Investments in major repairs in Tatarstan have reached almost 90 billion rubles, says Alexander Tygin

12,000 blocks of flats have been repaired in the republic since 2008

A major repair programme for blocks of flats in Tatarstan has been in force for 16 years. During this period, the republic has received almost 90 billion rubles, said head of the State Housing Inspectorate of the republic Alexander Tygin at a press conference on 15 August.

He pointed out that 18,100 blocks of flats are currently listed in the Housing and Utilities system, and repair work has been carried out in 12,000 of them:

“Some repairs are complex, some are local, elevators were replaced in some o fthem. But one way or another, these investments came to them.”

This year, repairs are being carried out in 766 blocks of flats, the speaker said. Seasonal work is planned to be completed by the end of August, and the rest — by January 2025.

As Tygin explained, the owners invested 40 billion rubles in major repairs. The remaining amount came from budgets at three levels: federal, regional and local.

The major repair programme in the republic includes 17,600 blocks of flats. This means that all owners are making savings, the official explained. He added that the volume of savings of owners is about 5 billion per year.

The State Housing Inspectorate is a supporter of the regional operator, Tygin said. “Our programme for this year is 8 billion, all savings are invested in the housing stock,” he emphasised.

“The savings of special accounts are all deposited in banks and then invested by banks in their own credit investments. They are not connected with housing and communal services in any way. This seems completely illogical to us because major repair funds should work for the housing stock,” said the head of the State Housing Inspectorate.

According to him, funds from special accounts are actively spent — half of the accumulated 2 billion rubles were spent by owners and homeowners’ associations for various purposes: from major repairs to paying for legal services.

“In our opinion, any use of capital repair funds in special accounts is a violation of the law. Here the inspectorate’s position is quite principled. We exercise our right to go to court. <…> We defend the position that funds should be accumulated and used only within the framework of the regional program,” the head of the State Housing Inspectorate stressed.

“Standard accrual is always a question”

“We have about 12,000 blocks of flats serviced by Tatenergosbyt energy supplier with calculation. By law, based on the results of the year for the previous year, services used according to common house meters are subject to recalculation with standard accrual per flat,” said Tygin.

According to him, they recalculated 9 thousand houses for 217 million rubles.

“This means that for some residents, personal accounts for some resources, funds have a positive balance, for others — a negative balance. At general meetings, we recommend making decisions on accruals based on the fact. We have sent letters to all executive committees and ask that this issue be raised at general meetings of residents, so that these calculations, positive and negative, are not made at the end of the year but immediately: close the month and pay for the fact,” said the head of the State Housing Inspectorate.

This will ensure complete transparency, he is sure. “Normative accrual is always a question,” Tygin summed up.

231 blocks of flats were checked for readiness for the heating season

Tatarstan is preparing for the start of the heating season. As Tygin said, at the moment 75% of the housing stock in the republic have readiness certificates. However, not all pass the test.

After visiting 231 blocks of flats that announced their readiness for winter, the State Housing Inspectorate issued 29 warnings and 11 protocols, the official said. In Nurlat and Bugulma districts, they even went to court to disqualify the managers, which can last up to three years.

On the contrary, Yelabuga and Agryz received high marks where the municipality’s work plan for preparing for winter is scheduled daily.

“Container sites resemble mountains”

They also touched upon the problem of garbage removal in Tatarstan. The inspection sees about 400 posts on social networks and complaints per week, Tygin shared. And he assured the audience: in most cases, the owners of individual housing construction sites living near the capital of Tatarstan and the largest cities of the republic suffer.

“Have you seen any entrance to Kazan? As a rule, container sites resemble mountains, right? And this is a question everywhere if we are talking about individual housing construction, the work of the regional operator. Because a public contract for a utility service is signed by a resident of an individual house with a regional operator,” the official explained.

According to him, the situation is different in blocks of flats. There are fewer complaints. After receiving a message about a violation, the State Housing Inspectorate holds the management companies accountable, issuing fines. Tygin highlighted that the inspection has the right to conduct an inspection only at the request of a citizen.

“If you saw garbage in your block of flats, recorded it on your phone and contacted me, your management company will be fined by the evening,” he assured the audience.

How to combat the fragmentation of flats

Another problem that is relevant today is the remodeling blocks of flats into studios. Such cases exist, Tygin admitted. As an example, he cited the houses on Zur Uram Street.

As the head of the State Housing Inspectorate noted, one of the most common violations that are allowed when splitting flats is the displacement of so-called wet spots (bathrooms, toilets and kitchens). According to the law, they can only be located one above the other: a kitchen above a kitchen, a toilet above a toilet.

In addition, changes to the supporting structure of any flat or the external facade of the building can only be made after a general meeting of residents. As a rule, this rule is not followed when splitting studios.

“Such violations are grounds for going to court to bring it into compliance. Only a court decision can change something or return it to its original state,” Tygin emphasised.

The management company or local government bodies can go to court.