Old housing disfigures the city

What is dilapidated housing? Unfortunately, this concept is not disclosed in the legislation of the Russian Federation, although it appears in the names of both federal and local programs. In the manual, approved by Gosstroy of the Russian Federation MKD 2-04.2004, the requirements for the maintenance of an apartment building are explained, including common property, such as communications, equipment and premises in which they are located.

The order of carrying out of current repairs with a view of observance of safety of citizens and their property is described. Officially, this document was not published, as it is intended for organizations that have their own housing stock, local government bodies, as well as various managers and housing companies servicing consumers' requests.

The methodical manual determines the state of the structure of the house as a whole:

• The percentage of deterioration of stone buildings - above 70%;
• The percentage of wear of wooden houses and mansards from a material of local origin - above 65%;
• The main load-bearing structures retaining their strength, but whose operational requirements cease to meet the necessary requirements.

Old housing, which appears in the manual as emergency, is considered as such, provided that more than fifty percent of residential premises and load-bearing structures endanger the lives and health of residents.

As old and dilapidated housing is not only a threat to the people living in it, it also disfigures the image of the city, the resettlement of tenants from such buildings is the main task of housing reform. Repair in such homes for decades is not carried out. According to the rules of housing maintenance, every owner in an apartment building is required to make a contribution for capital repairs and maintenance of housing in proportion to the area he occupies.

Often, money from owners, intended for repairs, go to the expense of housing (cleaning workers, janitors, locksmiths, managers, etc.), and the repair itself is not put on the priority list. If the business is run by a commercial organization, the main purpose of such an activity is to make a profit, and the money intended for repairs goes for other purposes. Thus, dilapidated housing becomes a "splinter" of housing and communal services, over which, in turn, is not properly controlled.

According to the Presidential Decree, a law was passed in 2010 on resettlement from dilapidated housing. On its basis the program "Old housing" (in separate regions) was developed. But since the law does not have a clear statement about what a dilapidated housing is, in practice, everything is not so simple. To become a participant in the program, the house needs to get the status of dilapidated and emergency housing, and if there are no criteria, how to achieve the demolition of a house that has served its term?

Of course, there is an order of resettlement from dilapidated housing, requiring the provision of relevant documents, on the basis of which the housing is assigned the status. And if it is obvious that the house is emergency and carries a threat to life and health, and the commission for some reason does not want to admit it, then - a direct road to the court. For the court it is necessary to indicate all the circumstances of the case, and, as practice shows, in most cases the court is on the side of the applicants. In case the court recognizes the house as an emergency house, it must be demolished, and the tenants in return for being unfit for living are required to provide new housing in accordance with the legislation.

We must understand that the financing of the program for resettlement from emergency and dilapidated housing is carried out at the expense of investors and budgetary funds of the regions. The situation on the ground from the financial point of view is completely different, therefore the percentage of resettlement across the country is distributed unevenly. Often, some areas, even having adopted a resettlement program, do not fulfill their obligations, referring to the lack of funds. The number of dilapidated housing is only growing, primarily due to military and post-war buildings, where repairs have not been carried out for a long time. Therefore, at the moment, the priority direction of the policy is the overhaul and liquidation of emergency and dilapidated housing.