Lawyer Krokhin: fines for glazing balconies are aimed at combating redevelopment will oblige homeowners to bring the illegally glazed balcony to its original state. This measure is aimed at combating the redevelopment of residential premises. Konstantin Krokhin, a lawyer, chairman of the Moscow Housing Union, a member of the Housing and Utilities Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Konstantin Krokhin told about this in an interview with the newspaper “Vechernyaya Moskva”.
The new legislation allows regional authorities to take into account local rules regarding the reconstruction of balconies and loggias, the lawyer explained. “This means the following: if, according to the plan of the house, the balconies do not have glazing, then from next year we will have to take permission from local services and authorities for the refurbishment,” Krokhin warned.
He stressed that the new measure will not affect the owners and tenants who glazed the balcony in advance because the law is not retroactive. “We are talking about exactly those glazed balconies that will appear after March 2022,” the lawyer explained.
At the same time, the chairman of the Moscow City Bar Association “ABS” Anton Bakulin, in an interview with BFM, suggested that the new rules would not affect apartment owners. In his opinion, these requirements will affect only housing used under a social rent agreement and under a specialized housing fund lease agreement. This requirement will not apply to premises belonging to citizens and legal entities on the right of ownership of the residential premises of an apartment building.
“Therefore, I can say that the new rules for owners of residential premises do not differ from the current rules “, – said the lawyer.
A superficial check of real estate for illegal alterations was called one of the main mistakes when buying apartments from a secondary housing stock. The technical passport of the BTI or the floor plan of the house with an explication will help to find out the legality of the redevelopment – these documents must be requested from the owner and checked with them the current state on their own or with a realtor.