Beginners in the construction industry may come to a little bewilderment when they hear the abbreviation SRO. This article will help answer questions about how this organization operates and what it takes to get membership.
What it is?
The abbreviation SRO is deciphered as follows: self-regulatory organization. But what is an SRO, what is this organization? At one time, construction licenses lost their power, but this process had to be regulated somehow, so a special organization was created that could replace them. The construction industry was decided to be controlled by non-profit associations of builders who would themselves regulate the entire process. Special standards were developed, focusing on which, a decision is made on the membership in the organization of a new participant. In simple words, this is the same license, only modified, without which it is impossible to work in the construction industry.
What is an SRO for?
Having understood what SRO is, it is necessary to understand the importance of this organization, or rather, why it is being created. To legally erect buildings, membership in an SRO is a prerequisite. This is one of the rules that is regulated at the state level. If you decide to prove yourself in the construction industry, but did not bother to get admission to the SRO, then the alignment will be extremely unfavorable for you and your company. Violators have to pay fines, bear administrative responsibility for illegal activities. The most malicious of them may be held criminally liable, or even say goodbye to their company.
History of education
This concept first appeared in the mid-nineties, when the issuance of licenses was associated with state bodies. The idea of creating separate organizations was that part of the functions that are associated with quality control of work should be regulated not only by law, but also by the participants themselves. The very first SROs were engaged exclusively in securities; their creation was voluntary. Over the years, this concept began to cover other areas of activity, in 2007 a law on SRO was adopted. Areas of activity are expanding every year, some of them are mandatory, others are voluntary. All of them are similar in improving the quality of work, which, in turn, will affect the result.
Activities
Membership in this organization gives not only rights to a certain type of work, but also responsibilities that must be fulfilled. The use of SRO is permissible in various fields. The types of activities in which membership in an organization is a mandatory point of access to work are as follows:
- audit;
- credit operation;
- engineering survey;
- architectural and construction design;
- heat supply;
- valuation activity;
- work of arbitration managers;
- building;
- energy survey activities;
- revision unions of agricultural cooperatives.
Reasons to become a member
There are several reasons why becoming a member of an SRO is a justifiable action. Good reasons for getting an SRO are listed below:
- to confirm the competence of your own company in the field of construction;
- in order to receive constant support from colleagues who have been working in this field for more than a year (this can be informational, marketing, as well as legal assistance);
- to prove their good faith to future customers;
- to be able to participate in various tenders or contests - often they offer large orders, which affects future profits.
Tolerance
In addition to determining what an SRO is, you need to know about admission to the organization. This is a kind of membership, which is determined by several factors. Earlier, a state body granted access to construction work, the so-called license, but now these functions are performed by the SRO itself.
Often, companies give a whole list of requirements, which includes all aspects - legal, financial requirements regarding construction. If you look at the documentation, then you can’t get by with just one certificate, you must comply with both legislative acts and the rules that the organization puts forward. All employees of an SRO member company must be competent in their professional activities and perform work exclusively at a high level. That is, it is important to comply with standards, rules, safety regulations and other factors determining this clause. Do not forget about the financial side of the issue, since everyone who was able to get an SRO is obliged to pay membership fees.
How to enter?
Joining SRO builders is a process that consists in obtaining the status of a member of a self-regulatory organization. That is, a person becomes one of the members of this organization. In words, this may seem like a fairly simple procedure, but before a future participant receives his “license”, he needs to comply with all the rules of participation. First of all, it depends on what requirements the SRO puts forward to its immediate members. After reviewing the list of requirements, the company can submit the appropriate package of documents, which is considered by the organization. The SRO admission is granted if all the requirements are met and the future participant has paid all the necessary fees.
Requirements
All the requirements that a self-regulatory organization can make to its future participants are divided into two groups. The first includes those that the SRO member must comply with at the legislative level. That is, does the company comply with federal laws, orders and regulations of the relevant ministry, is the Town Planning Code complied with. Also included are government decrees, Rostekhnadzor. The second group includes, rather, highly specialized requirements, since they are established by the SRO itself. Quite often, these requirements are a toughened version of the first group. Sometimes there are absurd situations when some requirements related to the second group contradict some points from the first group. Such issues can be resolved privately, when the SRO dictates the conditions under which it will be possible to meet both groups.
Components of the cost of membership in SRO
There are certain conditions and tariffs established by the Town Planning Code of the Federation. This list includes 4 items:
- 300,000 rubles - the amount corresponding to the minimum compensation contribution to the fund of a self-regulatory organization;
- expenses related to liability insurance;
- entrance fee upon receipt of admission to the SRO;
- permanent membership fees.
Alas, it is impossible to get an answer regarding the total specific amount. First of all, this is due to the fact that there is no one and only organization. Each of them sets its own rules and requirements, this also applies to membership fees. For some reason, contributions may be increased or, conversely, will be less than established. This factor is influenced by the types of work that the company wants to access. When a company just starts its work in the construction industry, such amounts may be too large, but it is possible to take admission by installments.
Legal nuances
As for the organization’s SRO in terms of legal settlement, for this purpose there are several normative acts. First of all, this is order No. 624 of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2009. This order gives a complete list of works for which it is necessary to obtain a permit from the SRO builders.
If we consider the penalties for violations, then these points are governed by Art. 171 of the Criminal Code. The article provides for punishment for the illegal performance of a number of construction works that occurs in the absence of membership in one of the SROs. The perpetrator will be held administratively or criminally liable for this type of activity. All these laws indicate that professional construction activities are possible only after obtaining an SRO permit.
Organization registry
There is also such a thing as a register of self-regulating organizations, it is a kind of list for each type of activity. Also, all SRO members are represented in this database, and information is provided for each company that characterizes them as potential performers. If you find a certain company, but it does not appear in this register, then it does not have the right to perform this type of work.
How to choose a SRO
Since the customer independently chooses the performer of a certain work, he needs to responsibly approach the choice of SRO. There are several important factors that you should pay attention to when choosing an organization in the first place:
- How long does an SRO exist. This does not mean that you should not trust start-up organizations, but in order to avoid risks, it is better to choose those that have been working for more than a year.
- Will tell a lot list of participants. As you know, any company that meets the advanced requirements, that is, both small and with great capital and experience, can become a member of the organization. If in the SRO almost everyone is a member of an LLC or a private entrepreneur, then it is better to choose another organization where there are really large companies that value their name and are unlikely to let things go by themselves.
- Look for reviews online. If the activity of the organization’s administration leaves much to be desired, then there will most likely be participants who will express their opinion on this. You can also find reviews about a particular company that is a member of this SRO.
- Despite the fact that you are not going to become a member of the organization, read the requirements that it imposes on future participants. Some SROs have simple requirements for their members, which may indicate dishonesty of the organization. This fact is easy to track, even based on membership fees, which can be understated.
- Check out the SRO website: a reputable company will never spare money on an organization’s business card.
Do not treat such items as a waste of time, because such insignificant things allow you to evaluate the organization from all sides.
SRO Functions
An explanation of what an SRO is in part helps to understand what functions this organization performs. Functional responsibilities:
- development and approval of the requirements that will be presented to everyone who wants to become a member of the organization;
- issuance of a certificate to participants who can, on the basis of this document, perform various types of SRO work;
- quality control of work (implies compliance with established standards, norms, technical rules that relate to the legislative framework in the construction sector);
- installation of measures of influence on unscrupulous companies that violate the rules and do not comply with the requirements put forward to them.
SRO Responsibilities
The administration of the formed organization must make sure that the SRO fulfills all the duties assigned to them. Self-regulatory organizations are required to:
- develop and adopt regulatory documents that will allow, in accordance with the law, to select future members of the organization;
- provide open access to information about their own activities, as well as about companies that have received a certificate from them;
- engage in employee performance assessment, vocational training and ongoing certification to meet high quality standards;
- certify products that are the result of the work of members of the organization;
- control the activities of all members of the SRO (this applies both to the legal side of the issue, and the technical one);
- consider complaints from client companies of SRO participants that indicate non-compliance with the standards specified in regulatory documents.
Types of SRO
It is imperative to comply with SRO standards. Construction in this list has a special place, since the quality of life of citizens and their safety depend on a good result. Currently, there are about a thousand SROs in Russia, each of which works in a specific area. As for construction, now there are 276 SROs in this area. The next in this list are self-regulatory organizations in the field of design - 193, in engineering surveys - 40. The list is quite large, so you should not choose the first available SRO as an executor. It is better to take this responsibly, then the price will be consistent with the quality.