Authorities are discussing the idea of ​​introducing a minimum cost for elevator service contracts

According to Kommersant, the authorities are discussing the idea of ​​introducing a minimum cost for contracts for maintenance and routine repairs of elevators in residential buildings. Now there is no such bar, which allows management companies trying to save money to enter into contracts with contractors at minimum prices. This can affect the quality of work and lead to serious emergencies, officials and market participants believe. But experts doubt the possibility of establishing a single minimum tariff due to differences in maintenance of different types of equipment.

At a meeting of the working group in the Ministry of Construction on March 20, it was proposed at the state level to introduce cost standards and price indicators for contracts for maintenance and ongoing repairs of elevators, as well as uniform standards for technical specifications for the performance of such work. The general director of the Russian Elevator Association, Pyotr Kharlamov, told Kommersant about this. According to him, this initiative is now undergoing regulatory procedures in the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not respond to Kommersant’s request. The Ministry of Construction confirmed that, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the “road map” for the development of the elevator industry has been finalized.

Currently, the minimum cost for elevator services has not been established, which allows companies managing apartment buildings and commercial facilities, in order to save money, to enter into contracts for such services with companies offering the minimum price, explains Pyotr Kharlamov. But, according to him, at a low cost, “it is problematic to provide high-quality and timely maintenance of elevators.” This is also why elevator accidents are becoming more common. According to the National Elevator Union, in 2018–2022, more than 129 people were injured in accidents in elevators throughout Russia.

Management companies indeed often choose contractors to service elevators based on low prices, agrees Oleg Malakhov, vice-president of the New Quality association. According to him, managers are trying to make money by saving money, which is the difference between the price for servicing elevator equipment in the residential fee structure and the cost of the corresponding services under an agreement with a contractor. However, the expert emphasizes, the key criterion for selecting a contractor still remains the availability of qualified personnel and logistics, without which servicing elevators is impossible.

Now the law provides for regular indexation of the amount of payment for the services of resource-supplying organizations, but payments for services such as maintenance and current repairs, from which the services of elevator contractors are paid, have not been increased for years, notes the President of the Association of Real Estate Service Companies, Nikita Chulochnikov. Seeing the constant increase in the cost of the total payment for housing and communal services, apartment owners strive at a general meeting to block the increase in tariffs of the service company, and inflation and the growth of citizens’ debt eat up all the profits of the management company, he adds.

However, it may be difficult to bring elevator servicing to a single tariff, warns Deputy General Director of Astrum-Moscow Management Company Valentina Tugusheva. There are a lot of conditions: what kind of elevator is installed, the availability of component materials, the number of floors of the building and much more, she points out.

Oleg Malakhov believes that the cost of servicing elevators should be highlighted as a separate line in the payment document and rules should be established regarding the impossibility of its approval at a general meeting below the minimum threshold. Meteor Lift (the equipment manufacturer) believes that this will “improve the quality and reliability of elevator operation.” They also consider it necessary to introduce requirements for the qualifications of operating organizations and return the powers of Rostechnadzor to control the operation of elevators.

It would be optimal if apartment owners signed separate agreements with elevator companies and paid for the maintenance of equipment in their buildings themselves, Nikita Chulochnikov believes. This, in his opinion, would allow “to avoid problems with management companies hiring a cheap, unqualified contractor.” In any case, Mr. Malakhov emphasizes, the increase in fees will ultimately fall on the shoulders of home owners.

Daria Andrianova