The key facts
- The amendment was adopted at second reading and concerns owners of houses and plots in low-rise residential complexes
- It is prohibited to restrict pedestrian and vehicle passage along common roads and to charge fees for access
- Earlier, residents of the Michurinskaya Riviera reported rates of 500 rubles per single entry and 4,300 rubles per month
Amendment on free access to homes adopted at second reading
State Duma deputies adopted at second reading an amendment that must guarantee residents of cottage settlements free access to their own homes and plots. The provision prohibits restricting pedestrian and vehicle passage along common roads leading to the property, as well as charging a fee for access itself. This is reported by Life.ru.
What exactly is changing
The amendment applies to owners of houses and land plots in low-rise residential complexes: they will be able to use common roads leading to their property without hindrance and without additional access payments. Ilya Volfsоn, a member of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities, explained to TASS that the amendments are aimed at protecting people from what is called 'barrier servitude': it is forbidden to block a person's pedestrian or vehicle access to their own plot via the common road intended for that purpose, or to charge money for access itself.
Complaints from residents were the trigger
The practice of paid barriers had already prompted specific complaints: according to Life.ru, residents of the Michurinskaya Riviera cottage settlement in the Leningrad Region reported that they were charged 500 rubles for a single passage through the barrier, while the monthly rate was 4,300 rubles. Because of this, some owners had to leave their cars outside the settlement and walk to their plots. The adopted amendment addresses precisely such situations; however, the publication does not make clear how the provision will apply to existing contracts with the settlements' management companies.
