Overview of the most important changes in real estate legislation in 2014

Recommendation points

• Fictitious residence registration became a criminal offense
• You will need a license to manage apartment buildings
• New rules for registering real estate. Expansion of the powers of notaries
• There are new restrictions on the creation of a multi-home HOA
• The direct way to control the ICD will now be very rare
• Changing the mechanism of major repairs of apartment buildings
• The procedure for granting tax deductions has changed

Fictitious residence registration became a criminal offense

The corresponding law was adopted at the end of December 2013, but it came into force in January 2014. Article 322.2 appeared in the Criminal Code, according to which a person who fictitiously registered a citizen of Russia or a foreigner at his place of stay or place of residence can receive up to 3 years imprisonment. Also in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation there was an article punishing for fictitious registration – 322.3.

These norms are actively applied in practice. In Orenburg alone, as of September 2014, 38 criminal cases were initiated under Article 322.2, of which 20 have already been sent to court.

You will need a license to manage apartment buildings

Law No. 255-FZ amended the Housing Code. A ban on driving MKD without a license has been introduced. Exceptions are cases when such activities are carried out by homeowners, housing or consumer cooperatives. Management companies must obtain a license by May 1, 2015. It is assumed that the state fee for obtaining a license will be about 30 thousand rubles.

The introduction of such a measure has been quite skeptically accepted by experts. They predict that toughening the operating conditions of management companies will lead to their massive refusal to work with dilapidated housing stock. Also, many fear that management companies will try to shift the cost of obtaining a license to tenants of an apartment building..

New rules for registering real estate. Expansion of the powers of notaries

After the entry into force of Federal Law No. 379-FZ, the rules for registering Russian real estate have undergone changes. Notaries can now carry out accelerated state registration of real estate when notarizing transactions – in 5 days instead of 18. Also, they are entrusted with the duties of conducting legal expertise and it is the notaries who are responsible for its result. Another innovation is a qualified electronic signature, which can now be used by notaries.

The innovations were positively received by representatives of the notary. They note that thanks to the new law, notarial registration of real estate has become much easier..

There are new restrictions on the creation of a multi-home HOA

Federal Law No. 255-FZ prohibits the creation of homeowners ‘associations for several houses if the total number of apartments in these houses is less than 30. If the total number of apartments exceeds 30, the creation of a homeowners’ partnership is possible, but only on the condition that the houses included in it will be have a common border of sites, as well as common engineering networks and other infrastructure elements.

The direct way to control the ICD will now be very rare

Law No. 255-FZ, which entered into force on September 1, 2014, provides for amendments to the Housing Code. In particular, Article 161 of the RF LC was amended. Now owners of apartment blocks, in which the number of apartments is more than 16, must choose only one of two management methods: a management organization or an association of homeowners.

In apartment buildings with more than 16 apartments, in which the direct management method has been chosen, the tenants must decide at a general meeting to change the management method by April 15, 2015. If the tenants do not hold such a meeting, the law obliges the local government to hold a competition to select a management organization for this house..

Changing the mechanism of major repairs of apartment buildings

They are stipulated by law No. 417-FZ, which implies amending the RF Housing Code. The following were excluded from the list of mandatory works included in the overhaul: the installation of collective metering devices, insulation of facades, a number of other works. It is prohibited to include buildings in the regional program for the overhaul of apartment buildings in which the physical wear of structural elements exceeds 70%, there are less than 3 apartments, or the total cost of overhaul work exceeds the norms established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Such changes were met with skepticism by many experts and officials. It remains unclear what funds will be used to repair the houses excluded from the regional overhaul program. In addition, there are concerns that new changes in the Law and inconsistency in the actions of regional and local authorities will lead to the fact that the real payment for overhaul may exceed the tariffs established by law by 20-30%.

The procedure for granting tax deductions has changed

At the beginning of 2014, amendments to article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation came into force. Now, if the taxpayer has not fully spent his tax deduction when buying real estate, he can use the rest for the next purchase or construction of housing. The deduction amount cannot exceed 2 million rubles. Now the amendments secured the right of taxpayers to receive a deduction from several tax agents.

Also, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation enshrined the possibility of obtaining a property deduction upon the sale of a share in the authorized capital or assignment of the right of claim under a shared construction agreement.

Experts assess the innovations in the Tax Code positively, noting that only citizens with very high white salaries will be able to take full advantage of the tax deduction, because it is formed on the basis of the personal income tax (as a general rule – 13%) paid by the employer … With a salary of 30,000 rubles, the annual tax deduction will be 40,000 rubles. Thus, it will take 50 years for citizens earning an average salary to reach the tax deduction limit..