Housing Maintenance and Management in Russia during the Reforms

The primary objectives of the housing reforms in the Russian Federation were to reduce the balance of the state housing stock by privatisation and to raise rental payments in order to permit the market to achieve a more efficient utilisation of the housing stock by allocating available housing to those with effective housing demand. Part of these objectives also included improving the quality of maintenance in state housing by breaking up the monopolies of state maintenance firms and replacing them with private firms procured through competitive bidding procedures. Moscow, in particular, has been a forerunner in implementing housing reform policies, including shifting from state maintenance firms to contracted private ones. Using Moscow and other Russian cities as illustrations for reforms in maintenance and managementbrings to light the benefits of private maintenance and also problems which must be overcome, not only throughout Russia but in nearly all the countries of the formerSoviet bloc. This paper evaluates the institutional changes of maintenance and sources of funding for maintenance in Moscow during the reforms; it shows evidence of improved quality of housing maintenance through the use of contracted private firms; and providesa general overview of competitive maintenance and condominium formation throughout Russia.