Who is Responsible for Building Upkeep?
Experts are criticizing the government's move to shift responsibility for the technical condition of multi-apartment buildings onto residents. Oleg Popenko, Head of the Union of Utility Services Consumers, stated that this rhetoric aims to allow communal authorities to avoid funding major repairs. He emphasized that residents lack documents for shared ownership, and in 95% of cases, they do not own the land beneath their buildings. This situation is common in many post-Soviet states, where property rights and maintenance responsibilities are often unclear.
Popenko argues that attempts by authorities to place this burden on co-owners are a form of legal nihilism. He noted that while people formally own their apartments, they have no direct relation to the servicing and management of the building, beyond selecting a building manager.
'Stop repeating this reformist mantra about trying to sit on two chairs at once. A co-owner should not have to go into the basement to turn valves, drain water, or replace pipes,' Oleg Popenko
The State of Building Management
In Popenko's view, promoting this mantra about co-owner responsibility is an attempt to absolve the Kyiv City State Administration and building managers of accountability for failures in thousands of buildings where essential systems are ruined. 'They launched this mantra solely to avoid paying for billion-dollar major repairs later,' he remarked.
Popenko added that professional building management requires extensive expertise and cannot be reduced to simple tasks. 'In reality, all they own is the air between the walls,' he concluded.
The debate over responsibility for building maintenance calls into question the effectiveness of communal service management and their role in ensuring proper living conditions. Expert criticism points to potential systemic issues in the housing and utilities sector that require urgent resolution if authorities wish to avoid further social tension and ensure resident safety.
It is crucial that accountability is clearly defined and management mechanisms are effectively implemented to prevent similar conflicts in the future.