OREANDA-NEWS. December 02, 2009. The Moscow Government and the Moscow Department of Housing Policy and Housing Stock issued unlawful acts to transfer some of the Department functions to the following subordinate state unitary enterprises, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia:

- The "Agency for Executing Housing Loan and Subsidies",

- The "Moscow City Centre of Leased Housing",

- The "Centre for Premises Certification",

- The "Moscow Register [Mosreestr]",

- The Information and Analytical Centre for "Zhilische" Unified Information System",

- The "Technical Inventory Bureau".

That was the decision of the Commission of the Moscow Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (the Moscow OFAS Russia).

For instance, the "Moscow City Centre of Rental Housing" is unlawfully exercising the functions of the Moscow Department of Housing Policy and Housing Stock on registering and concluding the lease contracts, lease contract with an option to buy and housing buying-and-selling contracts with installment payments with legal entities; as well as tenancy contracts, and assignments of claims (cession) for housing space (owned by the city) with physical persons. The "Moscow Register" also unlawfully exercises the functions of the Department for keeping, complying and updating the Register of the Housing Property of Moscow.

Making a decision on the case, the Moscow OFAS Russia noted that certain functions are exercised by state unitary enterprises on a paid basis. For instance, the services for concluding, registering and following-up of the contracts for buying-and-selling housing space owned by the city of Moscow are provided by the "Moscow City Centre of Rental Housing" at a charge: 5% of the amount deposited as the payment for housing redemption value.

On the basis of its decision, the Moscow OFAS Russia will issue a determination to the Moscow Government and the Moscow Department of Housing Policy and Housing Stock on eliminating the antimonopoly violation and restoring the conditions that existed before the violation by abolishing the relevant Decree of the Moscow Government and the Instructions issued by the Department.

"As a result of the case investigation, we have established that the Moscow Government and the Moscow Department of Housing Policy and Housing Stock transferred some of their functions to subordinate organizations that exercised them at a paid basis, while the Department must provide them free of charge", - says Vladimir Yefimov, the Head of the Moscow OFAS Russia.

According to Vladimir Yefimov, it will be more correct to organize an open auction in order to select and organization which can exercise non-governmental functions independently at the lowest price, while the government functions must remain the responsibility of the Department.