Project „For Furnished Buildings in Vracar“
Introduction
Area of residential buildings maintenance and management requires comprehensive reform action in Serbia, which should provide legal, institutional, financial, professional and organizational conditions for the introduction of significantly clearer rules and mechanisms, and improvement of practice in buildings management and maintenance.
New Draft Law on Housing and Buildings Maintenance is currently in legal procedure. The Draft Law introduces new concepts in the area of housing, management and maintenance of residential buildings. The professionalization in the field of management, separation of funds for investment and ongoing maintenance, receivership, the obligation of registration of residential communities and the introduction of a central register of residential communities, are some of the most important innovations of the current Draft Law.
In the period December 2015 - March 2016, the Municipality of Vracar and OPTIMUS - Center for Good Governance conducted a project "Better Housing in Vracar" within the program "Improvement of Service Delivery at the Local Level", implemented by the UNDP and the Municipality of Vracar.
One of the project activities was conducting a Survey among the presidents of the assemblies and councils of tenants. The Survey involved total of 124 presidents of assemblies and councils of tenants, which makes turnout of 39.12% invitees. Presidents were surveyed on topics such as the current state of the assemblies / councils functioning, the current state of the building, current legislation and the Draft Law, cooperation with the Municipality and needed support for assemblies and councils of tenants.
Representatives of the assemblies and councils of tenants noted the problems faced with, but also provided suggestions for solving. Surveyed presidents find the ways to overcome difficulties in the work of assemblies and councils of tenants in the following: a) legislation, which should introduce mandatory financial and other participation of tenants in the buildings maintenance and sanction for non-compliance, b) development of a sustainable system of payment for building maintenance, c) education, awareness, information and motivation.
According to the respondents, topics on which municipalities should organize the trainings or seminars are as follows: legal framework for the buildings maintenance and management (64.8%), rights and obligations of the residential community (64.8%), role and responsibility of the buildings managers (62.5%), financial management (58%), access to sources of financing (52.3%), production of building maintenance programs (46.6%), tenants awareness on buildings maintenance in the common interest (45.5%) etc.
You can find more information in the Report on Results of the Survey of Presidents of Assemblies and Councils of Tenants from the Belgrade Municipality of Vračar.
Project Objectives
The Project "For Furnished Buildings in Vracar" is a direct response to the needs of the presidents of assemblies and councils of tenants in Vracar, expressed through the Survey conducted under the previous project "Better Housing in Vracar".
The overall objective of the project is to contribute to sustainable community development through education and information in the field of management and maintenance of residential buildings in the Municipality of Vracar
- Specific objectives:
- Building capacities and awareness of presidents of assemblies and councils of tenants in the Municipality of Vracar on sustainable management and maintenance of buildings;
- Improving communication and cooperation of the Municipality of Vracar with the presidents of assemblies and councils of tenants;
- Strengthening participatory involvement of citizens and thus empowering local community in the Municipality of Vracar;
- Increasing awareness of citizens in the Municipality Vracar.
Project Activities
The Project envisages preparation and implementation of two seminars for presidents of assemblies and councils of tenants in the Municipality of Vracar, in order to raise their capacities in the areas, recognized in the Survey. It should be taken into account that the Draft Law and its concept of management and maintenance pose an additional challenge for the tenants and the current presidents (future managers of residential communities, according to the Draft Law). These seminars will contribute to easier addressing the challenges and grasping new opportunities, which will be introduced by the new law.
The seminars will cover following topics: legal framework for the buildings maintenance and management, rights and obligations of the residential community according to the new Law, roles and responsibilities of the manager, possibilities of professional management, cooperation with tenants and similar. Part of the seminar will be devoted to a discussion with the participants. Therefore it is expected to collect further information on the problems of tenants in order to review the current situation and propose ways for improving buildings management and maintenance.
