Managers from PIK-Comfort found patrons in the State Duma
The chaos in the market of management companies threatens to seriously worsen. The reason for this is the entry into force of new amendments to the Housing Code, prohibiting residents from changing new managers during the year. The law, adopted under the slogan of combating raiders, de facto turned out to be only beneficial for home invaders.
Let us recall that one of the initiators of editing the Housing Code was the head of the Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services Sergei Pakhomov.
The introduction of a one-year ban on changing the management company (MC), according to the parliamentarian, should put an end to unfair competition in the market.
“When a house in which the investment funds of one management organization have been invested … becomes an “enviable place” for other unscrupulous companies, which often organize a “raider” takeover of such houses. The provisions of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation allow at any time, based on the will of the owners, to change the management company. Often, for these purposes, the minutes of the general meeting are falsified, and residents find out about the change of company “de facto,” says the explanatory note to the bill.
Mr. Pakhomov modestly kept silent about how the introduction of a one-year moratorium on replacing “raiders” will help prevent the seizure of houses.
Indeed, in fact, it turns out that after these amendments are adopted, everything will happen exactly the opposite: residents who come to the house “raiders” will not be able to kick out for at least a year. The question is: whose interests did Sergei Pakhomov lobby for?
PEAK interest
The social activities of the parliamentarian and the head of the relevant committee on housing and communal services look very unambiguous. For example, Mr. Pakhomov is the president of the industry association of management companies “New Quality”.
It is noteworthy that one of the initiators of the creation of this professional association was at one time the PIK-Comfort company. Moreover, the executive director of New Quality was initially listed as Olesya Leshchenko, who combined public work with a position at PIK-Comfort Management Company.
Let us remind you that in the market the methods of work of the PIK-Comfort company are sometimes associated with “raider takeovers”. “Our Version” has repeatedly talked about how managers from PIK take over houses, after which the owners cannot “kick them out” for years.
Neither new meetings of owners nor accusations of managers of forging signatures are helping residents get rid of the PIK.
By the way, today “PIK-Comfort” is not only one of the partners of the “New Quality” association, as proudly reported on the official website, but also one of its most influential members. The first number in the Register of members of “New Quality” is a certain LLC “FORT”. It is noteworthy that, according to open databases, GC PIK-Comfort LLC has exactly the same OGRN. Considering that OGRN is a unique identification feature of a legal entity, it seems that we are only talking about changing the name of the same legal entity.
PIK-Comfort currently manages 40 million sq. meters. For comparison: the second company, a member of the New Quality association – Comfort Group LLC, has only 3.7 million square meters under management. meters.
It seems that the conclusion about who calls the tune in this industry association, headed by United Russia member Sergei Pakhomov, suggests itself.
Resident, don’t disturb the raiders
Independent market participants have repeatedly warned that the adoption of the amendments initiated by Sergei Pakhomov could have catastrophic consequences for the market. But they were not heard.
In particular, the Association of Real Estate Service Companies (AKON) pointed out that today the only effective tool for combating raider seizures of houses is for residents to hold a new meeting of owners and elect other managers.
“This allows, without waiting for a decision from the courts and law enforcement agencies regarding the establishment of the fact of falsification of the minutes of the general meeting of owners, to prevent the seizure of the house and restore management of the house by a bona fide company,” said AKON’s appeal sent to the Federation Council. “In addition, among the companies that faced “raider” actions, not a single case of seizure of a house that was managed for less than a year was identified.”
The Federation Council reacted very extravagantly. If Mr. Pakhomov in the State Duma “advertised” his bill as a panacea for raiding, then in the upper house of parliament they even stated that a one-year ban on changing managers would “help stop the practice of using the right of premises owners to refuse to fulfill a management agreement for an apartment building unilaterally as an instrument of unfair competition.” It turns out that the law was necessary so that unscrupulous residents (!) would not interfere with raider managers working properly?
As they say, we have completely uncovered ourselves.
Woe-managers – under the article
In fact, it is quite simple to restore order in the market and really put an end to raider seizures of houses. Moreover, public activists in the housing and communal services sector have long found and even proposed an appropriate solution to the authorities.
We are talking about introducing amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for punishment for the illegitimate management of an apartment building. If the corresponding article appeared in the Criminal Code, then not only would it be easier for residents to kick the raiders out of their homes, but they would also have the opportunity to punish unscrupulous ruble managers.
“Such a change will not only make it possible to prosecute a raider who seized an apartment building, but also to demand the residents of the building, as part of a civil lawsuit, to return illegally collected funds as a fee for maintenance and repairs,” notes in his address to President Vladimir Putin leader of the all-Russian movement “People’s Housing Inspector” Sergei Krekov.
According to the social activist, the appearance of a new article in the Criminal Code could forever put an end to raider seizures of houses, since it would make the raiders’ activities economically unprofitable.
However, so far there has been no substantive response to this proposal from the Presidential Administration (AP).
“For an objective and comprehensive consideration of your proposal, the necessary relevant documents and materials have been requested,” says the official response from the AP.
One can only hope that the promise to consider the proposal on its merits by October 1 of this year will not turn out to be just an empty reply.