What to do if there are uninvited neighbors in the basement

In Moscow, the real estate market has a trend that makes nervous giggles. Cellars of residential buildings are increasingly put up for sale under the guise of apartments. The area is from 10 to 20 square meters, the price is from 3 to 4 million rubles, there are usually no windows at all. Of course, it is impossible to register in such “apartments” – they are issued as non-residential premises. But the sellers don't mind.

A reasonable question arises: how do you sell what you can not sell? The simple answer is bypass. Legally sell not housing, but non-residential premises. There are no “apartments”; there are “free apartments” or simply “rooms”. Technically, a mosquito won't blow your nose. And then the most interesting thing begins. To remove the basement from the common property, you need the consent of all the owners of the house – so says article 36 of the Housing code. And here comes the “heavy artillery”: the minutes of general meetings, at which the tenants allegedly voted for the sale. The residents, of course, did not vote for anything, but the paper, as they say, will tolerate everything. And then on the foreground are the one-day firms – companies with one employee in the state, registered in unknown places and existing exactly before the transaction. Such an office sells underground meters, receives money and evaporates. If you try to make a claim, it turns out that the company no longer exists. The money's gone, the basement's left. And this is not a hypothetical threat - courts regularly invalidate such transactions, and cellars are returned to common property.

But if in Moscow it is so far announcements and deals, in Mytishchi - already almost everyday. On October 10, residents of the house on 34B Kolpakova Street found an improvised living room in the basement of their high-rise building. According to local residents, someone has equipped a room there for comfortable living - inside there are all amenities: sofa, bathroom, washing machine, kitchen. Who exactly settled in the basement and on what grounds is still unknown. Residents have expressed concern and have already sent a message about the find, an inspection has been initiated.

Now is the time to open the housing code. Article 22 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation allows the transfer of non-residential premises to residential only if sanitary and technical requirements are met, and the basement does not meet these requirements in principle. Part 1 of article 36 of the LC RF adds: cellars, where engineering communications are held, are the common property of the owners. It is impossible to sell or rent them without the consent of all residents of the house.

Such stories in the suburbs, unfortunately, are not unique. In Odintsovo, in the residential complex "Skolkovsky", in the basement of the house No. 7B found unexpected "neighbors", who lived there, as it turned out, for a long time. According to preliminary information, at least ten people were detained as a result of the inspection. Who they are - migrants, persons without a certain place of residence - was not officially reported. In Mytishchi, in the LCD "Pirogov Riviera", the tenants found in the basement a guest house. In Chekhov, in the basement of an apartment building, a hostel was organized by persons without a certain place of residence, forcing the room with furniture.

And in the elite residential complex "Ilyinsky meadows" near Krasnogorsk, residents suspected something was wrong after cockroaches and rats started in the apartments - and went down to the basement. There they were waiting for a scene worthy of a separate plot: a mini-kitchen, laundry drying and sleeping places. The scandal reached the Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, who took the situation under control. The developer took disciplinary action against the contractor and the migrants from the basement were resettled.

And now about why this is not just a violation and not “let them live, as long as they do not interfere.” The basement is a place where not only things accumulate, but also dampness, mold, and sometimes gases. In any communal accident, the basement goes under the water first. And if there is also a washing machine working at full capacity, it is better not to think about it before going to bed, or you will not fall asleep. But the most interesting and dangerous thing is electric. In the basements of residential buildings, there are usually electric shields and switchboards, from which the whole house is “feeding”. And these are not just traffic jams that can be twisted and replaced. We are talking about serious equipment under tension. High humidity due to regular leaks of old pipes can lead to short circuits, after which the occurrence of fires is more than likely. So if someone lives in the basement, washes and cooks, the load on the wiring increases many times. And with it - and the chances that one day "congestion" knock out not only in the "secret room", but also at the whole house. With spark fireworks and no warning.

Conclusion: The Housing Code says one thing: it cannot be. Not for millions, not for modest money, not with or without a washing machine. The basement remains a basement. Even if you really want to call it an apartment and live there.

It remains to be seen what will appear in the real estate market next. There are cellars. There were attics. What's next? Ventilation shafts?