 60% of apartment buildings currently live in Lithuanian population. There are now three ways to manage an apartment building: Owners set up a partnership, sign a joint venture agreement, or choose a manager. The administrator may also be appointed by the municipality. Currently, the management of multiple apartment buildings is described in three laws: the activities of the associations are regulated by the Multiple Apartment Homeowners Associations Act, administrators, the regulations on the management of multiple apartment buildings and the Civil Code.