The constant increase in housing and communal services tariffs, the opacity of tariffs, the low quality of services provided, poor maintenance of entrances and even drunken plumbers - these are the main complaints of residents against their management companies.
Most of the houses in Moscow are serviced by the State Budgetary Institution “Zhilishchnik”, but in the Moscow region the market is not consolidated - there are dozens of management companies that are hired by residents under a contract. They provide a whole range of services - from heating an apartment to installing a playground. The Village asked an employee of the management company to tell us how this business actually works.
About unfinished new buildings
I work in a management company in the near Moscow region. De facto, our company is affiliated with the developer; we work mainly with new buildings and issue keys to owners. Typically, houses in new buildings are sold unfinished. A fairly common occurrence is the absence, for example, of fire hydrants on the floors or something else that people cannot notice. In essence, this creates the threat of an emergency.
We give residents the keys until permission to enter into operation on the condition that they will carry out construction work there, but not live. Therefore, construction workers may live in some apartments while they are renovating the one next door. The doors are flimsy: you can kick them in. And women of easy virtue come there, anything can happen. One day the owner came to the apartment, and the door was broken open and someone’s underpants were lying in a visible place.
When residents accept an apartment, they sign a transfer and acceptance certificate. But in practice, when an apartment is accepted, all the shortcomings are not visible. For example, a leak in a balcony can be detected when it starts to rain and get cold. It happened that everything inside the balcony of the people froze, ice formed, but they had already signed the document, so they could not present anything. Upon delivery, there may be no seal on the plastic balcony doors, then they do not close completely or begin to whistle. Over time, the resident notices this, but our answer is this: if he signed a certificate of no claims to construction defects, then he needs to contact the manufacturer. Once this document is signed, it is the company's policy to refuse to respond to any tenant's claim under any circumstances. It happens that the residents are right, but we find a reason to either delay the process or completely refuse. We have to respond to the request within two weeks, but in fact the answer may come in a month - it is simply issued retroactively.
We have an agreement with the developer to issue keys. We issue them subject to an advance payment four months in advance (about 15-20 thousand rubles), passing construction control and agreeing on the electrical project with the management company. Although de jure they are not obliged to do this - this is simply pumping out money. But the developer and I wrote down the following conditions in the contract: if people don’t want to pay, we send them to the developer. And the developer says that he handed over the keys to the management company. It remains to resolve the matter through the courts. And who needs this if the trial lasts about two to three months? Nobody bothers with this.
As far as I know, each developer has its own affiliated management company. This way money doesn't flow to another place. If the company has no relationship with the developer, then it simply will not accept such a house, because often the builders leave behind defects that are visible to technical specialists.
By law, the developer appoints a management company, but after a certain period of time, the local government must hold a competition to select a new one, and then it must hold a meeting of owners. But usually no competitions are held. When the management company realizes that there will be enough votes for it, some loyal resident organizes a meeting.
Where do utility bills actually go?
The deductions made by residents are divided into utility bills and payment for the maintenance and ongoing repairs of the housing stock. In the Moscow region, in general, utility bills are among the highest in the country. The management company is the payment operator, and money is also directly transferred to it for the maintenance and current repairs of the house.
Utility payments go through the payment center. Residents pay there, then they go to the management company, and it then transfers the money to resource supply organizations. Water and electricity meters are not installed in all apartments. If meters are not installed, then people pay certain tariffs. But the point is that common house meters work and count how much has been accrued for the house. The resource supply company that supplies heating to the house, for example, requires money from this meter, but they still collect it according to tariffs. It turns out that people without meters spend more; they pay not only for their apartment, but also for general household needs. Often they are quoted as one amount, but in fact it does not correspond to reality. Residents have no way of checking this on their own. They, of course, can write to the inspectorate, but in order to get to the bottom of this, you need to ask the right questions.
Tariffs for maintenance and current repairs are set by the local government, and tariffs for utility services are set at the level of the Moscow region. Tariffs depend on the number of elevators in the building and other factors, but on average they are about 40 rubles per square meter. If you multiply this by the area of the house, you get a lot of money. In theory, this should all be kept in perfect condition. And we have developed, let’s say, legal nihilism: not all people know, not everyone wants to delve into the legislation and find out how it should be. Elementary: on the facade of the house, if it is tiled, there should be no chips. If there is a chip, the tile must be urgently replaced or repaired. But no one really cares about this, although it’s a lot of money. If all this money really went towards maintenance and ongoing repairs, then the houses would be almost golden! By the way, we do not receive money for major repairs. They go to the regional capital repair fund.
About a thousand complaints and sweets for the housing inspection
The company has a general director, a deputy general director, a customer service department, an accounting department, a legal department, and an engineering service. The service has a person responsible for a certain area, where he controls all work and issues wages to workers. Since guest workers, as a rule, do not have bank cards, everything is handed to them. I haven’t seen it myself, but I think that the managers also keep something for themselves.
The police and the Federal Migration Service are strictly monitoring us, so we make sure to hire people who have a work permit, so that everything is legal. Sometimes plumbers get drunk. This is a widespread problem, and residents complain about it, and the answer is standard: an inspection was carried out, the facts stated in the application were not confirmed.
Residents generally write to the State Housing Inspectorate very often. But GZHI inspectors are divided by district. In our area there was a certain inspector with whom we had a good relationship: drink tea, feed candy. Therefore, we knew in advance why and where they would come to check. Then the violations were either quickly eliminated, or there was some legitimate reason to excuse it. For example, an announcement is posted that construction work is being carried out in a given entrance. Once the work is carried out, they cannot be held accountable for deficiencies. The management company, of course, monitors its employees, but not much - they simply turn a blind eye to some mistakes.
There are several categories of residents. There are crazy people who write to the inspectorate for every reason. There are quite literate, savvy residents - they try not to particularly conflict with these. Usually their claims are considered first because they are relevant. If this is not corrected, the management company may be fined. For several violations, the license may be revoked. We had one resident who came and just yelled at us. We gave him a chair - he jumped on it so much that the chair broke. At the same time, he behaves very appropriately in front of his neighbors. Other management companies try to lure such residents to their side when they compete for a particular house. But the majority are passive. They just pay and pay.
There are a lot of complaints: about 2 thousand per month. Then they are distributed among departments. If they don’t complain somewhere higher, they don’t really react to these messages. For example, residents send a bunch of complaints about incorrect charges. Not everyone knows that if water is not provided for more than 24 hours, then they can apply for recalculation. But for this you need to draw up an act - this is stipulated in the agreement with the management company. Accordingly, if a resident asks someone from our organization to come and draw up an act, then this is not in our interests and no one comes to him. But residents find a way out: they gather in a group of several apartments, draw up an act, sign it, and then send this claim to the management company and the housing inspection. They often write that employees do not respond to requests and act rudely, but we don’t even look at this.
There are also enough courts: there is a meeting regularly once a week. Usually tenants sue over all sorts of little things like recalculation, but in most cases they lose in court because they don’t have enough invoices. But there are also larger cases that are usually resolved before trial, sometimes involving security services.
About the squeezing of houses and relations with authorities
Despite all the problems, it is very difficult to change the management company. Residents cannot organize themselves: everyone works, and no one cares. One or two people from each house are consistently scandalous. They, of course, are trying to do something, but no one reacts.
At the same time, competition between management companies is very high.
In Moscow, almost everything is occupied by the State Budgetary Institution “Zhilischnik”, but they certainly don’t have the option of squeezing out houses. There is a small percentage of new buildings where you can still enter, but only with the approval of the prefecture. In fact, all the houses in our area are secretly divided. Most often, the local government has some kind of friendly management company that takes over some of the houses. The local government body cooperates more closely with the housing inspection - if desired, you can prevent the management company from working, and offer its house to another. To do this, it is necessary to hold a general meeting of apartment owners. But organizing this is very difficult.
It's like an election race. There is black PR, when a competing company starts throwing out leaflets with text like “your management company is terrible, why do you need it” - a lot of money is spent on this. Others come to residents and ask what doesn’t suit them, quickly fix everything, and then ask them to vote. They vote. Our management company was squeezing houses from others, and they tried to squeeze them from us.
In relations with authorities, quid pro quo is common. When management companies conflict with each other and the local government takes sides, then the management company whose side the local government is on is right. Officials, in turn, may ask on the eve of the elections to disrupt the campaigning for the conditional Vasya Pupkin, and the janitors disrupt it. Sometimes a rally requires a certain number of people from the company or for various holidays, for example on May 9th. Our practice is that for every holiday, gifts are distributed to departments of the local government. This is a good bottle and a box of chocolates - they are purchased en masse and donated (in fact, with the residents’ money, but written off for other expenses).
It is better not to argue with the authorities. Once every two to three weeks, the mayor holds a meeting with all housing and communal services workers, including management companies. There he distributes blows. If the scale of the problem is large and there are complaints from the Moscow region, then the developer’s representative will negotiate.
About millions of profits
Net profit for the year is about 40 million rubles. But everything is not shown in the final reporting: the money is simply written off for certain work. As a result, 10–15 million less are shown. Our legislation is imperfect in this sense: the management company shows total income and total expenses, but the distribution of income and profit are not visible.
To write off part of the money, various works are ordered. But they are carried out only partially - for example, it could be work on landscaping: anyway, residents will not understand how much land they purchased and what kind.
The management of the management company receives a lot, but from the outside everything looks modest. As far as I know, the salary of the general director is about 500 thousand rubles. Heads of departments receive about 300–350 thousand rubles.
The management company also makes money from agency agreements with builders. Since we service new buildings, there are always many distributors of construction organizations at the entrance to the office offering their services. But in fact, these are annoying Tajiks who come and say: “Let us do some cool renovations for you, now I’ll show you the pictures.” The smartest companies enter into an agency agreement with us on the following terms: if they have a client, the company transfers 15–20% of the contract amount to us. In return, they get access to the company's office and can competently suck up to the residents who are sitting in our waiting room.
Management companies are not very popular among the population. We rarely pay attention to the professional and well-coordinated work of utility workers - there is heat and light, the garbage is removed, and okay! But any shortcomings of management organizations instantly cause a flurry of popular anger, especially if management companies take their time in solving problems for months. Tariffs for housing and communal services are regularly increasing, and consumers expect that the quality of public services will also improve. Read our article for useful facts you need to know about management companies.
Fact 1. Management companies will start licensing
Bad management companies must disappear from the market. This is one of the main goals of the new licensing system, which awaits utility organizations from January 1, 2015. By May, all management companies will have to obtain licenses to carry out their activities. The document will be unlimited and will cost 50 thousand rubles, but obtaining it will not be so easy. To pass certification the management company must:
- Have the material and technical resources to manage the home
- Do not have administrative penalties from the State Housing Inspectorate
- Have a certified manager on staff who has passed the mandatory examination of the Ministry of Labor
The regional body of state housing supervision will issue licenses. The decision on the fate of each management organization will be made by a special commission, one third consisting of representatives of government agencies. In addition, during the certification process, a federal register of management company licenses will be created, in which consumers will be able to find all the necessary information about the management organization that claims to service their home. First of all, this is information about how many buildings the organization is responsible for, and whether it has fines or orders from supervisory authorities.
Ideally, the launch of a licensing mechanism should clear the housing and communal services market of unprofessional managers. According to experts, at least 10% of management companies will not be able to pass state certification.
Fact 2. Licensing of management companies can become a problem
Unlike Ministry of Labor officials, independent experts see not only advantages, but also disadvantages in the upcoming licensing. The most skeptical forecasts are related to the corruption component of this procedure - experts fear that professional management companies will disappear from the market, and organizations affiliated with government agencies will take their place. In other words, instead of improving the quality of housing and communal services, certification can kill independent competition in the public utilities sector. Additional costs in the form of possible bribes to regional commissions will automatically fall on the shoulders of consumers. Most likely, an unscrupulous management company will find a way to include them in general household expenses or write them off in some other way.
Another problem is related to the maintenance of buildings in emergency and pre-emergency condition. The authors of the licensing law propose to provide certain concessions for management companies that decide to work with dilapidated funds, but in reality this scheme has not yet been worked out. If management companies do not receive clear conditions and additional incentives by May, such houses may be left en masse without housing offices - commercial organizations will not want to risk their licenses and take on problematic properties.
The third issue that raises concerns among experts is the absence of any “transition period” when introducing licensing, as well as at the time of forced deprivation of a management company’s license. If the management of the housing office is disqualified and fined in court, it is not clear what should motivate the manager not to abandon the house to the mercy of fate, but to wait for the appearance of a new management company and carefully transfer the cases to it. The law does not provide for any temporary specialist who could take responsibility for maintaining the house at an intermediate stage.
Fact 3. Changing management company will become easier
The quality of housing and communal services throughout the country leaves much to be desired. Last year, citizens sent 170 thousand complaints against public utilities to various authorities. In the overwhelming majority of cases, after the purchase of real estate, claims are related specifically to the management of the house - management companies evaded their duties in various ways or worked carelessly.
Now, in order to change the management company, a general meeting will be required. To do this, an initiative group of residents must contact all neighbors in advance, organize a meeting at a convenient time in a convenient place and prepare a convincing list of violations of the Criminal Code - refusal to provide the necessary documents or failure to perform the services specified in the contract. If the majority of neighbors support the overthrow of objectionable utilities, the contract with the management company may be terminated. But in reality, as a rule, it is easier to wait until the expiration date of this document.
In the course of the housing and communal services reform and the introduction of licenses, it will theoretically become easier to get rid of unscrupulous management companies and force public utilities to work efficiently. According to the idea of the Ministry of Construction, the process of revoking a license will be launched if at least 2 administrative decisions of the State Housing Inspectorate are “hanging” on one house of the management company. From this moment on, the position of the management company will become increasingly precarious. However, it is important that all orders of housing inspectors be confirmed by court rulings; at this stage, unforeseen corruption factors may arise.
As soon as the assets of the management company accumulate more than 15% of “problem” houses with dissatisfied consumers, the housing supervision authorities have the right to file a lawsuit for the complete revocation of the license. And the guilty director of public utilities will face disqualification and a fine of 500 thousand rubles. After utility companies are deprived of their license, residents of the building will be able to hire a new management company. However, the Ministry of Construction proposes to reserve the right to veto the revocation of the certificate if they are ready to give the housing office another chance.
Fact 4. The management company can be fined
Management companies are very fond of behaving with property owners in a businesslike manner: dictating their terms and performing obligatory work under the guise of the highest favor. But citizens should keep in mind: the house manager is just an employee who, by the way, is subject to the requirements of the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights.” In reality, this means that it is possible and necessary to demand money from public utilities: not only recalculation for poorly rendered services, but also compensation for moral damage.
The damage caused will cost the management company 50% of the amount overpaid by the consumer. For example, if there was no water or heating in the house, and the utility company still issued a bill, they are obliged to return not only the unfairly received money, but also pay the tenant a fine of 50% of this amount. Moreover, the housing office will have to take this money from its own funds - according to the law, utility companies do not have the right to increase the rent after they were forced to pay a fine.
In such cases, official authorities often take the side of consumers who provide evidence of violation of their rights. It makes sense to sue the management company, for example, because of low temperature in the apartment or a roof leak that was not repaired in time, due to which there was a flood in the apartment. The consumer can expect to recover from utilities only the amount of damage and a fine for moral damage.
Fact 5. Instead of a management company, you can organize an HOA
According to some experts, the introduction of licensing of management companies could stimulate the development of HOAs as a more effective scheme for caring for an apartment building. Unlike management companies, no certification is provided for homeowners' associations - neighbors will be able to create such non-profit structures completely freely and proceed to direct property management.
At the first stage, organizing an HOA is more difficult than choosing a new management organization, but such a scheme provides much more guarantees for the future. At a general meeting, all neighbors decide to create a partnership and elect a chairman from among the most active residents. This person will take on all management functions and responsibilities, for which he will receive a set salary.
In addition to the chairman, the HOA must hire a competent accountant, open a bank account and select a program that will allow you to manage money remotely, renew all agreements with resource suppliers and contractors for garbage removal, cleaning, maintenance and landscaping. A “rich” HOA, formed by residents of hundreds of apartments, can afford to maintain its own staff of plumbers, cleaners or gardeners, while smaller offices are more profitable to hire contractors for these services. The main advantage that all residents of the building receive after organizing the HOA is operational control over costs and quality of work. A competent chairman who lives in the house is personally interested in repairing pipes on time, choosing professional and inexpensive contractors, controlling illegal redevelopment, landscaping lawns and removing waste. And the incompetent head of the HOA is easy to replace.
Today, many are ready to work in companies that provide housing for work.
And, although at first glance such “earnings” may look strange, it is quite applicable in modern conditions.
Why do they give apartments in Russia?
In the Soviet Union, with low salaries, people could hardly afford their own real estate, but the state took care of this: after waiting in line for many years, families could count on free real estate or improved living conditions.
Today the situation has changed radically, and people must take care of their own coal: buy, exchange, withdraw it.
But some organizations are still trying to help a valuable specialist solve the housing problem, albeit in other ways.
Note: It is possible to obtain housing for work in both public and private companies.
Working for an apartment or what is service housing
Military personnel can get a service apartment A service apartment is a real salvation for many government employees who, due to their duties, were forced to move to another locality.
So that they do not have to spend their entire salary on renting housing, the state provides them with temporary housing.
Official housing is an apartment in which an employee and his family will live while working for a state-owned enterprise.
Note: Separate rooms in a dormitory or cohabitation of several families in one apartment are not service housing - they cannot be provided for the entire duration of work.
Depending on the position and composition of the family, apartments may vary in size and location. The capabilities of the company itself also play an important role: usually in government agencies the number of available apartments is limited.
List of professions
Doctors can also apply for housing According to the law, the following specialists are entitled to public service housing:
- deputies and officials;
- military personnel transferred for service to another city or closed settlement;
- employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as customs officers, judges, tax officials;
- doctors;
- teachers and kindergarten teachers;
- employees of emergency rescue services: firefighters, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
- foresters and rangers;
- fishermen in fishing farms;
- housing and communal services employees: most often this applies to janitors, but electricians and mechanics can also receive housing.
The state is obliged to provide all these specialists with living space if they decide to go live and work in another city and cannot find an apartment themselves.
It is important to know: the above specialists have the right to use housing only while they are in the public service.
Accommodation is often provided by:
- employees working in other cities on a rotational basis, for example, workers employed in oil fields;
- builders;
- large companies interested in a specific specialist or top manager can also rent an apartment for him, paying from their own “pocket.”
Submission procedure
Service housing helps attract people to less promising jobs, for example, janitors To obtain official housing, you must apply to the local Ministry of Housing and Communal Services.
It must indicate that the applicant is an employee of a state enterprise and does not have his own housing.
The following documents must be collected along with the application:
- Employee's passport.
- Documents relating to the applicant's current home. For example, a lease agreement or documents that indicate that the owner is a relative of the applicant, and not himself.
- Certificate from the state register about the presence or absence of housing.
- Certificate confirming that the family does not have their own home or is in unsatisfactory condition.
- A letter from the employee’s supervisor about the latter’s need to obtain official housing.
Take into account: if housing is offered by a non-state company, the list of documents and the issuance procedure may differ significantly.
In addition to the minister, the decision to issue office space can be made by the administration of the enterprise. In this case, it is better to contact them directly and find out what documents will need to be prepared.
The request is reviewed within a month. After this, the issue of the area of housing and its location is decided, then a rental agreement is concluded.
Reasons for eviction
After the end of the employment contract, the family must move out of the service apartment within a month Reasons for eviction of tenants may be the following:
- Termination of an employment contract: this may be due to the expiration of the contract, or voluntary resignation.
- Intentional damage to property or the apartment itself.
- Failure to pay utility bills within six months.
- The inability of other residents to live with employees on the same floor or in the same house: this could be immoral behavior, alcoholism, drug addiction and much more.
It is worth noting: Some reasons for eviction are specified in the contract or determined by law.
If a decision is made to evict, the family must move out fairly quickly—within a month.
When you can't evict
Together with the serviceman, his family also moves into the service apartment In some cases, a family cannot be evicted “to nowhere” - they must be provided with equivalent housing.
These include:
- employees whose work experience is more than 10 years;
- the family of a deceased employee who was entitled to official housing;
- single employees with minor children;
- military personnel;
- WWII participants and persons who became disabled due to hostilities;
- disabled workers.
Another condition is that at the time of March 1, 2005, you were on a waiting list for improved housing conditions or living in terrible conditions that allow you to get on the waiting list at any time.
Note: the employer is obliged to provide living space in the same locality in return.
Is it possible to privatize
Privatization of a service apartment occurs extremely rarely The Housing Code prohibits employees from privatizing service apartments - this was done in order to combat the abuse of privatization opportunities.
But the second part of the same law allows the owners of residential premises to decide on the issue of privatization independently: that is, the enterprise that owns the property can decide independently whether privatization can be carried out.
However, organizations almost never agree to privatization, which, however, is not surprising. They may agree to transfer the apartment to an employee with extensive experience or an experienced and valuable specialist.
Good to know: for an organization to refuse privatization it is not even necessary to give a reason.
To privatize, the apartment will need to be transferred from official to municipal status, transferred to an employee and then privatized.
Work for an apartment in Moscow and St. Petersburg
Finding a job where you can get an apartment is not easy, especially in the capital and region.
This is due to the large number of commercial, rather than state-owned enterprises, to which it is not profitable to give away real estate just like that.
It often happens that separate living spaces are rented for valuable out-of-town specialists in need, but in this case they definitely cannot be privatized.
If the desire to get an apartment is still great, you should choose one of the professions indicated at the beginning of the article: they will help you temporarily “get hooked” on housing, and with a good attitude from your superiors, even stay there.
Getting a company apartment is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, but with privatization things are worse. Most often, property owners refuse this to employees, believing that they will abuse their trust. However, there is always hope for a favorable outcome.
Watch the video in which an experienced lawyer explains the features of the privatization of official housing:
Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.
If you want to know how to solve exactly your problem - contact the online consultant form on the right or call:
Home is an important part of any person’s life, and you always want it to be comfortable and your presence in it to bring only joy. An apartment building is a complex organism consisting of heterogeneous elements: each resident has his own wishes. The management company helps to find a compromise and ensure comfort for everyone. We talked about how this happens with the director of LLC Management Company “Vladstroykontakt” and LLC Management Company “LION” Anton Kirillov.
Natalya Denisova:
- Anton, hello. Please tell us about how you came to the housing and communal services sector?
Anton Kirillov:
– I started working in housing and communal services back in 2010, when in the city of Vladimir I headed the youth organization “Everyone at Home.” We were engaged in uniting young people in the housing and communal services sector so that they could realize themselves in it: they could become specialists, chairmen of HOAs, house managers, and open their own business in the housing and communal services sector. Now many of my team of young people work in the housing and communal services sector, in various structures. Both government and administration, or opened some kind of business. Then, in 2013, I initiated the creation of the public organization Housing and Communal Services Control. Now it is the largest and most serious public organization in the region that is engaged in housing education. We worked to ensure that residents and management companies established a dialogue so that residents’ problems were promptly resolved. We controlled management companies, forced them to work, fought against negligent companies that did not care about residents or violated the law. Then Albert Rusanen, at that time a well-known deputy of the city of Vladimir, joined our team in 2014. With his arrival, the organization reached a more serious level. Participation in these social movements in the housing and communal services sector pushed me to the conclusion that residents of buildings have a request for competent and professional management of apartment buildings, open information. I gained a lot of experience working in public organizations in the housing and communal services sector by working with people. I realized that the management company that will work with residents, that will be as open as possible, that will not “send” anyone away, will be successful.
Natalya Denisova:
– How realistic is it to achieve results when not all residents of the building are satisfied with the work of the management company?
Anton Kirillov:
– In the field of managing apartment buildings, not everything is so simple. It’s quite difficult for management companies. All the money is from resource supply organizations. Of the ten thousand payments for a three-room apartment, only one and a half thousand rubles are for maintenance, maintenance and repairs. Everything else is gas, water, electricity, heat. And indeed, many management companies suffer because residents believe that the management company is to blame for everything, even if this is not the case. For example, it’s warm in the house. We started the heating, prepared and pressurized the entire system, and due to an accident on the heating networks in the house there was a refrigeration! Residents cut off our phone and say that we pay you, but you do nothing... And it is very difficult to explain to them that the management company is not to blame for this. There really is no such thing as a perfect home. In every house there is a resident who is dissatisfied with something. But even with such a resident it is necessary to work, interact or conduct a dialogue with him. Explain why the management company cannot do certain works. For example, in a house that was recently transferred to a management company, there are several entrances. And one resident wrote to the State Housing Inspectorate that it was necessary to repair all the entrances. This is quite an expensive undertaking. In total it will be about 400 thousand. Where will the management company get this money if it collects 80 thousand a month from this house? Of these, you need to pay for garbage removal, a cleaner, a janitor, a plumber, and an electrician. But if the management company interacts with the resident and says: “We are not against repairs, but let’s do the repairs gradually, a little bit over the course of a year”... And that management company that simply says: “We don’t have the funds and fuck off” , will remain forever an enemy for this resident.
Natalya Denisova:
– Please tell us about the management companies Vladstroykontakt and Lyon.
Anton Kirillov:
– In the summer I became the owner of the management company “Vladstroykontakt”, and now I put in order the houses that are serviced by this company. Before this, there were quite a lot of questions, but, in principle, the management company worked. My success lies in the fact that I know the residents personally, that I plan the organization of work for the whole year, and that I work competently with contractors. All this led to me being invited to become the director of another small management company, Lyon. We have now united and are working even better. Currently there are 13 houses under management, 5 of which are undergoing maintenance and upkeep. There are 2 more houses and 3 HOAs on the way.
Natalya Denisova:
– What is the structure of your company, what exactly does your work with people consist of?
Anton Kirillov:
– We have a staff: director, chief engineer, secretary, lawyer. We have a separate person for working with debtors. We have a person who works with the population. An important link in our structure is the emergency dispatch service. This is a round-the-clock job of several electricians, mechanics and plumbers. At the same time, our emergency dispatch service does not just arrive in an emergency and shut off the riser, it does everything to immediately start either heat or water supply - what is needed in the apartment or in the house. We have a so-called “general construction” team - roofer, carpenter, welder, tiler, handyman. We have a team of painters who do repairs, and we have people responsible (masters) for cleaning (cleaning entrances and local areas). If necessary, I am ready to introduce you personally to all the employees. This means that we are 100% ready to work with houses and service them so that people are happy.
In terms of working with people, it is necessary to hear what residents want, and most importantly, to coordinate any actions with them. It often happens that the management company, at the request of one resident or in the course of performing planned work, does something using technology that is not agreed upon with the residents. For example, residents asked to put up a fence, but they didn’t put up the one they wanted. Or they didn’t make the railings and horizontal slats. Very often a conflict arises between the management company and residents - “Guys, you did something in order to do something.” Therefore, we agree in advance with residents on the technology for performing the work.
Natalya Denisova:
– You have a fairly young, energetic team. What, in your opinion, is the advantage of this format?
Anton Kirillov:
– Indeed, 80 percent of our organization are young people under 35 years old. I believe that the future in the housing and communal services sector belongs to young people. Because modern technologies now dominate, now all residents can watch something on the Internet, write to each other, have instant messengers, pages on social networks. It is very important that my staff can quickly interact with residents. Again, I believe that the time has already passed when it was like during the Soviet period. And in the Soviet period, housing and communal services - they were state organizations, they did not have the task of saving money, for example. Therefore, they still have a mentality based on old Soviet technologies. And this is wrong, and therefore many management companies are now suffering because of this. They do not find a common language with the residents. Our employees are energetic, prompt, ready to arrive at any time. Feedback is very important to us so that any problems reach the director directly. That is why we have groups on social networks for our companies “Vladstroykontakt” and “Lyon”. Residents of some houses organize themselves, we help them, and create a group on Viber, with 100-150 people each. They don’t like something, for example, the cleaning lady didn’t clean well, they take a photo, send it, and I immediately see it and solve the problem. If suddenly this happens again, it immediately rings a bell for me. This is immediate feedback. The same thing happens in the VKontakte group. We have an open wall, and we constantly view and comment on everything. We discuss everything. Everything we do, we post in our group. After all, many residents do not know how much the management company does; it is sometimes unnoticeable. Providing information that the management company is working is also very important. This way we win over the owners.
Natalia Denisova
– If the residents of some houses are dissatisfied with the work of their management company, how can they begin to cooperate with you?
Anton Kirillov:
– We, as a young, energetic management company, to some extent create competition for other management companies. But we don't want to create conflicts in homes. We are ready to work with a home that wants to move to us. We are ready to give the residents a proposal on how we can manage their home and draw up a joint work plan. But in order to move to us, residents must do it themselves. This must be a decision of the general meeting. That is, we do not plan to conflict with other management companies. This is not a goal for us. But if the critical point has come - the residents want another management company - we, for our part, will help, tell you about ourselves. We can meet, tell you what we do, show you. Maybe we can do some consultations. But, naturally, the residents will have to make the decision. In this case, I think that other management companies will not be offended by us, if suddenly some of their houses are transferred to us, perhaps they are not working on something. Healthy competition is the future. The house is a small democracy, and elections essentially take place there: they choose a management company, create a homeowners association, and a TSN. It is very important that residents make these decisions themselves. Now we are approached by a large number of homeowners' associations, housing cooperatives, and TSNs who are either tired of working on their homes, or are finding it difficult given changes in legislation, or are having trouble with something. We offer these houses several options for interaction. They can hire us as a contractor for maintenance, or they can, like TSN, HOA, or housing cooperative, enter into a full management agreement with us. With such an agreement, we bear all responsibility. The house is entered into the register by the housing inspectorate. All supervisory authorities directly supervise us. What is the convenience of this form? The contract can be terminated by the Management Board at any time by giving us 30 days notice.
Natalya Denisova:
– Residents of the houses are not only young people, but also pensioners who do not know how to use social networks, do not have access to the Internet, and so on. How should they interact with you? Have you found a way for everyone to provide feedback?
Anton Kirillov:
– Feedback from older people and pensioners and those who are not so strong in computer technology is quarterly general meetings. That is, as a rule, the management committee meets with residents once a year. This is by law. We are ready to meet with residents once a quarter. It's easy for us. At this meeting we are ready to discuss any issues. Another option is that many pensioners and older people have phones on which you can install instant messengers, with which you can communicate via the Internet. We are ready to help them in this regard: set up instant messengers and social networks and advise them on how to write an appeal to us.
What in terms of tariffs would we like to offer to HOAs, housing cooperatives, and an initiative group of residents who want to move to our management company? We are ready to work out a tariff that is convenient for residents at real costs. We don't need extra money. Our tariff for emergency dispatch services is 0.95 rubles. per square meter (or in fact). For maintenance and maintenance – 7 rubles/sq.m. For comprehensive management services for an apartment building from 13 rubles/sq.m. We do not strive for excess profits. We want to work for a salary. And, again, we are ready to discuss tariff calculations based on real costs.
Ordinary employees of former housing offices - electricians, plumbers, janitors, roofers, etc., daily provide residents with the necessary living conditions. However, they do not receive due respect or appropriate salary for this. The new law on the housing and communal services sector radically changes the service itself, and, hopefully, the quality of its services.
New conditions
In accordance with the law on changes in the housing and communal services sector, residents themselves will now decide which utility service will serve their homes.
The general meeting elects a manager for several apartment buildings, who will coordinate the work of wards or hired employees.
The manager’s salary is determined at a meeting of residents and is from 10 to 25 thousand rubles. ($160 – 401) per month. Residents of this territory have the right to re-elect a manager if he fails to fulfill his responsibilities or misuses funds paid by residents.
Finally, Russians have hope that every yard will now have children's and sports grounds, neat sidewalks and fences, landscaped courtyards and parking lots.
Salary increase
Today the average salary of housing and communal services workers is 40,000 rub.. ($642).
At the same time, there is a large labor shortage:
- wipers;
- plumbers;
- welders;
- electricians;
- accounting specialists, etc.
Due to the increase Minimum wage in May 2018, salaries of housing and communal services employees will increase by the expected inflation rate - 4% .
Employee income by specialization
Average salaries of utility workers in Russia:
- Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – 71,000 ($1,132);
- Chuvash Republic – 66,705 ($1,066);
- Republic of Tyva – 46,721 ($747);
- Magadan region – 29704 ($475);
- Leningrad region. – 26333 ($421).
Income depends on the size of the city in which the housing and communal services operate, the specialization of the employee and the position he occupies. Of course, management earns the most.
The average salary includes the income of specialists at all levels, but in fact, the majority of housing and communal services workers receive meager salaries.
Director of the management company
In large cities, private companies took over the responsibility for maintaining houses.
They remove garbage and sewage, make repairs in entrances, patch roofs, etc.
They created worthy competition for the state housing and communal services. The director of the management company earns quite well, but also copes with his duties perfectly.
In the regions of Russia he earns:
- Nizhny Novgorod region. – 80,000 rub. ($1279);
- Moscow - 70,000 ($1,118);
- Leningradskaya – 57,500 ($919);
- Samara – 50,000 ($799);
- Ryazanskaya – 45,000 ($719);
- Republic of Tatarstan – 40,000 ($639).
In Moscow, directors earn significantly more.
Their salary depends on the company they work for:
- « Sevteploenergo» — 226,600 rub. ($3622);
- OOO " Improvement"- 200,000 ($3,197);
- State Unitary Enterprise " Vodokanal"- 148,000 ($2,366);
- OOO " Management Company» — 110200 ($1761);
- UK Gagarinsky district – 2 – 93600 ($1496);
- UK " Center» — 82600 ($1320).
The maximum salary of a management company director reaches 5 million rubles. per month ($79,924). The salary of a housing and communal services manager in the Moscow region does not exceed 75,000 ($1,199). An HOA manager earns 61,833 ($988).
Accountant
An accountant in the Moscow region receives the maximum salary. – 63667 RUR. ($1017). In the capital his salary is 52000 ($831).
Junior accounting employees are paid:
- Housing and communal services - 37,333 rubles. ($596);
- Housing cooperative – 36687 ($586);
- subsidy specialist – 34,000 ($543).
Plumber
Average earnings for a plumber in the country:
- mechanic – 70,000 ($1,119);
- master – 63334 ($1012);
- foreman – 60,000 ($9,590;
- duty officer – 26683 ($427);
- 5th category – 19667 ($314);
- 4 digits – 17721 ($283).
The plumber on duty must always be on alert.
In the event of a water or sewerage break, he can be called to the address at any time of the day or night.
Street cleaner
Mostly pensioners and migrant workers work as janitors in Moscow. Remuneration does not correspond to the effort expended. For one plot, an employee receives only 15000 rub.. ($240). Therefore, workers service 3–4 sections and receive from 50,000 ($799). For 1 hour of work, earnings are approximately 60 rubles.
In Novosibirsk, janitors earn money from 9 to 11 thousand. ($144 – 176), this is the lowest value in the country.
Revenue from other specialists
People of different professions work in public utilities.
They receive salaries in the amount of:
- caretaker - 44333 ($709);
- electrician – 43335 ($693);
- welder and plumber – 41,333 ($661);
- intercom technician – 35,000 ($559);
- deputy directors – 32,500 ($519);
- vacuum cleaner – 31667 ($506);
- chimney sweep – 29833 ($477);
- gardener and landscaper – 29,107 ($465);
- mechanic – 28,000 ($448);
- ironer – 26,000 ($416);
- ODS dispatcher – 24833 ($397);
- watchman-dispatcher – 18,500 ($296);
- farm manager – 15,000 ($239).
