09.13.2019 | GZHI: supervision or appointment of service providers?

GZHI (abbreviation used for state housing inspection) is a government organization, which exercises control over the management of apartment buildings, and is also endowed with licensing functions related to the operation of real estate.

As practice shows, citizens do not fully understand what this service should do, so it is advisable to point out that the housing inspectorate is an independent intermediary between state/municipal authorities on the one hand and residents/owners of apartments on the other.

General concept of the State Housing Inspectorate

As noted above, the Housing and Communal Inspectorate is designed to establish interaction between homeowners in apartment buildings and municipalities. The need to form a separate regulatory body is due to the fact that in multi-storey buildings, in addition to private apartments, there are common areas that require constant maintenance and repair. And the state, for its part, guarantees every citizen safety during the operation of residential and non-residential structures.

Housing inspection specialists prepare an opinion on the possibility of safe operation of the house, which influences the assignment of the building to the status of emergency or dilapidated.

The implementation of housing supervision by GZHI bodies occurs only within the framework of a specific subject of the Federation (powers are limited to regional territories). City departments are formed for local management.

In its work, the inspection must comply with the law. Namely, the Constitution of the Russian Federation (every resident of Russia is guaranteed the right to protection of personal property), the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (regarding the rules for the intended use of housing and management of houses), departmental laws establishing the rules for the implementation of supervision and targeted inspections.

GZHI emblem

What is a home inspection

The State Housing Inspectorate in the Russian Federation is a body that controls the work of housing and communal services management associations. It is a subject of executive power that keeps the entire housing stock under supervision. Housing inspections have been created on a regional or regional scale and represent part of the unified system of housing and communal services of the Russian Federation.

The need to create such structures arose due to the variety of forms of management of multi-apartment residential buildings. All management companies, homeowners' associations and other associations must coordinate actions for managing apartment buildings with the housing inspectorate located in their region. State Housing Institutions are vested with a number of powers that allow them to monitor compliance with the requirements of laws relating to the public utility sector.

Main goals

Housing and communal inspection services are authorized to perform the following actions:

• accepting complaints and statements from the public regarding violations of legal requirements and eliminating illegal actions (self-detection);
• consideration of disputes in the provision of public services (protection of consumer rights);
• failure of management companies to fulfill their duties;
• changes in operating conditions of houses;
• the occurrence of circumstances calling into question the safety of living in the property.

To fully carry out tasks in the entrusted territory, the Housing Inspectorate can carry out the following activities:

• state housing supervision over the technical condition of buildings and the procedure for their operation;
• familiarization with the documents of utility service providers, as well as quality control of supplied resources;
• organizing house inspections;
• monitoring the activities of housing and communal services (especially during the transition period between seasons, when special attention is paid to communications);
• reviewing applications and making decisions regarding the possibility of refurbishment of housing.

Given such a wide range of powers, residents of the area can contact inspectors with complaints on any issue related to the operation of an apartment building.

What issues does it solve and what rights does it have?

Such housing inspection bodies perform many tasks in different areas. And in order to guarantee the successful and efficient operation of the organization, legislative acts provide for additional rights of officials in this area. These include:

• unimpeded access to all communications for the purpose of checking them;
• the ability to inspect houses at any desired time (including without prior warning to the management company, housing and communal services or self-government);
• collection of information from legal entities and individuals, as well as organizations, which reflects the procedure for using the house, the conditions for the provision of utilities and the provision of necessary support to residents;
• recording violations of the law;
• drawing up administrative protocols and orders in order to bring perpetrators to justice;
• initiation of dispute resolution in courts;
• concluding contracts with providers of services and goods necessary for the proper use of the home;
• meeting of residents and holding explanatory conversations;
• consideration of complaints and applications from the population;
• personal reception of citizens;
• carrying out anti-corruption activities.

What you need to know about GZHI

In many ways, the effectiveness of regional state housing inspectorates depends on the activity of interaction with the population. Thus, the work is carried out through personal meetings with residents, as well as by considering various complaints and statements from the population. You can submit an application to the State Housing Inspectorate in person at a local branch, electronically on the organization’s official website, or by telephone.

Additionally, the following principles of the organization’s activities need to be taken into account:

1. All public and private companies whose activities are related to the operation of houses are subordinate to the Housing Inspectorate. This applies to housing offices, as well as private utility providers. Subordination is manifested in the right to supervise the activities of such companies, as well as to bring guilty parties to justice.
2. Commercial management companies report the results of their work to assigned inspectors. This is done in order to avoid abuse of their powers by management firms, as well as to prevent poor performance of entrusted duties.
3. Participation as a mediator between opposing parties in disputes regarding the operation of houses, the provision of utility resources or the improvement of local areas.

How to deal with the management company through the housing inspection

Maintaining and managing an apartment building (AMD) is not an easy task. Owners are often dissatisfied with the work of management companies. If enterprise management is interested in improving business efficiency, then citizens’ questions do not remain unattended. But what if the problems are not solved, and the officials of the Criminal Code are indifferent to them?

One of the effective options to get things moving is to contact the housing inspector. It is best to submit a complaint in writing, dated and signed, since the inspection body will not consider anonymous letters. Upon receipt of the complaint, a representative will conduct an unscheduled inspection to determine whether a violation has occurred. Depending on the problem, he has the right to issue a regulatory act on eliminating the violation, indicating the period within which it must be carried out, or draw up a protocol on the administrative offense of the responsible persons with the subsequent imposition of punishment.

All appeals to the housing inspection are registered, and within 30 calendar days the applicant is given a written response.

Citizens can use the hotline number, which is listed on the official website of the inspection, if a problem arises that requires urgent intervention from a representative of the inspection.

Powers and rights of the State Housing Inspectorate

The Committee for State Housing Supervision and Licensing Control is authorized to perform the following functions:

• checking the care of common property;
• supervision over the quality of provision of public services;
• resolving conflict situations related to establishing the cost of housing and communal services;
• monitoring compliance with contracts that began to be concluded between residents and management companies, as well as service providers;
• checking the serviceability of numeric devices.

As practice shows, most complaints and requests to the inspectorate are received on issues related to poor performance of duties by management companies. Namely:

• refusal to carry out in-line or major repairs;
• lighting malfunction;
• elevator breakdowns and lack of a repairman;
• improper care of local areas;
• communication failure;
• economic disputes related to unreasonably inflated costs of utility services.

Powers of state housing supervision authorities

RSO is required to equip premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings with metering devices.

Now, according to Article 20 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the bodies of the State Housing Inspectorate are authorized to:

• identify
• warn
• and stop

violation of the requirements for energy efficiency and equipment of control room premises. Thus, while checking and even identifying such violations, the State Housing Inspectorate cannot bring the offenders to administrative responsibility. For now, this is the right of the Federal Antimonopoly Service - according to Art. 23.48 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

If a violation of energy efficiency requirements or a lack of metering devices is detected, the GZhN body reports this to the Federal Antimonopoly Service within 30 days. She, in turn, is obliged to consider the information received within thirty days.

The heavy workload of the employees of these bodies does not allow them to consider all available requests within two months. Two months is the statute of limitations provided for in Article 4.5. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for bringing to administrative responsibility for such violations. Thus, most unscrupulous RSOs manage to avoid punishment.

That is why the Government of the Russian Federation proposes to expand the powers of the State Housing Inspectorate bodies and give them the right to hold accountable RSOs that do not install metering devices in apartment buildings and residential buildings, without the participation of the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

Limits of operational responsibility
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How does the State Housing Inspectorate act in the event of a complaint from residents?

The official executive activities of Goszhilnadzor are carried out on the basis of departmental Regulations. The articles of the regulatory legal act set out the procedure for officials to respond to all complaints and appeals from residents. The algorithm of actions is as follows:

1. The consumer submits a written statement to the local department, in which he indicates the current complaints. There is no single form of appeal, but to clarify the circumstances, it is necessary to display the date of the appeal, the name of the official who committed the violations, as well as material damage, if any, was caused. The application is prepared in two copies, one of which remains with the citizen.
2. The appeal is registered in the Journal, after which the proceedings begin. The maximum period for conducting an inspection has not been established, but after 10 days the applicant should receive a response with a specified list of actions taken.
3. A responsible inspector is appointed who verifies the validity of the complaint. For this purpose, the responsible person personally goes to the house to check for violations and also requests documentation from the competent organizations.
4. When a violation is confirmed, a report is drawn up that reflects the essence of the offense. The report is signed by the inspector, the violator, the applicant and two independent witnesses. Additionally, an Order is being prepared with demands to eliminate the violation and stop illegal actions.

The order is handed over to the guilty authorities and there is 30 days for its execution. During this period, all deficiencies must be eliminated.

What issues are not within the powers of the State Property Committee?

The chairman of the executive committee of the State Property Committee can order inspections for all types of violations, except economic ones. Thus, the inspection does not have jurisdiction over issues related to the use of residents’ funds by management companies or homeowners’ associations. Everything related to the financial activities of the management company falls under the powers of law enforcement agencies and the Federal Tax Service.

As noted above, public housing estates are also responsible for their actions. The illegal actions of the departments of the Civil Housing Inspectorate are indicated in the departmental Regulations on the Service. Most often this concerns cases of refusal to consider residents' complaints. To hold inspectors accountable, you need to prepare an appeal to a higher authority.

State Housing Inspectorate of Moscow

Official website - https://www.mos.ru/mgi/

How does the population interact with public housing in practice?

Citizens who are dissatisfied with the quality of services provided by the management company can send a written complaint to the State Housing Inspectorate. Analysis of law enforcement practice shows the following:

1. Some of the complaints are biased due to the applicants’ poor knowledge of the norms of current legislation. Therefore, the answers to them leave citizens unsatisfied;
2. If violations are detected on the part of the management company, the latter are fined. The company can pay the fine (the amount of which reaches 200 rubles) using funds raised from residents. Accordingly, a small amount remains for house maintenance; the quality of services continues to deteriorate, causing dissatisfaction among the population;
3. Some complaints are answered; applicants are advised to go to court.

In this regard, it is recommended to contact the State Housing Inspectorate with real and significant problems.
This will prevent unjustified paralysis of the work of the management company. The statements must be supported by similar appeals to Rospotrebnadzor (in case of violations of consumer rights) and the prosecutor's office. Such requests, addressed to several regulatory authorities at once, are checked more thoroughly. Their efficiency is higher. State housing inspection.