SERIAL BANKRUPTCIES OF "SUPERINTENDENTS" WORRY PARLIAMENTARIANS

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that should end serial bankruptcies in the housing and utilities sector. It was initially initiated by Senator Irina Rukavishnikova, representing the Committee on state Construction. Subsequently, Senator Andrey Turchak, deputies Sergey Pakhomov and Pavel Kachkaev joined the initiative. Approval from the Government was received.

People's deputies propose to amend the Housing Code (Articles 193 and 195). They relate to the register of disqualified persons, to which the directors of bankrupt and disbarred management companies (CC) are entered. If the bill becomes legally binding, the "black list" will be replenished by the owners of such organizations.

It is known that currently many "managers" are going bankrupt, while residents continue to regularly pay for utilities. The money is eventually withdrawn, the bankrupt company loses its license, and the utility is transferred to the management of another legal entity with the same founders.

As the author of the bill notes, the mandatory licensing of the Criminal Code established in 2014 was aimed at removing the problem of serial bankruptcies. After all, in order to get a license, the head of the Criminal Code had to show his compliance with qualifications, have no criminal record and not be on the "black list" (the register of disqualified persons).

However, the problem was not solved 8 years ago. The owners of bankrupt CC continue to establish new organizations that begin to accept payment for services from the population. The residential buildings themselves are not being repaired, the debts of the organization to the suppliers of light and heat are accumulating, firms are going bankrupt again, and money is flowing away in an unknown direction. Business owners are not included in the register, only directors have to answer.

Since 2014, about 30 thousand licenses have been issued, providing the opportunity to manage apartment buildings. About 2.5 thousand licenses were cancelled. The register of those who were disqualified (it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Construction) has been replenished with 1.2 thousand names of the heads of the Criminal Code.

A controversial point in the bill is the question of the terms of disqualification. In the current version, it was proposed to make it similar to the one that was previously established for the heads of the Criminal Code. It is three years from the date of entry, after which the data of the person is deleted from the register. Therefore, according to some experts, amendments to the law are unlikely to be able to solve the problem in full. After all, no one will prevent beneficiaries from transferring firms into the hands of trusted persons, while retaining actual control over the Criminal Code.