26 reports were issued in July against homeowners’ associations in Mykolaiv and management companies for failing to mow the grass

Staff at the ‘Mykolaiv Parks’ municipal enterprise at work. Illustrative photo: NikVesti

Over the past month, the district administrations of Mykolaiv have issued 26 reports against associations of co-owners of multi-family buildings (OSBBs) and management companies for failing to carry out grass-cutting work in residential estates.

This came to light during a staff meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council, according to NikVesti.

The procedure for inspecting and issuing reports for failure to mow grass has been ongoing for three months since the start of the mowing season. Residents can lodge a complaint with the city’s «Call Centre 1588». The complaint is then forwarded to the relevant district administration, which, together with the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks», investigates who is responsible for mowing in that area.

Advertising

«This complaint is then processed by the district administration in conjunction with the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks». If the «Mykolaiv Parks» municipal enterprise rejects the request on the grounds that it is not, shall we say, within its remit, the matter is referred to the district administration, which then visits the site and we provideexplanations to the heads of homeowners’ associations and management companies regarding the processing of this request,» said Dmytro Hryhoriev, chief specialist of the department for handling citizens’ enquiries at «Call Centre 1588».

If the area does not fall within the remit of the «Mykolaiv Parks» municipal enterprise and is the responsibility of a management company or a homeowners’ association, the district administration may issue a report for failure to mow the grass properly.

The number of reports issued last month against management companies and homeowners’ associations for failure to mow the grass:

• Central District — 7;
• Zavodskyi District — 7;
• Inhulskyi District — 12 (74 since the start of the year);
• Korabelnyi District — 0.

In the Korabelnyi District, reports for failure to mow grass are not currently being issued. Officials there explain this by the lack of schemes assigning specific areas to individual buildings, which would allow the person responsible for their upkeep to be identified.

«The Korabelnyi District is working on and drawing up area allocation plans, assisting management companies, but is not issuing reports. Legally, it is not possible to issue them, as there is no entity responsible for the area allocated to a building. Previously, there were plans under which the territory was assigned to the housing and communal services department. Now, management companies sign contracts, but the territories are not assigned to them under these agreements. We are ready to sign the relevant diagrams with the management companies and the buildings and assign the territories to them, and then draw up reports on the basis of these diagrams,» explained Oleksandr Hvozdiuenko, First Deputy Head of the Korabelnyi District.

Vitalii Lukov, the First Deputy Mayor, also asked whether there had been any instances where the reports drawn up had led to fines being imposed on the management companies, and whether they had subsequently started mowing the grass.

In response, the heads of the district administrations noted that they could not confirm whether the companies had started carrying out the work. All reports are forwarded to the administrative commission for consideration. After that, if the fine is not paid voluntarily, the documents are forwarded to the enforcement service. Decisions may also be appealed in court.

At the same time, there have been cases where the administrative commission has reviewed a report, found the management company at fault, and the company subsequently paid the fine.

Over the last few months, residents of Mykolaiv have been complaining more frequently about uncut grass and weeds in various parts of the city. In particular, near buildings and in courtyards. The municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» responded that the management companies and homeowners’ associations are responsible for this.

Also, during the summer, residents of Mykolaiv complained about the condition of the «Kazka» children’s playground near blocks 32–38 on Okeanivska Street. «DEZ Pilot» repainted and repaired the playground itself.

However, the grass remained uncut, and rubbish – including pruned branches – was not cleared away. According to the Korabelnyi District administration, the playground is unassigned, meaning its territory is not allocated to the neighbouring blocks of flats. The administration was due to organise a clean-up and mow the grass there by 10 June.

It later emerged that the grass had been mown and the rubbish cleared from the «Kazka» children’s playground. As it turned out, the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» was responsible for mowing the grass.