How to create an HOA in your home

What is HOA and why is it needed

The Homeowners Association (HOA) is a non-profit organization that created for an indefinite period to manage an apartment building, has a bank account and a seal.

HOA answers for its maintenance, operation, repair, as well as for the provision of public services to its residents. These issues are dealt with by the board and the chairman of the association.

The most important issues are solved with the participation of all residents. For example, at general meetings they discuss the amount of mandatory payments, obtaining a loan, an annual plan for repairing property, and the like. The decision is considered adopted if voted at least two thirds of the members of the partnership.

After registering an HOA, new opportunities open up for owners: for example, you can rent basements and invest the money received in the installation of CCTV cameras, energy-efficient technologies and not only. Or take a loan for a major overhaul, so as not to wait until the required amount is accumulated in the account of the HOA.

Only one partnership can be organized in a house. At the same time, several houses can enter the partnership.

How does an HOA differ from the Criminal Code and what to choose

Another, more popular form of managing an apartment building is the involvement of a management company (MC). So, in the Moscow region now for 88% of housing meet private or municipal organizations, for 12% - HOA.

The UK is especially relevant for new houses, where residents have not yet had time to get to know each other. Over time, when the community begins to form, the owners, if they wish, change the Criminal Code to an HOA. However, the partnership may hire management company as a contractor.

Unlike the HOA, the UK is a commercial organization.

Its activities are licensed, and the scope of work is determined treaty for up to five years. The management company either independently serves the house, or attracts other companies. And she also provides apartment owners (or HOAs, if the contract is concluded with a partnership) reports on the work done.

Both forms of governance have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of the HOA is that all participants are personally interested in the effective management of the house and can choose contractors without thinking about profit.

It is also easy to control the spending of the partnership's funds: it has one current account for the house. As a result, any owner, if desired, can check financial transactions. The management company, on the other hand, can have an account for several houses at once, which are under its management.

At the same time, the HOA requires a high level of self-organization from residents. The partnership takes responsibility for all engineering systems and its representatives independently communicate with suppliers, settle disputes with them, and also resolve conflicts between owners. There are not always people in the house who can competently deal with these issues.

At the same time, the UK is an organization that, as a rule, is professionally engaged in management. Its representatives usually already have experience and contacts of the right suppliers. She takes care of all communications with them. If the management company is not qualified enough, it can be change.

In this table, we have collected the main pros and cons of HOA and UK:

In general, managing an HOA today is easier than a few years ago. During this time, services have appeared on the market that can outsource many functions, such as accounting, organizing a contact center, and emergency service.

So the chairman of the HOA will not have to independently respond to requests from residents if their pipe has burst. Even meetings of owners with voting can be held remotely.

The best option may be a scheme in which the HOA hires a management company as a contractor. This will combine the advantages of the two forms of home control. At the same time, the management company becomes a "service" and will not be "above" the owners, but in an equivalent horizontal partnership with the HOA.

How to create an HOA

If you are the initiator, it is important to communicate with the residents, to understand whether they want changes, to talk about the features of the work of the HOA. Usually, houses already have general chats in WhatsApp or Telegram - in them you can assess the mood of your neighbors, find those who will support your idea.

Calculate the cost of running a home

If you see a positive response, you can proceed to the calculation of expenses. It is necessary to understand what engineering systems are in the house, what masters are needed to maintain them, how much their services cost, what is needed repair now.

You will need elevator, emergency and dispatch services, accounting, janitors, plumbers, electricians, engineers. These same specialists will check the house before the MC hands it over to your HOA.

As mentioned above, today most services can be outsourced.

It is easier and cheaper, because you do not need to spend money on keeping people in the state and organize the process yourself. In addition, it is easier to connect temporary workers this way - for example, if there is a lot of snow in winter and more janitors are needed. There are services on the market that can take care of all these issues, for example, Gorserv.

In addition, the HOA can connect the resident’s mobile application and simplify communication with the owners. In it, you can accept applications, conduct public opinion polls, place ads, and receive data from counters. It, among other things, will allow abandoning paper copies of receipts - apartment owners will be able to pay bills online. On average, such a program costs 3–10 rubles per apartment per month.

Finally, you can include in your calculations the cost of insurance contract liability of homeowners for damage caused to the property of third parties. This means that if one of the residents floods someone else's apartment or someone's electrical wiring catches fire, the repair costs will be covered by insurance.

Create an initiative group

It will help to attract as many owners as possible to the creation of an HOA. The requirements for the number of people in it and the duties of its members are not spelled out in the law.

Usually the group helps in organizing the meeting, informs the owners about its holding, and selects candidates for responsible persons. Its members can also walk around the apartments and talk about the benefits of the HOA to residents. You can find such assistants in the already mentioned chats at home.

Prepare a draft HOA charter

The charter of the partnership is the main constituent document that regulates the activities of the organization. It is taken immediately after the decision to create an HOA at a general meeting of owners. It is better to prepare a draft version in advance. You can find a sample of such a document on the Internet.

The articles of association must include the following: information:

• Location of the HOA. Enough specify settlement (according to Article 54 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
• The subject and purpose of its activities.
• The procedure for the emergence and termination of membership in the HOA.
• The composition and competence of the management bodies of the partnership, the audit commission, the procedure for making decisions by them.
• Other information that does not contradict the law. For example, a way to notify residents about general meetings and the results of the work of the HOA. You can also specify that the chairman is elected by the owners at the general meeting or only members of the board from their composition.

An important point: in the charter it is necessary to use not only the name of the HOA, but also TSN - a partnership of property owners. This term is not from the housing code, but from Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and it is on him that the tax inspectorate is guided.

TSN is a relatively young organizational and legal form of real estate management, which covers not only apartment buildings, but also, in particular, gardening associations.

Here is a variant of the wording for the charter: “The partnership is a non-profit corporate an organization established in the form of a partnership of property owners, in the form of a partnership homeowners."

Organize a meeting of owners

The final decision on the creation of HOA residents accept at the general meeting. The initiator must notify the owners about it 10 days before the event. Everyone needs to send ordered letter or give the notice personally under the signature. In addition, it is worth posting announcements in the house and writing about the meeting several times in the general WhatsApp or Telegram chat.

This is not spelled out in the law, but will help to avoid claims from residents in the future.

At the first general meeting, a secretary is first chosen who will protocolat the end of the event. Then they discuss why the partnership is needed, how the management of the house will be arranged and how the tariffs will change. At the same meeting, the charter of the HOA is usually adopted. You will also need a counting commission, which will count the votes. Strict requirements for it No.

To hold a meeting Can in full-time, part-time and part-time form. In any case, the residents of the house will have to vote in writing by filling out ballots. In them, the owners indicate their full name, passport data, address, room number, its area, share in the right of ownership, decisions on each issue (“for”, “against”, “abstained”), put the date, signature and transcript.

• In the face-to-face form, the owners gather in one place to discuss topical issues and vote.
• In case of absentee form, residents send completed ballots or refer them to a specific date at the address indicated in the notification.
• Part-time form provides the possibility of face-to-face discussion of the agenda and decision-making on key issues and absentee voting.

You can also hold a meeting online - with the help of special services. For example, GIS housing and communal services. To invite all residents of the house to it, you will need a register of owners. You can request it from the UK. If the company refuses to give out information, you can go to court - however, it is easier to order a registry from services like Register.net.

It is important that the protocol following the meeting was signed by all residents who spoke in favor of the creation of an HOA, - not less 50% of the total number of votes of the owners of the premises + 1 vote.

Choose a board and chairman

Usually, immediately after the decision to create an HOA, at the same general meeting, the owners elect the board and chairman by majority. Board members can also decide for themselves who will take leading position, if it is specified in the charter.

The chairman will make management decisions and may become part of the counting commission together with the secretary, the board will help him in the implementation of the main tasks. The term of office of the chairman depends on the decision of the owners.

If the members of the HOA are dissatisfied with the responsible persons, they can change them at the new general meeting.

It is better to choose an odd number of people on the board - 5 or 7 people. If the house is small, three is enough. In this case, there will be no situation when the votes of the board members are divided equally - for example, when choosing a chairman.

By decision of the residents, board members can be paid remuneration for their work, but in practice this is more relevant for the chairman - he spends the most time on management. Amount of remuneration determine owners at a general meeting of members of the HOA. At the same time, both the board and the chairman can work for free - there are no legislative restrictions here.

HOA is also needed choose audit committee from among its members. These people at least once a year check the financial activities of the partnership and provide residents with an opinion on the results of the check. If there are questions about the documentation, this topic is raised at the general meeting.

Register the HOA with the tax office

HOA registered as a legal entity at the location of the house. You can also submit documents through the "Gosuslugi". You will need to attach a P11001 application, passport, a copy of the charter, minutes of the meeting.

If you submit documents in person, you will have to pay a fee of 4,000 rubles. When submitted electronically, not paid.

When registering a partnership in the application, it is important to use the name TSN - as mentioned above, it is taken from the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If you try to register a HOA, the tax authority will most likely refuse you, because such an organizational and legal form is not provided for by current legislation.

Unfortunately, now the norms of civil law are contrary to housing law - the Housing Code of the Russian Federation indicates a type of organization (HOA), the form of which is not provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Sign contracts with owners

To become members of the HOA, the owners who voted for the creation of the partnership write statement about the entry in any form.

Most likely, not all residents will want to become part of the partnership. However, with the rest, it will also be necessary to conclude separate agreements, since in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation saidthat they pay a fee for the upkeep of the dwelling and public utilities in accordance with these documents.

There is no strict form for such an agreement, the main thing is that the obligations of the HOA to manage the house and the owner for timely payment are spelled out in the document. The annex to the contract usually indicates the amount of the payment for the maintenance of the house. You can add conditions for its indexing. The procedure for concluding an agreement regulated Civil Code.

The owner will have 30 days to sign the document or name the points that did not suit him. A resident can refuse the contract, but he still has to pay for services - focusing on the amounts from the annex to the contract and the tariffs for resources. The latter are established by the regional energy commission.