“Obsolete housing. How to avoid a catastrophe?” This topic was discussed in another stream on Viktor Leshchynsky’s official Facebook page “Ask an expert about…”. The broadcast itself was conducted primarily for condominium associations and co-owners of obsolete housing
The topic of discussion was joined by the President of NEBAU Viktor Leshchynskyi and the leading construction expert of PROEKSP Vasyl Bachynskyi.
According to Viktor Leshchynsky, the issue of outdated housing was relevant at the beginning of the 20th century. And now it is more relevant than ever.
“In the last few years alone, we have all observed numerous collapses and falls of residential buildings. Currently, serial buildings, especially unreconstructed buildings from the tsarist era, which are still architectural monuments, are in an extremely neglected state. And to this day, there is no decision on their reconstruction and restoration. This also applies to the renovation of outdated housing – Khrushchevs, in general. I would like to note that although the state protects architectural monuments, it minimizes its contribution to their restoration. These issues are only mentioned before the elections, when individual politicians need to hype their slogans,” the expert shares.
Leading construction expert at PROEKSP Vasyl Bachynsky added that the renovation of Khrushchev houses needs to be done immediately, as they can collapse at any time.
“During the Khrushchev period, construction was not very high-quality. We can see this clearly when these high-rise buildings have cracks in the walls, their foundations have sunk, etc. So it is clear that this housing is becoming more dangerous every day and can lead to disasters. Therefore, the condominium association must immediately organize itself and attract experts to actually save its housing,” says Vasyl Bachynskyi
NEBAU President Viktor Leshchynsky also emphasized that the issue of outdated housing stock should be resolved primarily by its owners. However, the state, local authorities, and construction experts should be involved in this process.
“When you become a user of the land under your high-rise building, that is, you register it for yourself, you will be able, as an ACMH, with your building, to become a participant in state and non-state programs for attracting cheap loans, receiving compensation from the municipality. For example, there are many programs in Kyiv where the ACMH pays only 30%, and the authorities compensate 70% from the local budget. This means that a legal entity, as a market player, can implement any actions with its building,” Viktor Leshchynskyi noted.
According to the expert, since 2007, myths have been circulating about the development of an interactive map of Ukraine after a survey of the entire property complex of the state.
“Each city was supposed to conduct an inspection of all buildings and structures on its territory and submit recommendations for further action. No city in Ukraine has done this. If you have a form of management, that is, you have created an condominium, you actually manage your property. No one will come to you and give you a bag of money,” the president of NEBAU summarized.
Finally, Viktor Leshchynskyi emphasized that the condominium association should first of all order specialists who will conduct a complete inspection of the building and communications, provide recommendations on strengthening the foundations, replacing windows or comprehensive insulation of the house. And then draw up an estimate for repair and restoration work.
NEBAU Press Service
