“Is it the responsibility of the management company to post the schedule for dry and wet cleaning of stairwells in apartment buildings with elevators? And who determines how often these works should be carried out? Is there any regulatory act that defines this?”
Answers lawyer Anna Kaleri:
– In Latvia, this issue is regulated by a system of regulations and contractual obligations between owners and the management company. I will start with the regulations. Among the first, two should be mentioned – the “Dzīvojamo māju pārvaldīšanas likums” (“Law on the Management of Residential Houses”) and Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 906 “Dzīvojamās mājas sanitārās apkopes noteikumi” (“Rules on the Sanitary Maintenance of Residential Houses”).
The regulations do not specify a specific frequency (for example, “cleaning must be carried out twice a week”), but establish general requirements: the residential building must be maintained in proper sanitary condition, and cleanliness and safety must be ensured.
As for the question of whether the management company is obliged to post a cleaning schedule – there is no direct requirement that the schedule for dry/wet cleaning of the stairwell must be posted in a visible place (for example, on the information board in the stairwell) – there is no such provision in the law. However, there is a requirement that the services for managing and maintaining the building must, firstly, be provided on a regular basis, and secondly, that information about them must be transparent and accessible to apartment owners.
The frequency of cleaning common areas is determined by the property owners – either by making a corresponding decision at a general meeting, or by adopting and approving (also at the meeting) internal house rules, or through a management contract concluded with the management company. In the second case, if the owners have not established a separate procedure, the manager acts either within the framework of the management contract or according to the approved maintenance budget of the building.
If an apartment owner has questions – regarding the quality of cleaning, its frequency, etc., they have the right to:
- request the management contract for maintenance;
- request the work plan and frequency of cleaning;
- demand a report on how much and for what they are paying (within the framework of the building maintenance).
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