Home/House area/Cleaning rules
Adjacent is recognized as a space assigned to a separate building (MCD) or several houses. Its boundaries are established on the basis of cadastral registration information. In the yard there may be various substations, garages, places for vehicles, public gardens, garbage bins and other objects. The courtyard area is intended for public use, so its cleanliness is monitored not by individual citizens, but by organizations involved. The adjacent territory is serviced together with the apartment building, as it is an inseparable part of it.
Normative base
There are several government acts regulating the operating conditions and rules for cleaning the local area:
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- Government Decree No. 491 “On the rules for the maintenance, management and arrangement/cleaning of housing stock in apartment buildings”;
- Housing Code of the Russian State;
- A manual concerning the maintenance and repair of housing stock (MDK 2-04.2004);
- Resolution of the State Construction Committee No. 170 “On the rules and standards for the operation of housing and communal services”.
Please note:
Depending on the region, the list may be expanded with additional documents.
How to determine the local area for cleaning?
The boundaries of the land adjacent to the construction are determined at the initial stages of construction, so the area of the area around the apartment building for cleaning can be found out:
- from cadastral documentation;
- from the State Register information.
Additional information
If a residential building has not passed cadastral registration, then you should contact local municipal authorities to determine the size of the adjacent territory of an apartment building for cleaning.
According to Government Decree No. 491 “On the rules for the maintenance, management, and cleaning of common property in apartment buildings,” the following objects are included in the adjacent space:
- landscaping elements (flower beds, shrubs and other plantings);
- various landscaping items (benches, gazebos, etc.);
- game/sports complexes;
- equipment for drying clothes;
- places/rooms for cars;
- areas for walking animals;
- service substations;
- fire passages;
- sidewalks, pedestrian roads, alleys;
- street lighting and other elements;
- areas intended for garbage disposal.
Size of the adjacent territory to a private house
Another quite pressing problem for many private owners is the improvement of the area adjacent to the building. In this regard, experts recommend drawing up a site plan, distributing objects on it at your own discretion. Landscaping involves a certain set of works. It includes:
- Draw up a plan of the natural border of the territory , with all the objects necessary for the use of a private house marked on it.
- Indicate in the plan a section of the adjacent territory that is property for municipal use and cannot be alienated.
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What are optional additional services in a cleaning contract?
The standard list of works for cleaning the courtyard area of an apartment building can be supplemented with optional services (only with the approval of the homeowners):
- landscaping/planting new shrubs and other plantings;
- landscaping of the site;
- decorating/improving landscape design;
- construction of architectural buildings, etc.
Calculation of the area of the local area of an apartment building
In addition to responsibilities, residents have several rights in relation to such objects. The adjacent territory is located next to any building erected in the Russian Federation, regardless of whether it is private or an apartment building, residential building or office space.
What landscaping work is required and who is required to carry it out? We will answer these and other questions based on the standards relevant in 2021. The composition and area of the adjacent plot are determined by developers when designing the house.
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Who pays for cleaning work in the local area of the apartment building?
According to current legal standards, each owner of a residential premises (consumer) is obliged to bear part of the costs of maintaining an apartment building, including cleaning the yard (Article 158 of the Housing Code). Tariffs for maintenance/cleaning of land adjacent to the apartment building are calculated taking into account the total living space occupied by the citizen (owner). All charges are reflected in a separate column of payment receipts provided by utility services.
Attention
If residents are not satisfied with the quality of the services provided, then they should send a complaint (application) to the service organization, which will need to improve the quality of the work provided or lower the tariffs.
Calculation of the area of the local area of an apartment building
This can be done by holding a general meeting of owners, and it is necessary to recruit more than 50% of all residents. Residents will have to pay more for the services of the management company. The area will increase and more cleaning workers will be required.
The problem is that houses are not always built and delivered correctly, so cases arise when the boundaries of the ownership of a house can be established solely using formulas or by contacting bodies such as the Municipal Property Management Committee.
Standards for cleaning the local area
Housing and communal associations, when providing services for maintaining the courtyard territory of apartment buildings, adhere to established general standards (MDK 2-04.2004). The list of work they perform may change depending on the current time of year (summer/winter/spring).
During the summer, management companies/homeowners associations are required to comply with the following rules for cleaning the local area of an apartment building:
- daily sweeping, watering (at temperatures above 30 °C) of the courtyard area (sidewalks, paths, driveways);
- collection of various waste (bags, bottles, cigarette butts, etc.) from children's/sports and other playgrounds;
- trimming/watering flower beds, shrubs, trees, lawns;
- delivery of sand to playgrounds for children (sandboxes);
- painting of enclosing structures, benches, swings, horizontal bars and other structures;
- whitewashing of trees, borders (if necessary);
- regular cleaning of garbage bins from waste, as well as sweeping the areas under them.
In winter, the responsibilities of management organizations include:
- clearing paths, sidewalks, and access roads from ice and snow cover (manually or using special equipment);
- loosening snow in areas where greenery is planted, as well as on lawns;
- sprinkling sidewalk/pedestrian paths, entrance facilities (areas near entrances, including stairs) with a mixture of river sand and salt;
- knocking down icicles from roofs, ice from drainpipes and sewer hatches;
- cleaning bins/garbage bins;
- garbage collection from entertainment complexes;
- clearing the entrance to the basement from snow.
IMPORTANT
In case of heavy snowfalls, the area around the house is cleared of snow cover twice a day.
In the spring, utility services, in addition to basic work, are required to carry out:
- cleaning/washing drains and ditches;
- periodic removal of melt water to wells/manholes;
- general cleaning of the surrounding area from dirt, debris, and remaining snow.
In addition, there are generally established rules regarding cleaning operations that utilities must ensure:
- arrangement of places used by special cleaning equipment (expanding boundaries, repairing road surfaces, etc.);
- ensuring free access to inspection hatches, engineering and water supply communications, heating networks;
- allocation of areas for storage/warehousing of tools, equipment and other materials required for servicing the yard;
- ensuring optimal width of sidewalks and driveways;
- installation of enclosing structures no more than 60 cm high.
There are also certain restrictions regarding the improvement of the courtyard area of an apartment building, according to which it is prohibited:
- increase the number of parking spaces by reducing landscaping areas;
- placing waste collection containers on lawns and driveways;
- installation of trade stalls, pavilions, kiosks.
Who is responsible for cleaning the area around the house?
Maintenance/cleaning of the local area of an apartment building can be provided by:
- management organizations with which the corresponding agreement is concluded;
- special firms brought in from outside, which work on the basis of a contract concluded with the owners (tenants of apartment buildings) or with the HOA.
The method of organizing activities for the care of the yard area is chosen directly by the residents of the apartment building by holding a general meeting.
The performing organization has obligations to ensure the quality of service, however, it can be held accountable for improper fulfillment only on the basis of a concluded agreement. Therefore, residents must draw up an appropriate document in a standard form, which will indicate:
- details of the customer and housing and communal services/homeowners association (name/address);
- subject of the contract listing all types of cleaning/maintenance work;
- rights and obligations of participants in a business and legal transaction;
- liability of the parties;
- cleaning rates/payment methods;
- grounds for termination of the agreement;
- signature/position of responsible persons.
Additional information
If the land adjacent to the apartment building is not registered as an object of common shared ownership, then the local municipality is responsible for its improvement and cleaning. In new buildings, the adjacent space belongs to the development company, but residents can privatize this territory. In this case, responsibility for the maintenance/cleaning of the courtyard area will fall on all owners of the privatized property.
How is the size of the local area of an apartment building determined?
- SNiP points. It sets standards for this zone. They concern the location of objects on them, down to the distance between one and the other.
- Articles of the Housing Code (36, etc.) established exactly which objects can be classified as adjacent areas. The main condition is that they must provide comfort to the residents of a multi-storey building.
- Provisions of the Civil Code and the Land Code concerning ownership rights to real estate.
- Article 7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, concerning violation of obligations to maintain the proper condition of the local area. Thus, violators may receive a fine (calculated based on the area) or be subject to administrative liability.
It is recorded for this building in the title (land management, accounting and urban planning) documentation. It can accommodate any buildings and structures (non-residential) necessary for comfortable use and living in a multi-storey building.
Sanitation and garbage collection
In order to ensure the necessary sanitary conditions in the area located around the apartment building, management companies/homeowners' associations must:
- install durable waste bins with a capacity of at least 100 liters, which must be painted with a permanent dye, on separate asphalt/concrete areas;
- fence off areas around garbage disposals;
- provide illumination of this area;
- carry out daily collection of garbage/waste from all garbage containers;
- provide conditions for the access/turning of special equipment (garbage collection vehicles).
Periodicity
According to the regulatory rules for cleaning the local area of an apartment building, basic cleaning activities should be carried out once per shift/24 hours. In winter, during heavy snowfalls, operations to clean up freshly fallen precipitation can be carried out twice a shift/day. Sprinkling the yard area with sand/salt is done as needed or once a day. Depending on the class, sidewalks can be cleaned - once every 2 days or 1-2 times a day.
How many meters is the adjacent territory of an apartment building?
Who are the owners and who does the maintenance? Most often, the owners of the territory near the building are its residents. To accomplish this, as mentioned above, the site must become a local area and must be registered with the Russian cadastral register (SNiP requirement).
It must be remembered that the improvement of the demarcated area, regardless of how many meters its size is, will be carried out by the management company, the HOA at the expense of all owners, and not by the city service using the city budget. Also, a demarcated plot is the main requirement for the inclusion of any apartment building in a modern program of co-financing for major repairs.
What to do if the local area of the apartment building is not cleaned?
If cleaning/maintenance work is carried out in bad faith, insufficiently or completely absent, then residents have the right to file a complaint:
- to the management of the condominium/HOA;
- to the chairman of housing and communal services;
- to the Housing Inspectorate;
- to the local administration;
- to the courts;
- to the District Prosecutor's Office.
Facts of violation of the rules for cleaning the local area should be recorded in a special act, which should contain:
- document's name;
- essence of the claim (detailed statement of all types of uncompleted work);
- details/name of the management company;
- Full name/signature of the persons making the claim;
- MKD address, apartment numbers.
It is also necessary to draw up a written statement requesting recalculation according to unfulfilled obligations.
For your information
Residents of an apartment building have the right to terminate the agreement with the guilty party and choose another institution that will service/clean the area adjacent to the apartment building. When choosing, you should pay attention to the reputation, reliability, and experience of the third-party contractor.
Adjacent territory of an apartment building, management features
The parameters of the local area - area, boundaries - are displayed in the cadastral passport. These data are the basis for calculating the costs of management companies for cleaning this area. If the local area is not properly registered, then the responsibility for its maintenance rests with the municipal administration.
Hello Konstantin! Since the adjacent area is owned by the tenants, and the ownership of the buildings will be yours, if you have a disagreement with the tenants under the lease agreement, you will most likely have to go to court to receive compensation for your buildings (garages).
