Misuse of the premises leads its owner and owner to liability. Legislation outlines the scope of its use, as described below.
Legislative regulation
The purpose of the dwelling and the limits of its use are regulated by the mass of regulatory documents, and familiarization with them will help prevent serious errors.
- LCD - the basic law in the field of housing law, lists the basic rights and obligations of both the owner and user of the premises, and contains many other provisions.
- Civil Code - defines the general rules for the use by citizens of their rights, housing, in particular, gives a definition of housing and basic criteria for its use.
- Code of Administrative Offenses - the basis and limits of liability, options for punishment for violations, in particular, the use of premises for other purposes.
- By-laws of a technical nature, for example, the rules for the use of a dwelling, its maintenance and repair.
- Sanitary and other hygiene standards - determine the degree of danger of a particular activity.
Part of the influence is judicial practice: the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the resolutions of the Plenums and Reviews of Practice.
Feature of the use of residential premises
Premises are divided into residential and non-residential, the first are allocated for living, the second for household or other needs of the house. A dwelling is an isolated room for the personal use of one person or members of his family or those whom he allowed to move in.
The right to housing refers to basic human rights, is closely linked to its other rights, in particular, the right to privacy.
Art. 17 LCD RF gives the right to limited use of housing in business. Limitations are expressed in two ways:
- residents must agree to engage in entrepreneurial and other activities;
- the person occupies the premises legally;
- sanitation, hygiene and the rights of other neighboring residents are not violated.
Prohibition of production activities
Legislation prohibits engaging in industrial activities in an apartment or house. A specific definition of what it is is not given in any legislative act. The basis of the criterion is not an assessment of what the owner or tenant is doing, but how much his actions affect the rights and freedoms of other citizens. For example, in an apartment no one is engaged in any kind of production, but often allows himself to shout or make noise. Noise is considered a violation of the rights of other residents, but does not go beyond the use of the premises.
Thus, misuse of the dwelling and violation of the rights of other residents are not always the same.
What types of entrepreneurial activities are allowed
A vivid example is the work of lawyers who are allowed to organize their offices in residential premises. They receive citizens, advise them, draw up documents. Their activities have an intellectual form.
The same can be said about accountants, computer programmers, and other specialists.
If we talk about specialists in manual labor: seamstresses, jewelers, they are also not forbidden to work in residential premises.
In fact, it is a question of whether the home infrastructure will suffer from the activities of the entrepreneur, for example, the creation of excessive voltage in the mains, excessive load on the drainage system.
Some activities may endanger others. For example, a rehabilitation doctor may well provide some services at home, a virologist is unlikely. The materials with which he works have a high degree of danger. We must not forget that a dwelling is a building constructed and equipped for special purposes; it cannot be called universal.
So whether an entrepreneur has the right to use the premises as an office is determined by specific circumstances, and not by the types of his activities.
Rules for the use of residential premises
By the decision of the government (Decree No. 25 of January 21, 2006), the rules for the use of residential premises were adopted. This document applies to owners and users. It reveals in more detail the content of Art. 17 LCD RF.
It does not matter on what basis the housing was obtained (acquired on the basis of property rights either from the state or from an enterprise or employer organization). The set of rights and obligations is standard.
Their approximate list:
- the owner and tenant and their family members and other persons to whom they are allowed to possess have the right to reside;
- the introduction of other persons is permitted with the permission of other residents, with the exception of children under the age of 18;
- rental of the premises is permitted with the consent of other residents and the owner;
- the duties of the tenant include the maintenance, unless otherwise provided by agreement with the owner;
- the employer is obliged to timely pay utility bills and other services;
- the resident is obliged to take care of the common property of the owners of the house, take measures to preserve it, and inform the owner of their need;
- redevelopment and reconstruction of the premises of the premises is carried out exclusively in the manner prescribed by law.
The use of premises implies rights. For example, a tenant has the right to demand the provision of proper living conditions. Often, authorities offer people in need of housing premises that are clearly not suitable for this. In them or there is no normal heating, there is no drainage, the minimum of compliance with sanitary standards is not ensured.
Given the fact that there is a whole mass of regulatory documents, the rules for using residential premises are indicative.
Maintenance and repair
Regularly, owners of apartment buildings receive receipts that contain the line “maintenance and repair of the living quarters”. Unknowing people are surprised to learn what it is.
The rules for the use of residential premises for the most part relate to property for which one owner is responsible. The legislation provides for the rules for the maintenance and repair of common property (Decree of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006 No. 413).
The document provides a long list of common property considered common.
Typically, this equipment and facilities that are used in the maintenance of more than one apartment. This includes various engineering networks.
The rules prescribe a minimum list of measures for cleaning and maintaining this property in order. Management organizations are not entitled to provide services less than this minimum.
The rules provide for a periodic construction and technical examination to assess the condition of a residential building.
Money for the repair and maintenance of a residential building is taken primarily from contributions from citizens who are required to pay for services on a monthly basis.Citizens with rights to benefits receive subsidies, paying for services only partially from their own pockets.
Funds for major repairs are also taken from the funds of the owners and the capital construction fund. Initiative owners have the right to choose the accumulation of funds outside the framework of the fund in a special account. The money collected on it is intended for the repair of one house.
It will not work to isolate oneself from the obligation to pay expenses on common property. The reason is that, having acquired an apartment, the owner also acquires a share in the common property.
A similar obligation is acquired by the owner of a non-residential premises in an apartment building. Thus, the maintenance and repair of residential premises is both a general and personal responsibility.
What sanctions apply to violators
Legislation offers several options for sanctions against violators:
- Penalties according to the Code of Administrative Offenses.
- Compensation for losses caused to neighbors, other residents, their property.
- Deprivation of the right to housing.
Administrative fines
According to the Administrative Code, punish:
- for violation of the rules for the use of residential premises;
- for violation of the rules of maintenance and repair;
- unauthorized connection to water supply and sanitation systems;
- unauthorized connection to electric and heat networks.
Violations are listed in Art. Art. 7.19–7.22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
The first article includes actions to damage residential premises, their equipment, illegal redevelopment and re-equipment and use of residential premises for other purposes. Responsibility is negligible.
The article for violation of the rules for the maintenance and repair of premises, the procedure for recognizing the impossibility of living in them, for the illegal transfer of premises to non-residential premises is intended for officials and organizations.
The amount of fines depends on who they are assigned to. Citizens are required to pay no more than 4 thousand rubles, officials and organizations pay from 4 to 50 thousand rubles.
The amount of fines is periodically reviewed so that the described values change over time.
Property liability
Administrative fines - a measure of responsibility to the state, it does not exempt from payment of compensation for property and moral damage. Material losses are paid in full.
In addition, a citizen who has been prosecuted at least three times for violations of housing legislation in an administrative order may lose his home.
The law indicates repeated violations, in practice, usually 3 times a year is enough. The severity of violations and other circumstances are taken into account.
If he received it from the state, then the contract for the right to use with him is terminated through the court, he is evicted without the right to receive other housing.
If housing is privatized, then the law presumes the right of the state to redeem it and evict a citizen. The presence of debts or other obligations, if there is a single property for living, deprives the state of the opportunity to sell it, and transfer the remainder of the money to the former owner. There is a contradiction in the legislation, and so far it has not been eliminated.
Criminal liability
Articles of the Criminal Code come into force if there is damage caused by law or damage to health (light damage is sufficient). If there was no transition beyond the framework of the Criminal Code, a person is brought only to administrative and civil liability.
Thus, systematic and serious violations of the rules for the use of residential premises in the Russian Federation can have serious consequences.
Change the purpose of the room
Often, citizens are interested in how to change the purpose of a dwelling: how to make a residential non-residential. But sometimes the opposite question arises.
A package of documents is submitted to the Department of Urban Development:
- documents confirming ownership rights;
- reconstruction or conversion project issued by a specialized organization;
- protocol of the decision of the co-owners of the house;
- the conclusion of the interagency commission on the possibility of re-equipment;
- Documents are handed over to one of the departments (urban planning and property relations).
The system of bodies and the set of documentation in the regions are somewhat different.
The procedure for recognizing premises as residential takes a long time, taking into account the time spent on the preparation and receipt of documents.