On 4 July, a live broadcast of the regular programme ‘Human Rights’ took place on the Public Television of Russia. It was devoted to public legal education in the housing and utility services field, which is not quite popular with national broadcasters. The programme’s guest was Commissioner for Human Rights in Tula Region Galina Fomina who believes that nowadays each owner should possess at least some minimum of legal knowledge.

Two years ago requests about violations in the field of housing and utility services were the most numerous among all the petitions received by the Commissioner. Management companies’ representatives frequently misinformed homeowners on the rates and were failing to fulfil their contractual obligations. In addition, the charges for communal use of utilities were the main problem of Tula’s natives.

So, ‘The School of Legal Knowledge’ was opened in the region. 46 classes were held in two years with 700 participants taking part in them. Those were people with active citizenship, mostly representing a board of multifamily houses, and also heads of the public self-government bodies. As a result, the number of the requests to the Commissioner on the violations in the field of housing and utility services reduced by 40% in 2015.

Galina Fomina told the viewers that the Commissioner has a reliable partner and an ally in the public legal education work represented by an expert working group on the protection of citizens’ rights in the field of housing and utility services. The group united experts from sectoral structures and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). With their assistance participants in the School obtained practical skills of NGOs to use their right to judicial protection. By joint efforts 49 complaints containing claims to property management companies’ heads were prepared and sent to court. In each case their guilt was proven. The 8 most important and resonant complaints have caused positive precedents for owners of apartments in multifamily houses in Tula Region.