The property company used it for repairs without authorization, and the property committee did not have an account to supervise it.

Community public benefits don’t become a "confused account"

　　"Public benefits are the owner's money, why don't you count your own money?" said Wu Jia, director of the owners committee of a community in Yuhong District, Shenyang.

　　On July 26, Wu Jia found the property company with the signatures of 320 owners who opposed the "property's use of public revenue for expenditure", but was rejected on the grounds that "there was no balance after supplementing the special maintenance funds". The owner has been recovering public benefits for more than a year, but to no avail.

　　Article 11 of the "Property Management Regulations" implemented in 2003 clearly stipulates that major matters related to joint ownership and joint management rights shall be jointly decided by the owners.

　　A reporter from the Workers’ Daily found that in reality, public revenues are often used by property companies without authorization, and the owners committee is facing embarrassing situations such as difficulty in supervision and costlessness when it is recovered.

The property book is clear, and it is "confused" to use

　　The community where Wu Jia lives was completed in 2017 and has more than 1,000 owners. After the "Shenyang City Property Management Regulations" came into effect on January 1, 2019, the property company announced the public revenue situation of the previous year according to the regulations: In 2018, the community elevator advertising, parking lot lease, and north-south store rentals collected 420,000 Yu Yuan. At the same time, the main expenditure items of public revenue were announced, repairing trash cans, flower beds, street lamps and other public facilities, with a zero balance. This has been questioned by the majority of owners for "unauthorized use of public benefits."

　　Community public benefits, who will use it and how? It has always been the focus of disputes between the owners' committee and the property company.

　　Article 54 of my country's "Property Management Regulations" stipulates that if the property is operated using shared parts and shared facilities and equipment, the owner's income shall be mainly used to supplement special maintenance funds, or it may be used in accordance with the decision of the owners' assembly. "In other words, public benefits do not have to be used to supplement maintenance funds, and the owners' assembly can also decide how to use them." Wu Jia said.

　　Zhang Guoxin, the maintenance supervisor of the residential property company, felt wronged for the company. Since the implementation of the "Shenyang City Property Management Regulations", the company has strictly implemented the regulations, and the public income obtained is used for the maintenance and maintenance of the common parts of the property and the common facilities and equipment in the property management area. The remaining part is used in accordance with the decision of the owners' meeting. According to him, when the property fee collection rate in 2018 was less than 70%, the property company did not use the 2017 public revenue to supplement the lack of property fee income, but instead used it to repair the public facilities of the community. After the implementation of the new regulations, the company has no balance on its books and can withstand third-party audits.

　　"This property company's procedures for using public revenues were wrong, and the owners did not vote to agree." said Meng Yuping, a lawyer at Shanghai Duanhe Duan (Shenyang) Law Firm, at the third meeting of the 13th National People's Congress on May 28. Passed, Article 278 of the Civil Code implemented on January 1, 2021 stipulates that the use of the common part for business activities shall be subject to voting by the owners of more than three quarters of the exclusive part and the number of voting participants More than three-quarters of the owners agreed. Meng Yuping believes that the forthcoming "Civil Code" also specifies that most owners can use it only after agreeing to it, instead of reporting when it is used up.

Ownership committee manages the money, it is difficult to supervise and do not know how to spend

　　From September to October 2019, the Xinhu Mingzhucheng Community in Tiexi District, Shenyang City successively distributed a barrel of soybean oil to each of more than 2,000 homeowners and an equal share of 250,000 yuan in public income. This makes the owners of another community in Tiexi District of Shenyang envy. After discussion, the community committee hoped to distribute the remaining public income of 160,000 yuan in the community for three years on average. However, it received opposition from the community, “It is not advocating equal distribution and rational use of public income is the correct behavior. A good annual budget is more important."

　　In fact, before this public benefit was proposed, there was no bank account in it. In March 2019, after negotiation, the property company handed over the remaining public revenue to the property committee. Huang Huan, director of the community business committee, told reporters that the business committee does not have the qualifications of a legal person, does not have an organization code, and it is difficult to open an account. In the end, it can only open a personal account to deposit funds.

　　"There is no supervision, no supervision, so much money in my account, I feel panic." Huang Huan said. She once suggested setting up a paid part-time position "Public Income Accounting", where salaries are paid from the public income account and responsible for the management of public income accounts. The results were unanimously opposed by members of the business committee; someone proposed to use the money Building a children’s playground for the community was quickly opposed by members of the owners’ committee who had no children at home. Someone proposed to set the idle room on the second floor of the property company as a residents’ activity room and purchase some indoor fitness equipment and entertainment facilities. The opposition... Arguments come and go. In order to allow every owner to enjoy the benefits, they have come up with a way to share it equally.

　　In fact, at the beginning, the community property company suggested that public revenue should be transferred to special property maintenance funds for rollover use. There are also relevant provisions in the "Shenyang City Property Special Maintenance Fund Management Measures". This suggestion was quickly questioned by the owners: "We pay several thousand yuan in property fees a year, and we don't use it to maintain public facilities. Why do we have to use the proceeds?" "Once the special maintenance funds are used, they need to be used. Through many procedures such as the convening of the owners' meeting and the approval of the Housing Authority, the income may not be withdrawn when put in.

No matter who manages it, special accounts are dedicated and regular disclosure of income and expenditure is the key

　　"In fact, no matter whose account the money lies on, it is the same. The key is to know how the money was spent and where it was spent. It is a special account that is dedicated to regular public income and expenditure." Meng Yuping explained that the owners do not It should focus on how to recover public benefits, but should straighten out how to spend this money on the "knife edge" in accordance with laws and regulations.

　　Article 38 of the "Shenyang City Property Management Regulations" clarifies that property service companies should publish public income and expenditure. Where the owners’ assembly or the owners’ committee requires an audit of public benefits, the real estate service enterprise shall cooperate.

　　"We are too short of professionals who understand the law and audit." Wu Jia said. The incumbent owner committee lacks legal and financial-related professional knowledge, and several people have to gather around the computer to check laws and regulations. She hopes that there will be public welfare legal advisers and financial experts to help the property committee, so as to avoid many disputes and conflicts between the property and the property committee.

　　Huang Huan said that although the money has not been evenly divided, she and other members of the business committee are studying and drafting a plan for the use of public benefits: 70% of which will be used to set up a special maintenance fund for public facilities, and 20% will be used for parenting, respecting the elderly, and popular science. For other activities, 10% is used as a reserve fund for epidemic prevention and control. She believes that although the process of "spending money" is troublesome, it is worthwhile to benefit every owner.

　　(Requested by interviewees, some are pseudonyms)

　　Liu Xu