OREANDA-NEWS  The State Duma adopted in the third reading a law on reducing the size of the penalty for late elimination of deficiencies in an apartment, which is collected from developers in favor of shareholders, as well as on reducing tenfold - from 50% to 5% of the fine in favor of a participant in shared-equity construction, which is calculated from the amount collected in his favor.

The bill (N635611-8) was introduced to the State Duma in May 2024 by the head of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services Sergey Pakhomov, his first deputies Pavel Kachkaev and Vladimir Koshelev, senators Nikolai Zhuravlev and Andrei Shevchenko.

The document reduces the amount of the penalty, which is awarded in favor of the shareholder, if the developer delayed the elimination of defects in the apartment or refuses to reimburse the buyer's expenses for their correction or proportionally reduce the price of the apartment under the contract. The law provides that if housing is purchased by an individual solely for personal needs unrelated to entrepreneurship, then the penalty for late elimination of defects will be 1/150 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation per day from the cost of expenses to eliminate deficiencies, and if due to deficiencies it is impossible to live in an apartment - from the price of the contract. If the object was not purchased for personal needs, then the calculation will have to be made based on 1/300 of the rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Now this sanction is calculated at the rate of 1% for each day of delay.

In addition, the amount of the fine in favor of shareholders is reduced from the amounts awarded to them for violation of contractual obligations. Now, when meeting their requirements to the developer, shareholders have the right to rely on the application of the law on consumer protection, where the fine is 50% of the amount awarded. According to the adopted law, the amount of the fine will be 5%.

By the second reading, adjustments were made to the document, which reduced the warranty period for apartments in new buildings from five to three years, during which the developer bears responsibility to the owners of residential premises for the inadequate quality of construction of an apartment building.

The changes will take effect on September 1, 2024. The new rules will be applied when calculating penalties and fines for the period from the date of its entry into force, including in relation to previously concluded equity participation agreements.