Membership fees to SNT under the new law in 2022

What do we pay for?

Membership fees are calculated and paid in accordance with Federal Law No. 217-FZ of July 29, 2022 “On gardening and horticulture by citizens for their own needs.” These funds are spent for purposes directly specified in the law (clause 5 of article 14 of the law):

Maintenance of common property belonging to all members of the partnership;
Payments for utilities and waste removal;
Improvement of common areas;
Payment for the services of a security organization;
Payment for auditor services;
Settlements with the state for taxes and fees levied on SNT;
Remuneration for the chairman of the SNT and other employees of the partnership;
Financing of organizational issues related to holding general meetings, sending out notifications to SNT members, and implementing decisions adopted by the general meeting.

What's included and what's not included

The above list of needs, where funds collected as membership fees go, is exhaustive. They cannot be spent on other purposes.

However, the income of the partnership consists not only of membership fees, but also other types of income:

Targeted contributions specifically collected in accordance with the decisions of the general meetings of SNT;
Income from the use of property owned by SNT and services provided.

Alexander Vasiliev

Lawyer

Targeted contributions go to the purposes for which they were collected. The spending of independently earned SNT funds is less strictly limited. However, in any case, the money received in this way is spent in accordance with the goals of the SNT activities stated in the charter.

From any hopeless situation...

...there are two ways out. The first is to commit suicide, the second is to find the third.

Surprisingly, we are approaching the most interesting part of the story, namely suicide. Let’s assume that attempts to come to an agreement (well, “companionship”...) lead nowhere. At the same time, I note that the issue of contributions may not be the root cause. The personality of the Chairman, the composition of the Board... whatever. And SNT is liquidated.

What happens to the most critically resistant justification for “paying for hundreds”? Common property, a share in which motivates the membership fee “per hundred square meters”? And very interesting things are happening. The previously unmentioned Article 28 217 reads: “1. When a partnership is liquidated, the partnership's common use property, with the exception of common use real estate owned by the partnership and remaining after satisfaction of the creditors' claims, is transferred to the owners of garden or vegetable plots of land located within the boundaries of the gardening or vegetable gardening territory, in proportion to their area, regardless of whether these persons were members of the partnership.”

And also:

"2. Foreclosure cannot be applied to public real estate Upon liquidation of the partnership, such property owned by the partnership is transferred free of charge to the common shared ownership of the owners of garden or vegetable plots of land located within the boundaries of the gardening or vegetable gardening territory, in proportion to their area, regardless of whether these persons were members of the partnership.”

That is, we see that during the liquidation of the partnership, the Legislator divided the common property in general and real estate. But this is not important. Both are in shared ownership (including by virtue of the provisions of Article 54 217-FZ). The third line of logical defense has been broken, only one strong point remains - all arguments about shares are good in one single (above-mentioned) case, when the common property is properly registered. In all other cases, upon liquidation of SNT, I will receive a little less than nothing, and, accordingly, my obligation to bear the costs of “its maintenance and preservation” is a pumpkin . Pumpkin immediately, without the need for the clock to strike midnight.

Size and how to calculate it

The SNT charter must indicate how much membership fees are and on what basis they are calculated. Traditionally, the size is determined by the size of the plot in SNT (that is, the contribution is assigned for each hundred square meters). It is also possible to assign an equal contribution from each member of the partnership.

If this is provided for by the charter, the amount of contributions may be different for different members of the partnership (Clause 7, Article 14 of Federal Law No. 217-FZ “On gardening by citizens for their own needs”).

The basis for establishing a difference may be:

The already mentioned size of the plot in SNT;
Area of buildings located on the site;
Use or non-use of common property (for example, water supply) by gardening members;
The size of the share in the ownership of the site or buildings on it.

An increase in membership fees in SNT is also carried out by decision of the general meeting of gardeners. The basis for such an increase may be increased payments financed by membership dues due to inflation or other factors.

How to recalculate

The amount of expenses may differ from the amount of collected contributions not only more, but also less. The actual implementation of a pre-compiled estimate can result in cost savings that often reach very significant amounts.

Alexander Vasiliev

Lawyer

The fate of the resulting surplus funds must be decided by a general meeting of gardeners. By decision of the general meeting, this money can be spent next year or recalculated, returning part of the funds to the gardeners.

The issue of recalculation can be raised before the general meeting in the usual manner used for placing voting items on the agenda. Based on Art. 11 of Law No. 217-FZ, SNT members can vote for one option or another.

The procedure for disposing of excess funds can also be determined in the SNT charter.

Rationale

The specific amount of contributions is calculated on the basis of the income and expenditure estimate and the financial and economic justification for it. These documents are prepared by the chairman and the board in preparation for the general meeting of SNT and approved by the general meeting of gardeners (clause 8 of article 14 of Law No. 217-FZ).

The financial and economic feasibility study (FEO) must contain:

List of planned expenses (for example, road repairs, drilling a water well, etc.);
The planned cost of the relevant goods, works or services;
Reasons for determining this figure (commercial proposals received from counterparties, invoices, data on the SNT payroll fund);
Distribution of this cost among all gardeners, based on the principle of calculating contributions laid down in the charter.

There is no specialized form for FEO, so each SNT can use its own form convenient for their purposes. At the same time, it must ensure sufficient transparency and understandability of the information it contains so that members of the SNT can familiarize themselves with it and make a decision on voting “for” or “against” at the general meeting.

Task

Without taking on the role of a legislator, lawyer, etc., he formulated the task as follows: “ To find a logically impeccable proof of the need to collect membership fees based on the physical parameters of the property.”

This formulation of the problem is due to the following:

2.1. High social significance of the issue . Not even so much from the point of view of “social justice”, but rather from concern for the social climate in the already not very calm topic called “SNT”.

2.2. It is necessary to approve this very question at the OSCh , which implies the requirement for precise formulations, both from legal and from everyday, philistine points of view.

2.3. There are many available options (special cases) for solving this issue. It is also necessary in specific situations in each SNT, and “neighbors” may differ in this matter exactly the opposite. The location, the current form of management, the current size and procedure for calculating contributions do not matter. But what can I say, if on two neighboring streets in one SNT there can be differences...

In general, I have built three lines of defense for myself, at each of which, using accessible logic, I will try to stop any objections, that is, to achieve the necessary refinement of formulations.

How to pay

Payment of membership fees to SNT according to the new law No. 217-FZ is made to the current account of the partnership. This requirement was introduced into legislation in order to make the movement of money in gardening transparent.

Money can be accepted by bank transfer or by depositing it at the bank's cash desk. To pay membership and entrance fees, the board must provide SNT members with bank account details. Instead of a receipt, proof of payment will be a payment order or check from the bank.

Results

The law provides for a strictly limited list of purposes for which SNT has the right to accept membership and targeted contributions. They can only be accepted into the SNT current account. Collection of contributions in cash is prohibited. Collecting membership fees is allowed no more than once a month. However, if SNT continues to collect contributions in cash, no sanctions will follow for them from the tax office, since this type of collection does not apply to cash transactions, the procedure for which is established by the Central Bank. This means that it does not fall within the competence of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.

SNT may apply a simplified system for taxation. Find out more about it in our section “STS” .

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From which moment

SNT requires membership fees only from persons who have duly become members of the gardening community. To join, you must submit an application.

An application for admission to membership in the partnership is considered by the general meeting of the SNT. If the decision is positive, the owner of the garden plot receives the status of a member of the SNT and, at the same time, the obligation to pay contributions.

Does the chairman pay?

The chairman is a member of the SNT. Therefore, he is obliged to pay membership fees on the same basis as other gardeners who have joined SNT.

The legislation does not provide any benefits for the chairman or members of the board for paying membership fees. The establishment of such benefits in the SNT charter will contradict the rule of paragraph 2 of Art. 14 of Federal Law No. 217-FZ, according to which contributions are paid by all members of SNT. Occupying a position in SNT is not indicated as a basis for establishing a special amount of contributions.

Do those who leave SNT pay?

Membership fees are calculated only for SNT members. At the same time, leaving the partnership will not relieve the former gardener from having to pay.

Non-members of SNT, instead of contributions, pay payments equivalent in amount to them under an agreement with the partnership.

3.Attempt at solution

What seems so difficult about such a task... We proceed from the fact that at the moment, in the conditional SNT, membership fees are collected from a member or from a site (the number of sites in one hand is a separate topic). This means that when switching to “hundreds”, all that is needed is to divide the total amount of required contributions in proportion to the area of the plot, and the trick is done.

But, not forgetting that we need to approve this at the PSD , we are preparing to answer questions . And the first question, legal, by the way, that the owner of two or three plots will ask is: “Why should I pay more?”

This is where the first line of logical defense comes into play. But in fact, how does the area of the plot (mentioned almost explicitly in 217) affect the size of the contribution? How is a conventional square meter of abstract area converted into an abstract contribution ruble?

Let's try to understand what the membership fee consists of. By its structure, it consists of three conventional parts, which indirectly confirms the content of paragraph 5 of Article 14 (see paragraph 1.1). This:

Consumption of anything (water, electricity, sewerage). That is, it’s stupid that it can be measured with a meter and is supplied to the gardener using the SNT infrastructure.
Use (damage, damage) of infrastructure - that is, the actual use of common property (such as a road), which in the general case cannot be measured. We will also include the related concept of Maintenance , that is, the very “burden” (expenses, expenses) about which both the 217th and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation hint to us. There is also land tax for PDO, it can be easily calculated.
Management , that is, that part of SNT’s costs that is spent on management needs (salaries to employees, purchase of accounting services, payment for electronic signatures, paper, cartridges...).

We have come to the conclusion that, in fact, only one part of the contribution out of three depends on the physical parameters of the site (the formulation from the problem, not from 217)! And even then not completely. Because Expense , Management from reducing the number of control objects does not even seem to reduce costs, and only Use !

So, the first intermediate conclusion: there is no reason at all to believe that the “payment per hundred” is justified and justified. In any case - the entire payment, 100%. Just now we see that a larger farm can reduce some of its costs.

Let's move on. We found one of three parts of the membership fee, which may depend on the physical parameters of the site. But from the square? 217 gives the wording “based on the size of a garden or vegetable plot of land and (or) the total size of the area of real estate.” I tore out a piece from the article of the law; we will consider its second part below. Size is not necessarily area. It’s just that the area appears in the property documents and is easy to understand, even historically (they cut it into 6 acres, that’s how we live). And this is great, because the second part of the sentence (the total size of the area...) is generally a murky thing, because... Our real estate also includes buildings.

Thus, it is necessary to find a “fragment” for calculating one part of the membership fee, which can be tied to the size, that is, to any physical parameter of the site. And here the second line of logical defense comes into play. I will not give all the reasoning; I will limit myself to a general conclusion. In fact:

Water for irrigation directly depends on the area More area, more water. Moreover, even this judgment can be blown to smithereens if the water for irrigation comes from the gardener’s own well, and not through the SNT water pipes, or, even simpler, there is a meter at the input. That is, in the latter case, from Use we simply “move” this water to Consumption .
the land tax on the PDO (or rent) can be tied to the area of the plot In general, there is nothing to object to here.
Other expenses (read: budget items) can be tied to other parameters of the site, for example, to the linear size of the façade, or, simply put, to the length of the fence facing the street (and our street is already a PDO). Easily tied to cleaning drainage ditches , cutting grass , removing snow . That is, exactly those works that are measured (can be measured) in linear meters. Snow removal is, of course, a separate issue, fiercely debated and dividing (in addition to everything else) gardeners into two more camps - seasonal and permanent residents. But the above examples can also be “zeroed” if the grass mowing and ditches are cleaned by the gardener himself. At the same time, more corner plots are popping up... should they pay more simply because they have two “facades”? And another option: in one familiar SNT, all the streets except the ring one are dead ends, that is, they end at the entrance to the site. Moreover, such plots have 5 neighbors, and the entire “facade” is exactly the length of a gate with a gate. Should they pay less?

The second intermediate conclusion: it is possible to find a real, perceptible and tangible parameter linking the size of the membership fee with the physical parameter of the site, but:

Everything very much depends on the specifics of a particular SNT (in terms of distribution of work, among other things).
This option is likely when the cost of calculating the dynamic contribution (differentiated payment) and/or monitoring its accuracy will be higher than the conditional increase in the fee. Again, in a simple way: to earn such a ruble will cost one and a half rubles.
Very quickly there will be a gardener (or group, which is worse) who, with numbers in hand, will smash the concept of differentiated contributions to smithereens and in half.

Total, based on the attempt to solve.

Based on purely theoretical calculations, measurements and “landing” of SNT expenses on the size of a land plot, we see that:

The concept of differentiated contributions is very conditionally . Additionally, you need to understand that that conditional part of the membership fee that can actually be tied to the “size” is usually the smallest in volume! The main volume of costs lies precisely in “conditionally fixed” expenses...
Calculation and control of the changing part of the contribution can be much more expensive than the benefit obtained in this way.
This whole idea is contested at PSD very simply. The majority of owners of one site present at the meeting can, of course, make such a decision. But we must understand that the social bomb will be planted of moderate proportions. At the same time, there is still a nuance. Since the law (217th) reserves the right for the OSCh to introduce into the Charter the procedure for calculating the size of the plot, the court (if something happens, of course) will make such a decision to the OSCh, and will proceed precisely from the Charter. That is, a normal person will not dispute the issue of contributions per hundred square meters. It is much easier to demolish the entire meeting in court , on formal grounds of violations. That is, if something else was discussed at such a PSD, then this “more” will disappear along with the “hundreds”.
The concept and concept of “use” does not help, but more on that below...

Spending reporting

The costs of membership fees to SNT are controllable. The SNT board provides a report on the conduct of financial and economic activities and the expenditure of funds to the members of the partnership at the general meeting.

Alexander Vasiliev

Lawyer

Reporting of spent contributions may have varying degrees of detail, which may give rise to disputes. If the spending of funds is not transparent enough, SNT members may raise the issue of trust in the management of the partnership.

How the activities of SNT and the accounting of contributions are regulated

According to the legislation, SNT is a non-profit, voluntarily organized structure. Its purpose is to help SNT members in solving economic issues: providing water, gas, electricity, garbage removal, etc.

Solving such issues, of course, requires money. For this purpose, a partnership budget is formed, which consists of monthly membership fees and targeted contributions.

The regulatory framework governing the creation of SNT, as well as accounting for the receipt and expenditure of contributions, is:

Collection from debtors

Paying membership fees to SNT is mandatory for all its members. Failure to comply with this obligation may result in the collection of funds in court.

The decision to collect membership fees from debtors is made by the chairman or board of the SNT. The chairman or a person who has a power of attorney with the right to file claims has the right to sign the statement of claim.

The article provides general information about the content of the legislation. If you have any questions, ask your lawyer.

Membership fee

What are they spending on?

Membership fees are the current systematic expenses of the partnership. They are reminiscent of paying for housing and communal services in apartment buildings. Membership fees can be used exclusively for expenses related to the activities of SNT. This includes garbage removal, snow removal (cleaning roads in SNT in winter is mandatory - this is a fire safety requirement), mowing grass or painting a fence, utility costs, maintenance of common property, security of the territory, employee salaries, payment of taxes, costs associated with audits and general meetings, etc.

How are they paid?

Membership fees are paid to the current account of the partnership. The frequency and deadline for payment is determined by the charter of the partnership. This can be once a month or a year, but not more than once a month, said Artem Korostelev, a member of the Russian Lawyers Association (RLA).

The amount of contributions is determined on the basis of the partnership's income and expense budget and financial and economic feasibility study approved by the general meeting of the partnership's members. That is, in each SNT, contributions are set individually. Their size may vary depending on the use of public property or the size of the garden or vegetable plot of land, the lawyer added.

“Most often, contributions are paid in a lump sum. For example, in May, summer residents hold a meeting and agree to pay dues by a certain date (for example, July 1). For those who cannot pay the fees immediately, the board provides for installment plans. Such a decision is also made in advance at a general meeting,” explained Nikita Chaplin.

Membership fees

According to the Union of Summer Residents of the Moscow Region, the average membership fee in the Moscow region ranges from 1 thousand to 1.5 thousand rubles. per month from the site. But the real spread of numbers is wider - it depends on the infrastructure of the village, the number of participants, etc. According to estimates by the Union of Gardeners of Russia, in 2022, on average across the country, membership fees increased by at least 30%, and target fees by 50%.

“For membership fees, this is due to an increase in the minimum wage, electricity tariffs, a sharp increase in prices for garbage removal, prices for water and related activities, for watering personal plots, etc. For targeted contributions, this is due to an increase in prices in the country for all goods and services,” explained the head of the public reception of the Union of Gardeners of Russia Lyudmila Buryakova.

According to her, the regional operator created a big problem for SNT in the Moscow region. He considered the containers that SNT had previously used to be incorrect. Now the partnerships are forced to buy new containers from the same regional operator or rent them.

Prices for gasoline and building materials also increased. “For example, if crushed stone for filling roads used to cost 1.1 thousand rubles. per cubic meter, now 1.6–1.8 thousand rubles. The purchase and installation of gates has also become more expensive. To clean and deepen a small fire pond costs 60 thousand rubles, to concrete the area for a container site costs about 25 thousand rubles,” the expert noted.

Expensive item

One of the expense items of membership fees is wages; it can reach 30–40% of all contributions, says Nikita Chaplin. We are talking about the salary of the SNT chairman, accountant, and security. Large SNTs have a staffing table that includes an electrician, a janitor, a watchman, a commandant, and so on.

“The chairman’s salary depends on the volume of SNT infrastructure and the number of sites. The average rate is the sum of the number of plots multiplied by an average of 100–400 rubles. per month. If there are 100 sites in SNT, then the salary of the chairman is 10–40 thousand rubles. But the chairman's salary may be zero. There are also altruists who are ready to work for symbolic compensation - exemption from contributions,” explained the chairman of the Union of Summer Residents of the Moscow Region.

According to him, the growth of the salary fund in the last two years is associated primarily with the transfer of payments in the partnership to non-cash payments and, consequently, the mandatory payment of taxes. For example, in order to pay an employee 15 thousand rubles, you need to transfer almost 40% more taxes to the budget. In addition, the salary cannot be less than the subsistence minimum. In the Moscow region in 2022 it is 15 thousand rubles. Therefore, it is more profitable to outsource some of the work (for example, accounting and reporting) or hire a part-time electrician.

Payment of utilities

There is no concept of “communal apartment” in SNT. Now payment for electricity and garbage removal are equal to utility bills, but are still included in the amount of contributions if it concerns the life of SNT, ONT, TSN. Often the owner or legal holder of the home pays for energy consumption himself. Now many have switched to individual contracts with resource supply companies. For street lighting and lighting of the gatehouse, payment is made through SNT, that is, it is included in the amount of contributions, explained the head of the public reception of the Union of Gardeners of Russia.

It is difficult to name the average price tag for paying so-called utilities for summer residents, since it depends on the region in which the summer house is located. “For example, gardeners in the Chelyabinsk region now pay for electricity at a rate of 2.36 rubles. per kW/hour, and gardeners in the Moscow region - 5.73 rubles. per kW/hour. From July 1 (date of increase in housing and communal services tariffs - Ed.), accordingly, Chelyabinsk residents will pay 2.43 rubles. per kW/hour, and gardeners near Moscow - 5.93 rubles. per kW/hour,” the expert gave examples.

There will be only horticultural and gardening partnerships

Currently, the activities of gardening partnerships SNT, ONT, DNT and DNP are carried out on the basis of Law No. 66-FZ “On gardening, gardening and dacha non-profit associations of citizens” dated 04/15/1998. The new
law from 01/01/2019 abolished most types of associations gardeners. Only two forms are left: horticultural non-profit partnerships (SNT) and gardening non-profit partnerships (ONT).

Please note that there is no time frame within which existing associations of summer residents and gardeners must carry out the renaming. All partnerships and other associations can exist with their constituent documents for as long as desired. If a dacha or gardening association makes changes to its statutory documents, the gardening association will automatically be renamed SNT. And the association of gardeners will accordingly be automatically renamed ONT.

Expulsion from members of the partnership for non-payment of contributions

According to the new law, members of the partnership can only be dismissed for failure to pay contributions for more than two months.
At the same time, in order to be excluded from members of the partnership, it is necessary to carry out a list of measures. Thus, the procedure for expulsion from members of the partnership is spelled out in detail in Article 13 of Federal Law No. 217.

According to the provisions of this article, membership in the partnership is terminated forcibly by a decision of the general meeting of members of the partnership from the date of such decision or from another date determined by this decision, due to non-payment of contributions for more than two months from the moment this obligation arises.

In this case, the chairman of the partnership, no later than a month before the day of the general meeting of members of the partnership, at which it is planned to consider the issue of expulsion of a member of the partnership, sends to this member of the partnership a warning about the inadmissibility of failure to fulfill an obligation, containing recommendations for eliminating the violation of fulfillment of this obligation, by registered mail with notification about delivery to the residence address and email address (if available) indicated in the register of members of the partnership, at which electronic messages can be received by this member of the partnership.

Further, a member of the partnership must be informed of the date, time and place of the general meeting of members of the partnership, at which the issue of expelling him from among the members of the partnership should be considered.

Thus, the following actions should be taken:

Notify the debtor of the intention to exclude him, indicating the existence of both the amount of debt and the details for repaying the debt;

Notify the debtor and all members of the partnership about the date, place of the general meeting and its agenda;

Notify the debtor (after the general meeting) of exclusion from membership of the partnership, indicating the reasons and circumstances of the exclusion.

How to control spending money

Control over the expenditure of funds has become significantly easier over the past two years. Since all money must go to the current account, the chairman provides a statement for the report reflecting receipts and expenses for the reporting period, says Nikita Chaplin.

The second method of control is the audit commission, which is selected from the members of the partnership. They check financial documents to see how reasonable the expenses were (for light, garbage, snow removal, etc.). Plus public control - the participation of residents in the work of the SNT board, general chats on social networks and the real situation in the village (for example, they were supposed to build a road, but it wasn’t).

According to the Union of Summer Residents of the Moscow Region, 99% of SNT chairmen work honestly, and nine out of ten requests regarding the expenditure of funds come from debtors and violators. “In this way, they are trying to create difficulties in the work of the village administration, purposefully looking for violations in the work of the chairman or board in order to find any far-fetched reason not to pay fees,” explained the head of the organization.

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