Can a homeowners association include several houses?

How many houses can be part of an HOA?

Management companies that organize the provision of apartment buildings are a commercial structure. A homeowners' association is a non-profit organization that does not involve attracting profit, but only provides for the desire of citizens to legally and transparently monitor their property and the provision of utility resources.

So, how many houses can there be in an HOA? Current legislation limits the prevalence of HOAs per house. The exact number is not indicated in the documents regulating the partnership, since all apartment buildings are purely individual in area and in the number of owners.

Clause 1 of Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation clearly states the basic principle of creating an HOA. It says: only one HOA can exist in one house.

REFERENCE. Before the entry into law No. 123-FZ (06/04/2011), it was possible for two HOAs to coexist in one house. But from July 2021 (No. 189-FZ) this is strictly prohibited.

The minimum and maximum number of HOAs is established by Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. The following restrictions have been established:

• one partnership can be created in one apartment building, subject to the participation of at least 50% of the total number of living owners in the total area of ​​housing;
• one HOA can manage several houses bordering each other.

Is it possible to create an HOA for several houses?

Yes, a homeowners' association can be created in several apartment buildings. However, amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation introduced in June 2011 introduced some restrictions.

Article 136 (clause 2) of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation states that a homeowners’ association can be created in several apartment buildings. However, THE NUMBER OF APARTMENTS IN THEM SHOULD NOT EXCEED 30.

Well, and accordingly, if these houses are located on land plots that have a common border and within which there are networks of engineering and technical support, and other elements of infrastructure for public use.

Please note that this paragraph DOES NOT APPLY to HOAs created before the entry into force of Federal Law No. 123-FZ of June 4, 2011. This law introduced this amendment to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

A homeowners' association can also be created by the owners of several nearby RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, HOLIDAY HOUSES with or without personal plots, if these houses are located on land plots that have a common border and within which there are engineering and technical support networks and other infrastructure elements for common use.

As practice shows, a homeowners' association in most cases is created in one apartment building.

The created homeowners association (Article 161, clause 2.2. Housing Code of the Russian Federation) IS RESPONSIBLE for:

• for the maintenance of common property in accordance with the requirements of technical regulations and rules established by the Government of the Russian Federation for the maintenance of common property of an apartment building,
• for the provision of utilities depending on the level of improvement of a given house.

The partnership can provide services and (or) carry out work on the maintenance and repair of common property in a given house on its own or attract, on the basis of contracts, persons carrying out the relevant types of activities.

When concluding an agreement for the management of an apartment building with a management company, the HOA exercises control over the organization’s fulfillment of its obligations under this agreement, including the provision of all services and (or) work, and the provision of utilities.

Housing Code of the Russian Federation Article 135. Homeowners' Association

1.

A homeowners' association is recognized as a type of real estate owners' association, which is an association of owners of premises in an apartment building for the joint management of common property in an apartment building or, in the cases specified in Part 2 of Article 136 of this Code, the property of the owners of premises in several apartment buildings or the property of the owners of several residential buildings houses, ensuring ownership, use and, within the limits established by law, disposal of common property in an apartment building or joint use of property owned by the owners of premises in several apartment buildings, or property belonging to the owners of several residential buildings, carrying out activities for the creation, maintenance, preservation and the increase in such property, the provision of utilities to persons using premises in these apartment buildings or these residential buildings in accordance with this Code, with the exception of cases provided for in Article 157.2 of this Code, as well as for carrying out other activities aimed at achieving the goals of managing apartment buildings or for the joint use of property belonging to the owners of premises in several apartment buildings, or the property of the owners of several residential buildings.

Source: https://akrchel.ru/mozhno-li-sozdat-tszh-na-neskolko-domov/

Can an association manage one apartment?

According to Article 136 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the HOA must include at least half of the owners of the house. The minimum number of management and employees in the created organization is 5 people (what positions should there be in an HOA?). More than two owners from different apartments can register for membership in the HOA. This means that the establishment of a partnership in one apartment is impractical and impossible.

The only exception is the initiative to create a partnership coming from one owner. In this case, it is possible to organize a meeting, collect documents and select assistants from among interested residents of the same building.

Minutes of the meeting

Owners must arrive with a passport and housing documents. Photocopies of these documents must be prepared.

First, the chairman of the meeting and the secretary are chosen. Then the agenda is announced, after which debates are held on each issue of the HOA project.

If the decision is positive, the charter of the HOA is approved, then its board is elected. Its chairman can be elected by the meeting or the board at its meeting. The composition of the commissions is separately approved. There should be two of them: audit and counting.

At the beginning, ballot papers are distributed. Only ballots cast for a particular decision are counted.

How to conduct a meeting is defined in the Housing Code, in article number 146. At this point, the organizational period ends and the next one begins.

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It contains the following information:

1. The date of the.
2. Place.
3. Full address of the house.
4. Invited persons. This is a mandatory requirement. A representative of the municipality must be present.

5. 
   Total area of ​​the house.

6. Number of participants, as a percentage of the total number of owners.
7. The total area of ​​their housing.
8. Is there a quorum or not?
9. Next comes the agenda and the debate. Then the voting results (for each issue separately).

Attachments to the protocol include a list of participants, as well as bulletins and notifications. The latter must have evidence that they were delivered to the addressee.

The protocol is necessary to document the decision made and register the partnership with government agencies.

A partnership association today is probably the most efficient form of management, since issues related to house maintenance are resolved by it independently. And this, you see, is a big plus.

Is it possible for an organization to exist in one building?

The answer is no. One entrance does not include more than 50% of the residents, so the creation of an HOA in this case has no legal force.

There are still situations where half of the house has already been organized by an HOA, and the other half is still served by a management company (what is the difference between an HOA and a management company and what to choose?). In this case, there are two options to solve the problem:

1. connecting the remaining entrances to the existing HOA;
2. creation of a new partnership and liquidation of an existing one.

Nuances

They may refuse if not all documents have been submitted, not all of them, as well as the applicant’s signatures, have been certified by a notary.

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Refusal is possible when the legal requirements that apply to such organizations are not met, when the information provided in the documents is distorted or untrue. There are gross mistakes, blots, erasures. Duty not paid.

The application for registration is sent to the division of the Tax Service that deals with registration. Otherwise, everything will have to start over, including paying the notary and fees.

The difficulties of creating a partnership lie in the basic preparation of the necessary documents and are of a technical nature.

They must be completed in accordance with the requirements for completion.

For example, form P11001 is filled out in block letters; all sheets must be stitched, numbered, signed by the applicant and certified by a notary. And there are many such nuances, starting with registration and ending with the body that deals with registration.

Therefore, when creating a partnership, it is better to immediately, even during the preparation period, involve a qualified lawyer who will accompany the entire procedure for opening an HOA. This is an additional expense, but you will save time and nerves.

But in a new building, it is better to create a partnership as soon as the house is put into operation and the residents register ownership of the housing.

The fact is that the developer transfers the house to the person who first submits an application for its acceptance. From the moment the house is handed over until the end of the announced competition and the selection of a management company, the building is under the jurisdiction of the developer, who manages it.

The benefit for residents here is that by accepting the HOA’s house directly from the builders, all controversial issues can be immediately resolved and deficiencies can be eliminated.

In this case, you can hire a developer to service the house. And this is probably the best option, since who knows better than him the object he built.

Is it possible to create a partnership association on several houses? The law allows for this possibility. Several houses can unite into a partnership.

The only caveat is that they must border territories with each other. Such an association can be created either, as they say, from scratch, or by merging previously existing partnerships.

Is it legal to operate two partnerships at once?

Until July 1, 2021, it was completely legal for 2 HOAs to operate within one apartment building. But with the entry into force of the new law canceling this permit (No. 189-FZ Art. 5.1), this became impossible.

The main reason is frequent confusion with payment receipts, which violates the main principle of the HOA: transparency of financial transactions.

ATTENTION: If there are still two HOAs in the house, their separation or liquidation of one of them should be carried out in court by filing a statement of claim with the appropriate judicial authority.

If the residents do not come to a common opinion on the creation of one new HOA, then the organization of providing the house can be transferred to the management company. This organization is capable of protecting the interests of all homeowners , but with some disadvantages (the management company makes most decisions based on its actions, without coordinating the issue with the residents). We wrote about how an HOA can enter into a service agreement with a management company here.

Creating an HOA is an important, but also very complex undertaking. It is necessary to know in what cases and under what circumstances it is possible for authorities to approve the implementation of a new partnership. Each owner of an apartment building has the right to know his responsibilities, to directly participate in the provision and protection of his housing and to monitor where his money invested in communal resources goes.

Who is allowed?

The association is created only by home owners. The basis, as well as the condition for creation, is the presence of owner-occupiers in the apartment building and the decision of their general meeting.

But in order for it to have legal force, more than 50% of those present at the meeting must vote. It is also necessary that at least fifty percent of the list of owners of residential premises participate in the voting.

That is, for example, from 100 tenants-owners of residential premises there should be 50-1 people at the meeting.

Only in this case will the creation of a partnership be legal.

So, only a person who owns property in a house can be a member of a partnership, create it, liquidate it, etc.

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But among the residents there may also be tenants. What about these citizens? The mayor's office or its representative of the management company, as the owner of the residential premises, can be a member for the tenant.

It is more difficult with minors. On the one hand, such a citizen may own real estate, on the other hand, he is not fully capable, until he is 18 years old.

And his representative, guardian, or parents, who do not have property in this house, cannot join the partnership either themselves or on behalf of their ward. This legal incident, to this day, is not resolved by law.