Is it possible to refuse payment?
The Civil Code of our country in Article 210 states that citizens are responsible for their property and bear the burden of maintaining it.
But the state does not ask them to carry out repair work independently, on their own.
Residents must simply pay bills for major repairs, which come monthly and form a capital repair fund, from which work to modernize the house will be financed.
In addition to citizens’ funds, subsidies from state or regional bodies are often sent to such accounts.
Article 169 of the Housing Code states that citizens who own apartments are required to pay these fees if they do not want to receive appropriate sanctions in the form of penalties, confiscation of property and fines.
How to refuse major renovations of an apartment building and is it possible to do this? There are a number of cases when apartment owners can refuse to pay for major repairs and not pay contributions on bills, even if they come in their name (about who should pay a contribution for major repairs of an apartment building - the owner or the tenant, is everyone obliged to do this and what will happen to those who do not pay, find out here).
True, for this the appropriate conditions and grounds must be met.:
- If you live in an apartment building that is built on land that belongs not to the developer, but to a municipal organization, then you are exempt from payments.
- A house in disrepair also cannot be subject to major repairs. Consequently, residents have every right to refuse such payments. The degree of emergency at home is determined by the level of wear and tear of the premises.
- Major repairs cannot be carried out in a new building.
The need for such actions may appear only five or even ten years after the house is put into operation. In addition, the houses are under the developer’s warranty for quite a long time and even if there is a breakdown, there is someone to fix it in accordance with the agreement with the residents. - Failure to pay bills for major repairs is quite natural if the house does not have a registered fund for major repairs. The management organization cannot accept money for major repairs into its own account - this is contrary to the law.
Citizens can decide where the corresponding fund will be located only at a meeting of homeowners. When to decide this is up to the residents themselves.Until the fund is formed, it is fraud to indicate in payment slips the need to pay contributions for major repairs.
- Beneficiaries are exempt from payment, that is, those categories of citizens who have certain discounts or have the right not to pay for housing at all. These include disabled people, war and labor veterans. Read about who has the right and whether it is possible not to pay for major repairs of an apartment building here.
All of the above cases allow you to refuse to pay for major repairs of an apartment building on legal grounds..
Unfortunately, the management company does not always act honestly, and even if citizens have one of the above reasons, taking advantage of their ignorance, the office charges bills for major repairs. Only by knowing the legislation can citizens refuse to contribute to major repairs.
Read about whether homeowners are required to pay into the fund for capital repairs of an apartment building, who is exempt from contributions and why.
How can you refuse contributions for major repairs and how to draw up an application for refusal
Another reason for going to court is challenging specific legal norms for their compliance with constitutional law. But the chances of achieving justice in court are rather slim: even if the tenant sees the provision on contributions for major repairs as illegal and contrary to logic, this does not invalidate the Housing Code.
Contributions for capital repairs were introduced as a mandatory payment in 2014. The amount of contributions for major repairs is determined at the regional level, so it varies across the country. Also, when calculating the amount of contributions, the total area of the apartment is taken into account.
We recommend reading: What year did insurance contributions begin?
How to do it?
So, to the question: is it possible to refuse to pay for major repairs, we answer with confidence, yes, there are such options. And how to do it?
In order not to pay for major repairs on one of the above grounds, you cannot simply ignore the bills, saying: I refuse to pay to the capital repair fund!
If they keep coming, it means that the management company and the city administration are not aware of your powers. How to waive fees for major repairs wisely? It is necessary to notify the authorities of your rights .
To do this, you write the corresponding statement in two copies. One is sent to the management organization, the other to the administration.
The application indicates the name of the recipient body from whom this document is given (one tenant or a meeting), as well as the basis on which you refuse to pay. In addition, it is good if your arguments are supported by certain documents or excerpts from the law. At the end of the application there is a date and your signature.
Application for waiver of payment of contributions for major repairs, sample
How to write an application for refusal to pay for major home repairs
Lawyers recommend several options for residents to waive contributions:
- Refuse to privatize the apartment (deprivatize it). In this case, the property will become municipal property, and the responsibility for paying contributions will be transferred to the state. At the same time, municipal authorities often end up shifting the responsibility for paying contributions to residential tenants.
- Move to a private house.
- Citizens can refer to Art. 16 of the Law “On the privatization of housing stock in the Russian Federation” . It says that the former owner of the property retains the obligation to carry out major repairs to the house. The state acts as the former owner. This provision of the law can be emphasized by everyone who has privatized housing rather than purchased it. Legislators have discussed the need to repeal this clause of the law, but so far this has not happened.
An application for refusal to pay for major home repairs can be submitted:
- To the management company.
- To court.
- Regional operator (fund) for capital repairs.
Another reason for going to court is challenging specific legal norms for their compliance with constitutional law. But the chances of achieving justice in court are rather slim: even if the tenant sees the provision on contributions for major repairs as illegal and contrary to logic, this does not invalidate the Housing Code.
Citizens can try to send an application for waiver of contributions for major repairs to the management company or the fund itself. It is compiled in free form and contains:
- Resident's name;
- his residential address;
- name of the company to which the application is being submitted;
- Circumstances of application : amount of contributions, on the basis of which they are calculated;
- tenant requirements;
- reference to legislation confirming the validity of the requirements;
- list of attachments (copy of passport, certificate of ownership and other title document);
- date and signature.
Thus, residents of an apartment building are obliged to pay contributions for major repairs. The list of reasons for refusing contributions for major repairs is extremely limited: in most cases, contributions will have to be paid. Otherwise, the apartment owner faces the accumulation of debt and the accrual of penalties.
Source
Complete waiver of payment
After the first payment
Is it possible to refuse to pay for major repairs if payment has already been made? If you have already paid for major repairs once and then factors are discovered that exempt you from this obligation, you retain the right to file an application for refusal.
In addition, you can even return the amount paid if you were not previously aware of the circumstances under which you might not have paid the fees.
Before the first payment
Is it possible to refuse to pay for major home repairs before paying the down payment? It is best to apply for a fee waiver immediately after the first receipt arrives .
This way, you will not arouse suspicion from the justice authorities and you will not be wrongly charged a fine. This way you will save yourself from unnecessary problems and litigation.
Is it possible to refuse to pay for major home repairs?
Contributions for capital repairs were introduced as a mandatory payment in 2014. The amount of contributions for major repairs is determined at the regional level, so it varies across the country. Also, when calculating the amount of contributions, the total area of the apartment is taken into account.
Refusal to pay contributions for capital repairs, which is not motivated by anything, is illegal.
Many citizens began to boycott contributions and refused to transfer them. True, capital repair funds established in the regions were able to recover unpaid contributions from citizens in court. Tips regularly appear on the Internet on how to legally avoid paying fees. They focus on the following points:
- If the terms of the concluded agreement do not suit one of the parties (in this case, the tenant), then the obligation to pay for the service does not arise.
- The person did not establish the specified capital repair fund , which belongs to a non-profit organization.
- The residents did not consent to the processing of their personal data and their transfer to the fund.
- The document confirming ownership of the apartment does not indicate the right to dispose of common property and bear the burden for its maintenance.
How to refuse payment for major repairs in an apartment building?
How to refuse to pay for major repairs of an apartment building and is it possible to do this at all?
The owner cannot refuse to carry out major repairs in apartment buildings without apparent grounds. This is contrary to the Housing Code, Article 169, and therefore is a violation of the law.
The only thing a tenant can do is not allow workers into his apartment (for example, if work is being done around the house to change risers or radiators). But in the event of further leaks and breakdowns, it is the tenant who takes responsibility for the condition of a particular section of communications and will repair them at his own expense.
If you have certain grounds that exempt you from payments, you can refuse to carry out major repairs in an apartment building. You can propose this idea at the meeting . If the residents agree with you, a collective statement is written and submitted to the management organization.
If you are the only one against it, the overhaul will be carried out, but without your contributions. But remember that if you do not have grounds for this, tenants can collect non-payment from you.
Read about the consequences of failure to pay for major repairs, what will happen if you do not pay contributions to the capital repair fund of an apartment building, what liability is provided, and whether it is legal to punish defaulters.
Law on capital repairs of apartment buildings
For example, it was unclear what fate awaited the money contributed by residents: whether they would be put into a separate bank account and only a specific house would be repaired, or whether the authorities would create a “common pot”, funds from which would be spent as needed.
We recommend reading: Land surveying, what is it and why is it needed?
This is one of the most difficult issues today. According to the law, from the day the house is recognized as unsafe, residents will be exempt from contributions for major repairs. However, the funds collected into the general pot of the overhaul program cannot be used to resettle the house. Meanwhile, the program for relocating dilapidated houses with funds from the federal budget is so far designed only until 2015.
On refusal to pay contributions for major repairs
Here are the reasons you can indicate, in addition to the already known basic data, when writing an appeal for refusal to pay for major repairs.
-Forced advance payments for services are illegal
that have not yet been provided.
— No decision was made at the general meeting of residents of the house
, no protocol was provided.
officially registered
.
-You want to pay for services only after concluding a formal contract, when you can personally familiarize yourself with all the conditions
.
— You want to pay for services upon completion of them
in proper form.