Is it possible to hang cabinets on the ventilation duct: legal nuances and consequences for the violator

You develop your own interior design, but don’t know whether it is possible to hang cabinets on the ventilation duct? On the one hand, you can more rationally use the area of ​​your housing, but on the other, you absolutely do not want to become an offender because of a few square centimeters, right? So is this procedure legal and what should be done so as not to fall under penalties?

We will help you find the answers to your questions - in the article below we will tell you in detail about whether it is possible to drill a box and hang cabinets and shelves on it, as well as change its design in any other way. We will also figure out what actions may be deemed unlawful and what risks the violator incurs.

Rules for placing the cabinet on the box

The procedure for changing the design of any ventilation duct and using it for its own purposes is regulated by federal and regional legislation.

To solve both of these problems, you should obtain permission:

• neighbors;
• Housing Inspectorate.

Next, we will examine in detail how these actions will help to avoid gross errors that will lead to significant financial losses.

About whether it is possible or not to change the design of ventilation ducts is described in detail in laws, by-laws. Among which are the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, all work should begin with a study of the requirements, standards, so as not to make a mistake that will lead to financial and other losses.

Getting permission from neighbors

Domestic Housing Code, namely Art. 36, says that utilities are common property. At the same time, ventilation systems are no exception, as are their structural elements.

From the foregoing, it follows that the owner of the apartment is not the owner of the ventilation duct placed in it.

Therefore, to use this design for your own purposes, that is, to place cabinets, any other items, you must obtain permission from all other co-owners (this is stated in Art. 40 Housing Code of the Russian Federation). AND 73% of they must agree, and in writing. Why do you need to hold a meeting of residents.

In any other case, the use of ventilation ducts for their own purposes will be illegal.

Coordination of actions with housing inspection

If neighbors have the right to allow the use of common property as a whole, then representatives of the housing inspectorate are involved in the technical side of the matter.

That is, they give permission to change the design of the ventilation duct. The reason is that this procedure is a redevelopment. Therefore, according to the requirements of the legislation, its safety should be confirmed.

The Housing Inspectorate is a government agency that is endowed with impressive powers. They are provided so that inspectors can effectively confront violators whose actions lead to worsening living conditions of people, the destruction of buildings

The procedure for obtaining permission to execute is referred to as agreement.

Its implementation is regulated by regional legislation, for example:

• The Government of Moscow for this issued a Resolution with the number 508-PP.
• In the Northern capital, the approval procedure is described in the Order of the Government of St. Petersburg with the number 39-peffective January 2018

You can find out what kind of document governs obtaining permission for redevelopment of housing in your region by contacting representatives of the local administration, housing inspectorate.

To complete the agreement it is necessary draw up a project. But you should start by getting technical conclusion, which indicates that a change in the design of the ventilation box will be safe and will not reduce the efficiency of the entire ventilation system. And, consequently, to the deterioration of living conditions of the organizer of the work and its neighbors.

Any technical conclusion can be drawn up, like a redevelopment project, any project organization.

Next, the homeowner should contact the nearest housing authority or at the MFC. Where it is necessary to submit an application with a request to complete the redevelopment agreement.

And also to the specified document should be attached:

• technical conclusion;
• the project, moreover, 2 copies are needed;
• registration certificate from BTI.

In addition, the applicant will have to prove his identity and confirm that he is the owner of the premises. Therefore, you should have a passport and an appropriate certificate with you.

Since a change in the design of ventilation ducts is referred to in legislation as redevelopment, its implementation will become possible only after obtaining the appropriate permission from the housing inspectorate. In any other case, the organizer of the work will become a violator and must know that he performs all the work at his own risk

In this case, it should be remembered that the housing commission is a body that has the right:

• give permission for redevelopment;
• refuse to carry it out.

And in some cases, representatives of the housing inspectorate generally refuse to accept the application. This happens when an incomplete portfolio of documents is collected or they are drawn up inappropriately.

In addition, they will refuse to conduct coordination if a change in the design of the duct leads to a decrease in the operability of the entire ventilation system due to reduction of the cross section of the box or clogged ventilation duct.

Yes, and the wording itself "Change in the design of the ventilation box" It is also the basis for refusal to conduct coordination. They can also return the application due to the fact that it is planned to hang a closet on the ventilation shaft, which will impair access to the engineering common house system. But this should not be allowed.

All of the above reasons are indicated in the relevant regional documents. For example, for the capital, this is already mentioned Resolution No. 508-PP.

If you don’t want to spend time and money on leaving the project, contacting the neighbors and the housing inspectorate for permission, then you can do as shown in the photo - use the space around the ventilation box as efficiently as possible and at the same time hang the cabinets on a regular wall

That is, the placement of cabinets or any other items on the ventilation ducts is a problematic procedure, since it requires significant costs without any guarantees. Which can lead to financial losses.

And so that this does not happen, it is recommended to abandon attempts to use ventilation boxes for personal purposes.

If you still really want to, you should seek help at design organization. After inspecting the premises, its specialists will give an accurate answer on whether it is possible to place anything on the ventilation duct. But it can be argued that in the vast majority of cases, the money allocated to pay for the consultation will be wasted.

In addition, you should not make attempts to re-plan to legitimize it retroactively - a statement with such a request will also not be accepted by the housing inspectorate for consideration.

Reasons for adherence to the law

Ventkoroba are an important part of ventilation systems, on which not only comfort, but also the safety of living depends on a lot.

So, natural ventilation, despite all its shortcomings, is the only system that can prevent:

• building destruction due to gas explosion;
• fire due gas leak;
• tragedy due to the accumulation of carbon monoxide in the room, for the detection of which you can use special sensors.

In addition, the common house air exchange system removes moisture, unpleasant odors and harmful substances, such as carbon dioxide, from the premises.

The photo clearly shows the design of the ventilation duct. And even non-specialists understand that they are thin-walled, and therefore unsuitable for placing any heavy objects on their surfaces. The presence of which over time can lead to cracks, other consequences, followed by a decrease in the efficiency of the ventilation system

Effective air exchange allows you to create a microclimate in the building, the parameters of which will meet the requirements of relevant documents, the main of which is GOST 30494-2011.

At the same time, it is easy to reduce the efficiency of the ventilation system or make it generally inoperable - it is enough to make changes to the design of the duct.

Let them be insignificant, but another user can do the same, and another neighbor will decide to install a fan, for the use of which the system is not designed. Such actions will complicate the situation, as a result of which we can expect the occurrence of backdraft and other troubles.

Other reasons for reducing the efficiency of the ventilation system and methods for its restoration, we considered in next article.

Often ventilation ducts are self-supporting structures. For example, this is exactly the case in the homes of the P-44 project. And this means that each element of the ventilation box is based on the underlying one. However, they can not withstand significant lateral loads. As a result, even with conventional drilling, cracks can occur. The consequence is a weakening of the structure, sediment, which often leads to the fact that the air circulation is disturbed

It should be understood that ventilation ducts are not power structures, therefore, with drilling and placing heavy cabinets on their surfaces often shrinks and cracks occur. Which in itself reduces the effectiveness of ventilation systems.

To prevent the occurrence of such consequences, it is forbidden at the legislative level to change the design of boxes.

What happens if you ignore the requirements?

It often happens that homeowners ignore the requirements of the law and make changes to the design of ventilation boxes.

As a result, there will be 2 options for the development of events:

• illegal redevelopment will not be detected and everything will get away with it;
• interference with the design will be detected and will have to be punished.

Since these are important points, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with them in more detail.

Option # 1 - no redevelopment detected

It so happens that the owner of the premises violated the law, but the effectiveness of the ventilation system, as well as its integrity, did not suffer. As a result, the tenant will receive the expected result in the form of a more rational use of living space, without worsening living conditions.

The picture shows a cabinet and a TV placed on the ventilation duct. If the owner of the premises decides to do just that, then he will become a violator. And the further course of events depends on what damage the ventilation box has done and when the violation is revealed. Moreover, one call from a neighbor to the housing inspection hotline is enough to create a whole series of unpleasant events in the life of the offender

But it should be remembered that the idyll can be short-lived - the fact of illegal actions can attract the attention of neighbors, gas workers, representatives of the management company. Which will contact the management company, the housing inspectorate. Or they simply raise the issue at a meeting of tenants. Moreover, one must understand that the negative scenario is quite relevant and its probability is increasing every year.

And the reason is that the time of the lack of control of the 90s has passed and today the state is actively fighting with residents who violate the rules of security of residence. In addition, the legal literacy of Russians is growing, which are becoming less and less indifferent, revealing that someone is trying to get some bonuses at their expense.

As a result, you will need to expect troubles, and major ones. And more about them in the next section of the article.

Option # 2 - design violation detected

Now let’s talk about how the housing inspectorate will react if the tenants hanged the closet on a wentshacht “at their own peril and risk”. So, when it comes to the housing inspection, its representatives will impose a fine on the spot, the size of which will be in the range of 2-2.5 thousand rubles. But one should not rejoice at the tiny amount, as this is only the beginning.

And then the inspector will require:

• Provide documents confirming that the redevelopment is safe and does not reduce the standard of living of residents. And for this you need a technical opinion issued by any design organization (at best). Or the organization that developed the project for a specific ventilation system or the house as a whole.
• Restore the integrity and performance of the ventilation systemif the violator cannot provide the documents specified in the first paragraph.

Moreover, simply removing the shelf, which the violator decided to illegally hang on the wall of the ventilation shaft, may not be enough, because, according to the law, you will have to do the project. And if the supporting structures are not affected, then any designer will cope with the design. When these elements are affected or there is a suspicion of this, then you will have to contact the organization that did the project at home.

The photo shows a TV and a bar counter mounted on the ventilation duct. This is not even a closet. But, if when placing all of the above, the load-bearing structural elements were damaged or there was simply a suspicion of this, the worst thing would happen to the intruder. Since the representative of the housing inspectorate, in order to eliminate the deficiency, he will need to contact the research institute that created the project for the house. This situation is relevant for houses of the I209A series and a number of others - it is in them that individual parts of the ventilation system are self-supporting

It may be that the required Soviet research institute no longer exists. Then you have to look for an organization that replaces it.

Any of the above procedures will be expensive. But the worst thing is that you can’t ignore them. The reason is that the requirements of neighbors and other parties to the conflict are legal and should be followed. Since the requirement to restore the integrity of the structure can only 2 times. And then followed by the sale of housing. They will do this in order to get money to restore the integrity of the structure.

The photo shows a kitchen cabinet located on a ventilation box, which is already a violation. If the cabinet is placed on ordinary walls, but at the same time it closes the ventilation vent or closes the hood for hoods, then such actions may be considered a violation, since access to common engineering systems will be blocked, which may cause a decrease in ventilation efficiency

Although the remaining funds will be returned to the violator, it is better to avoid such a development of events. Because in the course of enforcement proceedings no one will be set to get the maximum amount during the sale. And the basis for such actions is the Federal Law No. 229-FZ, Art. 87. Moreover, the scenario with the sale of housing is not from the realm of fiction - real examples are known. In addition, according to court decisions, it may be necessary to pay compensation to neighbors.

Other punishments apply. For example, violators may be restricted from traveling outside the Russian Federation.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

The video attached below describes what can happen if the air duct is redesigned in violation of the integrity of its structure. And although the video is about the fact of complete dismantling, but this does not play the essence. Since redevelopment is any change in the design of the ventilation box:

By hanging a cupboard or shelf on the surface of the ventilation duct, the owner of the room will be able to more rationally use several tens of square centimeters of housing. Sometimes this solution allows you to improve the aesthetic qualities of the room. And on this all the advantages of changing the design of the ventilation duct end.

Therefore, you should not commit rash actions, unauthorized changes in the design of common property. Since there can be many more unpleasant moments than advantages.

Did you hang the cabinets on the ventilation duct and coordinate your actions with the housing inspectorate? Share your experience with other users - tell us about the difficulties that you had to face, as well as how long you took to complete all the necessary documents. If you still have questions, ask our experts and other visitors to the site in the comment block located below the article.