Representatives of Homeowners association, Civic Network OPORA and heads of Condominiums think that on the meeting of Profile committee of the Verkhovna Rada on 7 December 2011 the Law of Ukraine “On making amendments to some laws on Condominiums” (No.8474) will be made ineffective with the help of lobbyists from certain organizations - these suspicions come from its unofficial preparation.
In discussion of this issue on 7 December 2011 in information agency "Ukrinform" participated: Oleksii Kucherenko, minister of housing and communal services in 2007-2009, the head of Homeowners Association of Ukraine; Tetiana Boiko, leader of housing programs of the Civic Network OPORA; Yuliia Sabatiuk, the head of Condominium “Luchany” in Lutsk; Serhii Varych, the head of initiative group of condominium establishment in Cherkasy; Viktor Matchuk a member of the Parliamentary committee on construction, city planning, housing service and regional politics.
Activists are worried that the bill No.8474 will be adopted without key issues for promotion of the condominium development. Instead, there will be adopted norms of the declaratory nature.
“Even after adopting ideal basic Law “On Condominiums”, it’s impossible to solve all problems of Condominiums. It’s impossible to move on with unsolved problems which now stand in the way of establishment and functioning of Condominiums. Between them are also relations with monopolists, taxation bodies, and other institutions. Some of these problems may be easily solved on the Prime Minister level, but most of them are connected to the system and numerous contradictions in an obsolete and inadequate legal framework. That’s why this knot of contradictions should be immediately unraveled. It’s impossible to build a balanced system of Condominiums without serious legislative amendments, correcting errors and implementing new elaborations. It is an illusion that the political will can replace laws and their implementation.” – thinks the head of Homeowners Association of Ukraine Oleksii Kucherenko.
The leader of housing programs of the Civic Network OPORA Tetiana Boiko supports Mr. Oleksii: “The government has often promised lately to support Condominiums. Now it has a great chance to keep these promises, or to prove that no radical changes in communal sphere are planned by not keeping them. Development of the apartment building management requires a demand in the form of organized consumers, and supply in the person of a building manager. The essence of the market model is that consumers themselves can choose the best among managers (the one who offered the best range of services at the lowest prices). This idea was provided by the National program on reforming and developing housing and communal services for 2009-2014. However, life practice shows a slightly different concepts. The appearance of odious draft Housing Code, where Condominiums are virtually deprived of their right to manage property and gives Condominiums the “label” “service provider”, what means a death for many Condominiums, because Condominium is not an entity and does not provide services to residents. Constant demands from taxation and other bodies, enterprises-monopolists, give reasons for doubts that good intentions of government to support condominiums will be implemented.”