In Mykolaiv, management companies and homeowners’ associations will be fined for failing to maintain courtyards properly, says Sienkevych

Oleksandr Senkevych, Mayor of Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

In Mykolaiv, management companies, housing and communal services organisations and homeowners’ associations that fail to carry out maintenance work on the areas surrounding their buildings may face fines from district administrations.

The mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, made this statement during a staff meeting on Monday, 15 June, according to NikVesti.

The mayor noted that the Mykolaiv City Council’s Contact Centre is receiving an increasing number of complaints from residents about rubbish in courtyards, uncut grass and other issues relating to the areas around residential buildings. At the same time, he emphasised that responsibility for such work lies with property management companies and homeowners’ associations.

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«We must work with people to explain to them that the issue of mowing grass inside courtyards is a matter for the management companies, not the ‘Mykolaiv Parks’ municipal enterprise. It is important that we effectively have a hotline — the Contact Centre at Mykolaiv City Council. They need to prepare a written explanation so that people’s enquiries are not simply dismissed, but so that it is made clear that this issue relates to the tariff agreed between them and their management company, and that they should contact the management company directly,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

According to him, information about such complaints must be passed on to the district administrations so that they can monitor the situation and respond to systemic violations.

«If such cases are systematic in nature, district administrations must fine management companies for the improper maintenance of areas adjacent to residential buildings,» he added.

For his part, Deputy Mayor Vitalii Lukov reported that the city authorities are already holding meetings with representatives of management companies and are working on the issue of assigning responsibility for adjacent areas.

«Unfortunately, attendance by representatives of management companies at such meetings is very low. They justify this by saying that certain tasks, in particular the maintenance of children’s playgrounds, are not included in the service charge. There are also issues regarding the definition of areas adjacent to residential buildings in accordance with the law. We will therefore continue to hold meetings in conjunction with the Housing and Communal Services Department to assign responsibility for the surrounding areas to management companies and homeowners’ associations as quickly as possible, and then take a firmer stance on responsibility for their upkeep,» said Vitalii Lukov.

«To be honest, we constantly say that the housing and communal services department or the management company is responsible for the grass in the courtyard. It’s a simple sentence that’s easy to remember. But people keep asking when the «Mykolaiv Parks» municipal enterprise will mow the grass in their courtyard. Similarly, they write about water in their basements and ask when the water utility will respond. But the internal building networks are the responsibility of the management company or the homeowners’ association,» replied the mayor.

A staff meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council on 15 June. Photo: NikVesti

He gave another example of a complaint from residents about fleas in the building’s basement.

«Someone messaged me in the chat saying that someone had been bitten by fleas because they hadn’t been exterminated in the basement. Is this something the mayor should be dealing with? Or is this a matter between the management company and the building’s residents?» remarked Oleksandr Sienkevych.

According to him, if management companies fail to fulfil their obligations, residents should demand that they provide the services properly.

— If property management companies fail to fulfil their obligations, we must fine them. But at the same time, there is a contractual relationship between the property management company and the residents. Often, people pay their rent every month, do not receive the services they are entitled to, remain dissatisfied, but continue to pay. That is why they must meet with their management company and demand that work be carried out — such as rubbish collection, grass cutting or other services — he said.

At the same time, the mayor noted that sometimes the reason for the lack of certain services lies in the fees agreed by the residents themselves.

«The management company may say that services such as grass-cutting or daily cleaning are not included in the fee. If these are added, the building maintenance fee will increase. And then people often reply: «Let the grass grow.»That is why the residents’ own decision is also important here,» concluded Oleksandr Senkevych.

It should be noted that over the past year, 17 new associations of co-owners of multi-apartment buildings (OSBBs) were established in Mykolaiv, and a new management company began operations.

Earlier, Mykola Lohvinov, director of «Mykolaivoblteploenergo», stated that management companies, housing and communal services (ZHEKs) and HOAs in Mykolaiv were not preparing adequately for the heating season, which is affecting the supply of heat to homes.