Our time is a century of continuous globalization. And therefore, it is not surprising that in many countries of the world there is a process of uniting people into various organizations and communities. Today, many of us still do not know what a condominium is, for our country this concept is still associated with something far and little studied. However, condominiums are already widespread in many states.
general description
So what is a condominium? Under this concept is not a single structure or building, but the form of ownership of a particular residential complex. In parallel, each apartment belongs exclusively to its owner, and such areas as stairwells, halls, technical floors, courtyards are jointly owned by all residents. Moreover, the concept can refer not only to one residential building, but to a whole complex of various buildings.
History of occurrence
Initially, what the condominium learned, residents of the UK. A similar system of ownership and management of real estate exists in Australia, but there it is called the Strata Title. Condominiums are very actively used in Canada and the USA. If we talk about Russia, then here the partnership of homeowners (HOA) can be considered an absolutely identical analogue to the term we are considering. Condominiums are also widespread in the United Arab Emirates, India, South Africa, Singapore, and Thailand.
Features
This form of ownership is characterized by the fact that it lacks the concept of rent. In addition, the ability to own property for a limited period of time is excluded. In all condominiums, their property is real estate.
Absolutely all real estate, which is part of the condominium, is owned by the owners of the apartments. As for resolving issues regarding the content of, for example, the local area or other common property, the owners of apartments decide such nuances at general meetings, which are held on a regular basis at the agreed time. These meetings may also address issues of how the management of an apartment building or a complex of houses will take place.
Creation of a condominium in the Russian Federation
This tenant association is created as follows:
- Preliminary stage. The so-called active group (owners of the house or apartments) collects various documents, prepares the draft charter of the association, communicates with the rest of the owners of the living space, selects the governing body.
- Collection. The fact that the meeting will be held, all homeowners are notified in advance. Moreover, at least two weeks before the appointed date. At this meeting, a condominium charter is drawn up and a vote is being taken to select a board.
- Registration. Registration of a newly formed association in state bodies is carried out without any payment and takes place within a month. In the same period, when all the required documentation is completed and received, the chairman initiates the opening of a current account, to which subsequently all residents will make payments.
Advantages of the condominium
The advantages of such a combination are as follows:
- A high degree of responsibility of each owner for the proper maintenance of their housing. And all because the condominium provides for several owners of the house, which together contain a total area. In this regard, each owner of the apartment begins to take both his personal and joint property seriously.
- Those funds that the condominium transfers as payment for utilities are not taxed, since this association is not a profitable organization.
- In cases where poor citizens live in the condominium, they have the legal right to apply for the purpose of obtaining a subsidy from the state for the subsequent payment of utility bills.
- Owners of apartments have the right to independently resolve all issues that affect the facilities of the condominium. Also, people manage the funds that must be used to solve economic needs.
- Residents of the condominium themselves control the money spent on, for example, major repairs of the building or repair of the roof.
- Homeowners have the right to independently dispose of their apartments and make various transactions with them. In addition, at a general meeting, it is entirely possible to resolve the issue of using the common territory of the condominium, due to which income is allowed in favor of the association.
- The solution of various problems in the court proceeds much more efficiently within the entire condominium than in the person of one person.
- Owners of apartments with substantial debt for utilities, by decision of the general meeting, can make a labor contribution in favor of the condominium so as not to repay the debt.
An undoubted advantage of such a union can be considered an investment in his property. Most residents of the countries of the Western world use the opportunity to save their accumulated funds by investing them in a condominium because it is convenient and, most importantly, reliable. These investments are fully protected from inflation or other risks. Particular attention is drawn to those objects whose price grows over time. A fully justified and proven fact is that the condition of the living space (apartment) itself has very little effect on the formation of the final cost. In this case, the main role is played by the location and cost of servicing the condominium, the total area of the apartment, the age of the residential complex or house.
Negative points
The main disadvantage of the condominium can be considered its registration with state bodies. This is an extremely difficult task, the solution of which requires a lot of time and effort. In cases where such joint ownership of property is registered for the first time, the technical passport of this association is issued at the expense of budgetary funds.
The second negative quality of the condominium is the maintenance of housing. Due to the fact that the entire burden of repair and maintenance of communication systems falls on the shoulders of apartment owners, and payment for all these operations is also carried out from their pocket. The adjoining territory of the association is subject to land tax.
Reserve fund
When understanding what a condominium is, it is worth pointing out that there is a special reserve fund in this association created for unplanned expenses that cover the consequences of various force majeure circumstances (for example, a fire or a sewer breakthrough). This practice takes place in many developed countries. Due to this, in the condominium the costs of repair work are covered from the total savings, and the required work is carried out only by verified contractors. Such competent management of an apartment building has led to the popularity of condominiums in Europe and America.
Undeniable advantage
Housing in a condominium is much cheaper than in a separate private house. The price difference between these two real estate objects can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, the tax on a private house is more than on an apartment in a condominium.
Russian reality
In the Russian Federation, the condominium law was approved on June 15, 1996. This document claimed that the condominium is a combination of both residential and non-residential premises, a land plot, communications of a residential multi-apartment building or several single-family houses. However, from March 1, 2005, the concept of a condominium in Russian law ceased to exist. The Modern Housing Code provides an analogue of the described association - a partnership of homeowners, which is worth considering in more detail.
Partnership Formation
The partnership is created on the basis of the decision of the meeting of apartment owners, which is carried out on the basis of articles 45-18 of the LC of Russia. The partnership is considered to be created when the majority of votes of all apartment owners vote for it. It is important to note that not all homeowners in an apartment building become members of an HOA automatically. To do this, you must write an appropriate application for joining the association. In addition, at any time a member of the partnership has the right to leave the nonprofit organization, and a person who is not a member of the HOA can also join the organization at the right time. The chairman of the HOA is also selected.
Features of voting
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not prescribe how to count the votes at the HOA meeting.
The calculation options are as follows:
- The number of votes is directly dependent on the total area of the premises. Simply put, the larger the area a person owns, the more votes he has at a general meeting.
- One member of the HOA has one vote. Even if the owner owns several premises, then he still will not have any advantages. If there are two owners of the apartment, then each of them will have the right to vote.
- One room is equal to one vote. In this case, the number of owners and the difference in space are not taken into account.
The functions of the head of the partnership
The chairman of the HOA, on the basis of the current legislation, is endowed with certain rights and obligations. Since the owners of apartments themselves choose the head of the HOA, they can be removed from office if necessary. His term of office is limited in time on the basis of the approved charter of the partnership. The main functions of the chairman include:
- Ensuring the implementation of those decisions that were adopted by the HOA board.
- Issuance of instructions and orders to HOA officials.
- Performing actions on behalf of the partnership without a power of attorney.
- Signing of payment documents and transactions, which, according to the charter or law, are not within the competence of the general meeting (board).
- To develop and submit for approval by the HOA meeting internal rules for personnel who are directly involved in house maintenance. Moreover, the size of his salary, as well as the salary of the chairman himself, is approved during the general meeting or board meeting.
Lack of HOA
As practice has shown, many members of the partnership are extremely reluctant to pay bills. At the same time, there are not so many ways to influence a malicious deadbeat. Even if you vote and exclude the debtor from the HOA, he will still remain a resident of the house. To evict a person on the basis of a court decision is also a big problem of a legal nature, and everything else will be paid directly by the HOA for legal costs.
Foreign affairs
If we consider the condominiums of Canada, then it should be noted that the price of housing in these associations is becoming higher and higher every year. This situation is very beneficial for investors who purchase housing for its subsequent lease.
As for France, the condominiums are mostly concentrated in large cities of the country. In particular, according to experts, in the Parisian district of Saint-Germain, a two-room apartment located in a condominium will cost about one and a half million euros.
In the United States of America, condominiums were developed not only in megacities, but also in small cities. The most interesting thing is that the condominium principle here extends in some states even to private, detached houses.