Communal supersonic: The Ministry of Construction wants to issue licenses to building managers three times faster

Legislators are still haunted by the topic of housing and communal services. On Thursday, State Duma deputies faced a difficult choice: to make sure there are more utility workers, or to make them smarter. The Ministry of Construction is obviously in favor of the first option. The agency submitted for first reading to the lower house amendments to the Housing Code, which reduce the period for issuing licenses to management companies by three times, and the exam for potential building managers is transferred to electronic form.

Currently, management companies can obtain a license in 30 days. You still need to pass the exam, and you can work. The Ministry of Construction proposes to reduce the time frame to 10 days, and to transfer the test for future building managers “digitally”.

The idea, of course, is in line with the general trend: government services should be provided as quickly as possible. And taking exams on paper in the era of artificial intelligence is generally bad manners.

But not all Duma members liked this modernization. More precisely, optimization – the intended acceleration and simplification, officials called everyone’s favorite word.

Deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Olga Alimova was excited about the equipment of the exams for building managers. Should they know the answers to the questions inspired by the communal disasters of this winter? For example, “what to do if a pipe bursts”? Or “how not to freeze the residents?”

Yaroslav Nilov (LDPR) recalled the proposal of the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky to re-register all management companies in the country.

“A huge number of crooks and thieves have hidden themselves there. They are simply murderers against our citizens. They mock, they are rude, they inflate tariffs. They do not allow normal use of residential premises and non-residential premises. They don’t clean it up. They are delaying decision-making with lawsuits and so on,” Nilov listed a small share of the sins of negligent building managers and asked the representative of the Ministry of Construction: how does he feel about the idea of ​​combing the public utility market inside and out?

Deputy Minister Yuri Mutsenek thanked the deputy for the question and gave a routine answer:

– Of course, we need to fight this. This should not be allowed under any circumstances.

Not all Duma members understood the rush to meet deadlines. Why do we need these supersonic speeds with the issuance of licenses? Aidar Metshin (United Russia) was surprised: he communicated with both citizens and the building managers themselves – no one complained about the extended deadlines.

Well, as for converting the exam into digital form, then in general we need to take an even closer look at what kind of “especially gifted” individuals are allowed to take this exam.

“This is a very important question, because today there are representatives of management companies who classify soybeans as legumes, excuse the expression,” the deputy allegorically described the level of mental abilities of utility workers.

– Everything needs to be done faster! Faster, not slower,” Yaroslav Nilov defended the acceleration program. He also didn’t see anything bad or scary in the electronic form of passing the exam for utility workers, so he reassured the Ministry of Construction: the LDPR faction will support the bill.

At the same time, Nilov suggested digging deeper into the housing management issue: this market has long been divided. And not all building managers are equally useful. There are developers for whom a good image is important. With these, there are affiliated “managers” who, at the first whistle, solve all the problems at home. And there are others – it is important for them that there are no claims to the new building during the warranty period. And then at least the grass won’t grow. In such houses, building managers are needed only to cover the work of the builders and defectors.

Nikolai Kolomeytsev (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) also reproached the Cabinet of Ministers for excessive haste and warned: it will come back to haunt the officials, and in the very near future.

-Where are you in a hurry? Our problem this winter, highlighted by frost, speaks of an extremely incompetent approach to personnel selection at the level of villages, cities, districts and regions. Who is the mayor? This is not a policeman, as in many places today there is an OBHS officer who is used to controlling the things of others. This must be a person who understands housing and communal services, electrical networks, and transport organization. And our budget masters came. “And you want to make cuts here,” Kolomeitsev scolded the officials.

He also opposed the transfer of the exam for candidates for house managers to electronic format. A person should at least know what water hammer is – but do they know? Not a fact at all.

– If a person does not understand what scheduled preventive maintenance is in the housing and communal services sector, which has 80% wear and tear in many places, how can he be appointed to the position? – the communist asked a logical question.

He even called the current managers of the company “a burp of the commercialization of the housing and communal services sector.” However, for now the pendulum has swung towards the building managers. 343 deputies voted for the amendments in the first reading, two abstained.