Vitebsk region authorities have taken control of the qualifications of chairpersons of housing cooperatives

The qualifications and competencies of the chairperson of a homeowners' association must be confirmed by a certificate of completion of relevant training. This was emphasized to the participants of an extended meeting of the public council for promoting the development of the joint property management system, which took place today at the housing and communal services department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

The meeting of the public council was dedicated to the latest changes in housing and communal services legislation, which affected homeowners' associations, among others. The deputy chairman of the public council, Sergey Galkin, reminded the chairpersons of associations that they need approval from the district administration to work in this position. Among the main conditions for approval, in accordance with Decree No. 536, are a diploma of higher or secondary technical, legal, or economic education and completion of training courses. The position of local executive bodies was also voiced at the meeting: a document of the established sample from a reputable institution organizing special courses is required; certificates from "suspicious" individual entrepreneurs will not be accepted. Educational courses can be taken in Vitebsk at the Vitebsk State Technological University. VSTU offers a corresponding 36-hour program. Recently, the International University "MITSO" has also joined the efforts to train professional personnel for the management of common property. A 16-hour course program has been developed. "The first group of 25 people will undergo training on February 18-19. Chairpersons of homeowners' associations and accountants will learn a lot from practitioners - representatives of the treasury, the city executive committee's finance department, the chief engineer of one of the housing and repair enterprises, and a lawyer," reported Igor Yaroshevsky, head of the regional educational and methodological department of the Republican Educational and Methodological Center of Trade Unions "MITSO". In addition, many chairpersons of homeowners' associations are undergoingtraining at Belarusian State University and other leading universities in Minsk offering the relevant educational program. Subsequently, they are required to undergo professional development at least every 5 years. In Vitebsk, 103 chairpersons of housing owners' associations are registered, and their number is increasing as new buildings are commissioned.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.