In 1992, Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law “On privatization of state housing fund” which permitted the Ukrainian citizens residing in multiapartment houses to privatize occupied by them apartments. 

«According to the Law, citizens who privatized apartments in multiapartment houses, became co-owners of all service premises, structural elements and technical systems of those houses, and were encouraged to form their associations of co-owners  in order to ensure effective operation and maintenance of their common real estate (multiapartment houses). However, the majority of the Ukrainian citizens residing in multiapartment houses have managed to privatize apartments but failed to create their associations. Therefore, the majority of multiapartment houses located in Ukraine until this time are maintained by local communal enterprises known as “ZHEKs”. Due to a number of political and economic reasons, ZHEKs are not capable to maintain properly and keep multiapartment houses in satisfactory technical condition. As a result, nowadays, structural elements and technical systems of mainly all multiapartment houses constructed before 2000 require capital repair», Leonid Tulovsky, UNDP/MGSDP Quality Management Expert, says.

National Programme on reforming of housing and municipal economy in 2010-2014 envisages strengthening, through creation in multiapartment houses of associations of co-owners (ACMHs), of influence of owners of the located in multiapartment houses premises on improvement of the house maintenance services and formation of a competitive market of the services to be provided by professional managers of multiapartment houses.  At the same time, each association of co-owners will retain the right to choose either to maintain its’ house and administer its’ affairs on their own or act as a customer of the offered by the market professional services, selecting and contracting professional house-managers (administrators) on a competitive basis.

Formation of the civil market relations between the customers and providers of multiapartment real estate management services require possession of adequate competence of the customers’ representatives (ACMHs’ executives) and demonstration by the services’ providers of the highly professional attitude to their functions.

During the VI-th Annual Conference of Small Cities of Ukraine which was held on 6-7 July 2011 in Ukrayinka municipality of Kyiv region, Natalia Oliynyk, Natalia Oliynyk, director of the Department for Strategy of Reforming the Housing and Municipal Economy of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Municipal Economy of Ukraine, presented the joint plans of cooperation of UNDP/MGSDP and the Ministry on elaboration of the model peogrammes for raising the professional qualification of the heads of the associations of co-owners of multiapartment houses and for acquiring the qualification of the “house manager”.

In the majority of the Ukrainian cities, up to 80% of multiapartment houses require immediate renovation, formation in them of house owners’ associations, development of their capacity professionally manage resources and maintain common estate either through their organization or contracting professional service providers. Therefore, development of Model Educational Programme of the advanced training of heads and/or members of the executive boards of condominiums is required, Natalia Oliynyk said.

UNDP/MGSDP promotes policies, practices and procedures which, when applied by the municipal authorities, improve living conditions for the population, quality of the municipal and administrative services, ensure participation of the citizens in decision-making processes at the local level and sustainable development of their territorial community. In order to initiate the processes of improvements in the defined sectors of the municipal governance or services, UNDP/MGSDP provides assistance to its partner cities in a form of trainings, manuals, informational and analytical reports, professional consultancy and recommendations, and seed grants for implementation of the local communities’ development initiatives.

In 2009, UNDP/MGSDP developed and started to present in partner cities, in a form of informational and educational seminars, a training course for executives and activists of associations of co-owners of multiapartment houses (ACMH) and members of the groups formed by the most active owners of apartments initiating creation of associations in their multiapartment houses.  By today such trainings are provided in 10 cities, including Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Rubizhne, Voznesensk, Mogyliv-Podilsky, Yevpatoriya, Novovolynsk, Tul’chyn, Saky. In course of these trainings, Quality Management Expert of the project Leonid Tulovsky provided participants with information and consultations on current legislation, ACMH functions, role of co-owners in it, principles of that organization management, accounting, multiapartment house operation and maintenance, energy saving, land issues, etc. As a result, the majority of the executives who attended the seminars started more professionally perform their duties; owners of apartments in multiapartment houses started more actively create their associations of co-owners; population became more competent in the dialog with the local authorities, in planning and implementation of the local development projects on participatory and cooperative basis.

Analysis of the results achieved in partner cities by the local ACMHs in cooperation with the local authorities and UNDP/MGSDP demonstrates that many executives of ACMHs, as well as many specialists of currently functioning housing and communal enterprises (ZHEKs), if properly educated have a very good potential to become professional “house managers” providing professional services to more than one multiapartment house/association of co-owners. Information from the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Municipal Economy of Ukraine, analysis of forums and information from the Internet demonstrates that the situation is identical in many other cities of Ukraine.

The elaborated educational programme will be approved Ministry of Education, Science, Youth and Sport and Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Municipal Economy, and applied by the profile educational institutions providing in Ukraine “post-graduate” education for organizing of advanced trainings for heads and/or members of the executive boards of associations of co-owners of multi-apartment house (ACMHs).

For more details about the tasks, terms and conditions of the assignment and to apply for participation in the competition please go to: http://undp.org.ua/en/tenders/?window=1&tender=1550  

For more information contact Leonid Tulovsky, Quality Management Expert, by tel. (044) 584-3475, 584-3476 or via e-mail: leonid.tulovsky@undp.org.ua