Is notarization of a power of attorney required from the owner of a residential premises to represent his interests in the HOA and in court?

What is a HOA power of attorney?

A HOA power of attorney is a written authorization through which one individual (for example, an owner) or official person, or organization can transfer the powers or rights that belong to it to someone else .

If a power of attorney has been drawn up in the name of a citizen, then he gets the opportunity to carry out various significant actions on behalf of the person who transferred his powers to him through such a paper.

A similar document can be found in several versions, for example:

Personal or private powers of attorney.
Official or official powers of attorney, which are issued on a general or specially designed form. The latter can be a sheet of paper in A4 or A5 format.

Important. The size is selected depending on the amount of text contained in the document.

General information

A power of attorney for a HOA meeting gives a citizen the opportunity to carry out various significant actions on behalf of the person who has transferred his direct powers to this citizen. Conditionally, powers of attorney can be divided into personal (private) and official (official). In the first case, the legal text is written in any form, including handwriting. In the second case, the act is drawn up on official letterhead.

Only an authorized representative of the HOA has the right to provide a power of attorney document to a HOA meeting. The responsibilities of such persons are specified in paragraph 1 of Article 53 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The representative has no right to act without agreeing on the decision with the HOA meeting or its board.

What might it be needed for?

The document in question can be used in different ways. For example, the general meeting of the HOA can delegate his job responsibilities to the manager and set them out in a similar document. This happens in a certain situation, for example, if a person holding the above-mentioned position represents the interests of the HOA in a third-party organization.

Any government or local government body can act as such an organization. If such a situation arises, then the power of attorney specifies all the powers of the manager listed in the job description and set out in the agreement concluded between the partnership and the manager.

It is worth noting that when drawing up a power of attorney for such a case, you should adhere to the rules set out in Article 10 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation . In addition, such a document must be certified by a notary. If this is not done, the paper will not have legal force.

Power of attorney for the homeowners association manager from the homeowners association chairman

For reference Art. 149 clause 2. The chairman of the board of a homeowners association acts without a power of attorney on behalf of the partnership , signs payment documents and makes transactions that, in accordance with the law, the charter of the partnership, do not require mandatory approval by the board of the partnership or the general meeting of members of the partnership, develops and submits for approval by the general meeting of members of the partnership, internal regulations of the partnership in relation to employees whose responsibilities include the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building, regulations on the payment of their labor, approval of other internal documents of the partnership provided for by this Code, the charter of the partnership and decisions of the general meeting of members of the partnership.

Who can authorize a representative and sign a document?

If the HOA meeting needs to delegate certain powers to someone, this can be done by a member of the board, for example the chairman of the HOA. However, it is worth noting that it is also impossible to act without the knowledge of the meeting or board .

The transfer of authority must be carefully discussed and approved.

In this case, the person granting the power of attorney must be an authorized representative of the HOA and have the right to act without presenting certain documents.

Such people are clearly stated in paragraph 1 of Article 53 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

However, such a document can be signed by :

executive body of the HOA;
another person designated by law or the charter of the partnership.

Attention. All this is clearly indicated in paragraph 4 of Article 185.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If you believe her, then the people mentioned can certify the document with their signature.

In addition, the paper must be certified by a seal. It is worth noting that such a requirement is not contained in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, but it can be seen, for example, in Article 53 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and Article 61 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

Representing the interests of the apartment owner

Those apartment owners who do not have the opportunity or desire to participate in litigation with the HOA, concluding contracts, clarifying the origin of the debt, etc., have the right to entrust the representation of their interests to another person. Based on Art. 61 Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, art. 53 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, this type of power of attorney in this case must be executed by a notary.

A notary specialist draws up a document, entering into it the personal data of the principal and representative in their presence , and in the body of the document specifies all the purposes for which the transfer of rights is carried out.

The notary certifies with his signature the identities and signatures of both participants in the procedure and puts his stamp. It is important that there is an indication regarding the possibility of reassignment; sometimes the principal does not want the powers to be transferred to another person.

Here you will find an example of a power of attorney to represent the interests of an apartment owner.

A sample document in the photo below:

How to prepare for state registration?

Such a document is an ordinary paper that must be certified by a notary.

Various organizations or individuals can be registered as representatives and principals . At the same time, they must have certain legal capacity, as well as rights and powers.

In the event that a power of attorney for state registration is issued on behalf of the HOA, it must be signed by its chairman or a person authorized to perform such actions on his behalf.

Don’t forget that the paper must be certified with a seal . Such a power of attorney must necessarily contain the date of preparation. Otherwise, the paper will be considered invalid or void.

In this case, the principal may not determine a specific validity period. In this case, the document will be valid for one year from the date of preparation. The scope of delegated powers is determined by the principal himself.

For the HOA manager

The manager of an HOA is a hired employee, that is, an individual hired by the board of the partnership (Article 148 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation) to professionally manage the common household facilities.

In what cases is it needed?

The HOA manager is required to have a power of attorney in the following cases:

signing contracts with contractors;
registration of contractual relations with resource suppliers, reconciliations, mutual settlements, etc.;
when resolving issues in banks, tax services, customs authorities;
when representing the interests of the HOA in court, local administration, etc.

Before putting his signature on any serious document, the building manager must present a power of attorney from the HOA as confirmation of his authority.

By whom and for whom is it compiled?

The power of attorney is signed by the chairman of the partnership as a person authorized to sign without any confirmation (clause 4 of article 185.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - the powers of the chairman are enshrined in the Charter.

Article 185.1. Certificate of power of attorney Clause 4

A power of attorney on behalf of a legal entity is issued signed by its head or another person authorized to do so in accordance with the law and constituent documents.

The power of attorney must be stamped with the seal of the partnership. A lawyer advising the HOA should be involved in the preparation of the document.

Procedure for compiling

A lawyer must be armed with the following documents:

job description of the manager;
passport details of the person for whom the power of attorney is issued, and also take advantage of the help of the chief accountant, who will provide a list of organizations with which the HOA representative - the manager - will have to conduct business.

Range of institutions and legal entities persons, as well as actions, must also be listed in the power of attorney: the manager does not have the rights to all actions on behalf of the HOA, since this type of power of attorney is not general .

Here, on the power of attorney, the signature of the manager and the validity period of the document are placed (usually it is limited to the date of expiration of the powers of the current board of the partnership).

An incorrectly executed document will give rise to recognition of transactions, certificates, letters, etc. are insignificant, so ignorant persons should not undertake the preparation of a power of attorney.

Below is an example document:

Writing to participate in general meetings to vote

Such a document must be drawn up in accordance with the requirements specified in Part 2 of Article 48 of the RF Housing Code . He is able to give a certain person the authority to participate in the general meeting of the HOA in order, for example, to vote at it.

The paper must contain the passport details of this person, information about the place of residence, full name or name of the organization if the paper is provided to a legal entity.

In addition, when drawing up such a paper, you should pay attention to Article 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If you believe it, then such a power of attorney must be certified by an organization engaged in housing and maintenance activities. The latter must be located at the place of residence of the principal.

Reference! The document can also be certified by the body in which the person granting the power of attorney works or is trained.

If the principal is undergoing treatment in a certain institution, then the paper can be certified by it. Of course, you can get by with an ordinary certificate from a notary, but it’s worth remembering that it won’t be cheap.

To vote at the general meeting

If any owner is unable to personally participate in the general meeting of the partnership, then he has the right to entrust his voting rights to a legal representative by drawing up a power of attorney.

Such a document is one-time, that is, intended to be used once for a specific purpose, which must be specifically indicated in the text.

In what cases is it needed?

Every vote counts when making important decisions, as it can be decisive , so absence from such an event is unacceptable and is not only the right, but also the responsibility of each member of the HOA.

A proxy for voting at a general meeting of an HOA is practiced everywhere and may be required in the following cases:

the owner is going on a business trip, vacation, planned inpatient treatment, etc.;
The HOA member is unable to attend the meeting and vote in person due to illness.

Instead of himself, the member of the partnership delegates the bearer of the power of attorney.

By whom and for whom is it compiled?

A power of attorney for voting is issued by the board of the HOA, personally by a citizen who will not be able to personally participate in the general meeting, together with the chairman of the board of the partnership.

Any citizen who has reached the age of majority and is legally capable and has a passport can act as a proxy, that is, it is not at all required that he be a resident of the house.

Procedure for compiling

In paragraph 4 of Art. 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the following have the right to certify the signature and identity of the principal:

in residential office at your place of residence;
at the place of work, study;
in honey institution if being treated in a hospital.

It is most convenient to draw up paperwork in a partnership , especially if it is based in the same building. The principal must take his passport and the passport of his representative and come to the HOA office.

There they will issue a power of attorney form, on which you should enter in the blank lines the required information about the principal (full name, passport details, address) and the same data regarding the authorized person.

At the bottom there is a line for the principal’s signature, and below it is indicated that the chairman of the HOA (name of the partnership, full name of the chairman) with his signature certifies the authenticity of the identity and signature of the principal.

It is also important that the validity period of this document is indicated (usually the day of the general meeting), as well as the date of preparation and a clause stating that this document and powers cannot be delegated.

An example of a document in the photo below:

If you need to delegate to court

This type of document, like its counterparts mentioned above, does not have a single approved form. For this reason, the paper is drawn up in ordinary written form. However, the following details must be clearly stated :

Title of the document;
the place where the paper was issued and the date. Particular attention should be paid to specifying this information, since without the exact date the document will be invalid;
basic information regarding the representative and the principal, such as passport details, full name, date of birth, etc.;
a list of powers that the representative will have;
the validity period of the document is optional and is not a prerequisite;
signature of the principal.

Important. Unlike other options, this power of attorney necessarily requires notarization. However, if it was issued by a legal entity, then going to a notary is not a prerequisite. But such a procedure can still be performed if desired.

Power of attorney for the homeowners association manager from the homeowners association chairman

If there is a manager in the HOA who acts on behalf of the Chairman of the Board, receiving a salary for this, and the Chairman of the Board works on a voluntary basis, will the Chairman of the Board be an official and is it necessary to issue an Order on his election?

A power of attorney for voting at a general meeting of home owners can, of course, be certified by a notary, but due to the high cost of notary services for most homeowners, a notarized power of attorney granting the right to vote at a general meeting of owners is not often seen.

What is the validity period?

As has been mentioned several times above, indicating the specific validity period of such a document is not a mandatory requirement by law when drawing up. If a period is specified, the paper will cease to be valid after the specified period of time has expired.

However, if the principal did not consider it necessary to indicate such information, then in accordance with Article 186 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the document is valid for one calendar year from the date of preparation . It is worth noting that the maximum validity period of such paper is not established by law, nor is the minimum.

Only the principal himself can terminate the power of attorney before the specified period. He can simply revoke it after going through a certain procedure. If we are talking about a document providing sub-power of attorney, then it is worth noting that its validity period cannot exceed that established for the main power of attorney.

It is better to familiarize yourself with the document flow used in the activities of HOAs, as well as learn about the rules for its proper maintenance and execution, from our special publications. After reading them, you will learn how to correctly write an application to the partnership, what the report of the audit commission is, as well as with whom and for what purpose the HOA can enter into employment contracts.

Power of attorney for the homeowners association manager from the homeowners association chairman

However, there is a position that the chairman of the board of the HOA is not vested with such powers due to the fact that the HOA is not a housing maintenance organization, and therefore the provisions of Article 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation are not applicable in this case.
Thus, in the list of persons established by law who have the right to certify powers of attorney for the right to vote at a general meeting of owners, neither the HOA, nor the housing cooperative, nor the management company are indicated. See more details: “Power of attorney for the right to vote at a general meeting of owners of premises of an apartment building”

When is paper considered unusable?

All grounds due to which a power of attorney can be declared invalid are divided by law into :

common reasons;
special grounds that occur only in certain legal transactions.

A document may be declared invalid as a result of improper execution, for example, if the principal forgot to indicate the exact date of its preparation. Just such reasons apply to the special requirements for legal papers.

Attention! The paper granting powers to the representative may be regulated by certain laws. In such a situation, the law may require a certain form of drafting. If the principal does not comply with such requirements, then the document will also be invalid.

There is nothing complicated in drawing up the document in question. But there are some nuances depending on the type of power of attorney. If you do not lose sight of them, you can avoid difficulties in the future. In addition, do not forget about certification by a notary. Without this procedure, the document will not have legal force.

The chairman of the HOA issues a power of attorney to a third party

Good afternoon. Please tell me whether the chairman of the HOA board has the right to issue a power of attorney to a third party (not a member of the HOA, not the owner, a complete stranger) to represent the interests of the HOA for conducting an inspection. More details: The housing inspection carried out an inspection (roof leakage) based on my complaint, and a janitor from a neighboring house came to check from the HOA. He provided a printed power of attorney allegedly from the HOA (there is a stamp), the inspector was satisfied with such a power of attorney and they entered the apartment despite my objections regarding the legality of the representative. In the HOA Charter, the chairman is not vested with such a right; there was no decision of the general meeting on this issue. If this power of attorney is legal, please indicate the rule of law; if the actions are illegal, who should I complain to and how to argue.

I decide who to let in, so I decided that I needed the Housing Inspection act, so I had to let it in or the HOA would refuse to sign this act, because... It is not possible for them to check the fact of leakage. In order to write, I want to understand whether the HOA representative had such powers or whether the power of attorney has no legal force.