ASTANA – Amendments to the housing and municipal services bill stipulating the relationship between apartment owners and property managing companies will be proposed to the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) by the end of September. The “one house, one association, one account” approach will allow every resident to track an apartment building’s operational and maintenance costs.
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For existing cooperatives, a transition period will be provided for owners managing buildings to convert into management companies. A non-profit property owners’ association will be formed at the residents’ general meeting, with the chairperson to be elected from the group. The association will then hire a managing company for the building.
“The proposal is to introduce a new model of interaction: one apartment building, one association, one account; that is, each housing complex will create an association of property owners, which will be registered in the form of a legal entity, and accordingly, there will be one savings account for major repairs,” said Margulan Abdykarimov, deputy director of the Ministry for Investment and Development construction industry and housing and communal services development department.
He explained the method for spending the funds accumulated in the association’s account. The fund, which should be opened in a second-tier bank, can be used for owners’ long-term needs.
“The cost of major repairs differs in every region; some require $50,000 and some can be done for $10,000. When 50 percent of the amount of the proposed repair cost is collected, the bank can issue a loan at a 3-4 percent interest rate. The loan will be issued to the association of property owners,” he added.
