When you need a contractor with SRO admission

When choosing a brigade for construction or major repairs, few owners think about whether the contractor has SRO approval. Our site of advice decided to figure out why the admission of a self-regulatory organization in construction is necessary, when it is necessary to choose just such a contractor.

Recall that self-regulatory organizations (SROs) in construction unite private firms. SRO is a non-profit association, designed to control that private teams and contractors perform all construction and repair work quality, according to SNiPs and regulations. To become a member of an SRO, you need not only to pay an insurance premium, but also to pay certain amounts on a quarterly basis, improve the qualifications of your specialists with work experience.

SRO admission in practice performs two functions:

1. Insures the professional liability of a construction contractor or a house and apartment renovation company;
2. Controls the quality of work and services of members of the organization.

For owners who decide to hire a team to repair an apartment, this means that the SRO will be responsible for the quality of work on an equal basis with the contractor himself. There is additional insurance, possible losses will be compensated. According to experts, the admission of an SRO will not be able to protect 100% from a fraudulent contractor, but this risk is significantly reduced.

It turns out that the presence of an SRO admission indicates the experience, high qualifications and reliability of the contractor. However, many homeowners believe that the recommendations of friends and acquaintances are enough, why look for a team that is a member of a self-regulatory organization. In fact, according to the law, SRO admission in private housing construction (up to 3 floors high) is not required. Also interior designers and ordinary finishers do not need approvals. Therefore, in most cases, you can save money and ask the contractor: “Do you have an SRO permit?” – not necessary.

It is highly desirable to hire a contractor with SRO approval in the following cases:

• It is planned to insulate the loggia and install French windows;
• It was decided to abandon the gas hob in favor of the electric one with the transfer of its location;
• It is planned to remove conventional radiators and insert convectors into the floor;
• Major repairs are carried out in a historic building, where it is often simply not clear which walls are load-bearing and everything must be done with the utmost care;
• Reinforcement of the floors of an apartment building is required;
• It is planned not only to replace, but to move pipes and other communications.

As you can see, in all these cases, we are talking about serious changes and redevelopment. And it, as the portal already wrote, needs to be coordinated.

It is possible to legalize the redevelopment and make changes to the technical plan of the apartment only after all the work carried out has been checked by a specialist from the controlling state body.

In particular, the Housing Inspectorate requires to draw up acts of hidden works, which then cannot be checked visually. These include:

• Cementing floors, screed;
• Laying of communications, which will be hidden by finishing;
• Waterproofing pipes and floors in “wet” areas;
• Thermal insulation of loggias;
• Reinforcement of floors and walls.

To draw up acts of such hidden work, an SRO permit is required. But here, too, contractors often find a solution. In practice, all repairs can be carried out by a team that does not have the permission of a self-regulatory organization. And the acts are drawn up by a company with SRO admission for a separate fee. And everyone is happy.

We state: a contractor with SRO approval is required if the results of a major overhaul will need to be coordinated with government agencies. That is, in the event of serious redevelopment and changes to the technical passport of the property. But even in such cases, you can hire a team without SRO permission, and entrust the drafting of acts of hidden work done to a member firm of a self-regulatory organization. The project of such a serious redevelopment should also be drawn up by a company with the appropriate admission. A contractor’s SRO permit may slightly increase the cost of repairs by an average of 10–20 thousand rubles. But in general, redevelopment is always more expensive than conventional repair.