---
title: "First floors must pay: experts debunk myths about preparing high-rises for winter"
description: "Experts explained why ground-floor apartment owners must pay for elevator and pump repairs in HOAs, and how to legally make decisions when residents are away."
date: 2026-09-28T10:38:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/first-floors-must-pay-myths-high-rises-winter
tags: [utilities, housing, law, winter]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# First floors must pay: experts debunk myths about preparing high-rises for winter

![Preparation of multi-story buildings for winter and communications repair](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/28/pervye-etazhi-obyazany-platit-mify-podgotovki-vysotok-k-zime/pervye-etazhi-obyazany-platit-mify-podgotovki-vysotok-k-zime-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Ground floor residents are required to pay for the maintenance of common property regardless of physical use of elevators and pumps.
- HOAs have the right to recover debt through court in case of refusal to pay contributions.
- Voting and signature collection can be legally carried out using QES for those who are abroad.

Preparing apartment buildings for the heating season amid modern challenges requires coordinated action from all residents. However, condominium associations (HOAs) regularly face internal conflicts when owners of ground-floor apartments refuse to contribute funds for the repair and maintenance of elevators or pumping equipment.

### Legal distribution of the financial burden

Housing and communal sector experts unequivocally state: the arguments of ground-floor residents that they do not use elevators or booster pumps have no legal basis. According to legislation, the obligation to maintain common property directly stems from the fact of owning an apartment in the building. The total area of the property determines the financial burden, and the physical use of specific engineering nodes does not play a role here.

### Litigation and alternative settlement methods

In the event of a persistent refusal by ground-floor apartment owners to fulfill their financial obligations to the HOA, the board has the legal right to initiate legal proceedings for the compulsory recovery of accumulated debt.  Nevertheless, lawsuits require significant time and material resources, so experts recommend focusing on preventive and explanatory work, which helps to peacefully resolve the vast majority of disputable issues.

### Organizing meetings amid mass migration

An additional factor complicating housing stock management has been the departure of a significant portion of co-owners abroad due to hostilities. However, current legal norms provide effective tools to overcome this problem: legitimate vote collection and filling out written survey sheets can now be carried out using a qualified electronic signature (QES).

### Contradictory data

 Despite clear legislative norms regarding the equal legal force of digital and paper signatures, discrepancies arise in practice between board chairs and residents. Some conservative owners doubt the reliability of electronic document management, demanding exclusively physical presence or live signatures on paper, which creates delays in making critical decisions for preparing high-rises for the cold weather.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Первые этажи обязаны платить: эксперты развеяли мифы о подготовке высоток к зиме](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/pershi-poverhi-zobov-yazani-platiti-eksperti-1790591570.html) - Материал содержит комментарии экспертов ОПОРЫ о законности взносов в ОСМД.

## ❓ FAQ