OREANDA-NEWS. February 29, 2012. Primorie Regional Arbitration Court upheld the decision and determination of the Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the Primorie Region (Primorie OFAS Russia) that Vladivostok Council had infringed the interests of managing companies of apartment blocks and city residents, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Primorie OFAS Russia investigated the case against the Council upon a petition of “Vlad-Dom” Managing Company” Ltd. Members of the Council adopted a municipal legal act that unreasonably imposed additional obligations upon managing companies to maintain the grounds surrounding the apartment blocks.

Primorie OFAS Russia found that Vladivostok Council had unlawfully fixed the size of the grounds surrounding the apartment blocks, which managing companies must service, including cleaning them up, in breach of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. The Council violated the law by imposing additional and unjustified obligations upon managing companies and put managing companies, servicing different (by the number of apartments and floor area) residential houses, in unequal conditions.

Primorie OFAS Russia issued a determination to Vladivostok Council: by 6th April 2011 the Council must have made changes to the municipal legal act “The Rules for Sanitary Maintenance of the Grounds, Organization of Cleaning-Up and Maintaining Cleanness in Vladivostok” that determine the size of the grounds surrounding residential houses, for which managing companies are responsible.

Members of Vladivostok Council disagreed with the decision and determination of the antimonopoly body and filed a lawsuit. On 21st February 2012 Primorie Regional Arbitration Court upheld the decision and determination issued by Primorie OFAS Russia.

“Since the managing companies get the funds for cleaning-up the grounds surrounding residential houses from housing owners, the decision made by Primorie OFAS Russia protected not only managing companies by also residents of Vladivostok from possible additional payments for cleaning-up the grounds that do not belong to them”, commented the Head of Primorie OFAS Russia, Sergey Vyalykh.