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

Are you developing an interior design yourself, but don’t know if it’s possible to hang cabinets on a ventilation duct? On the one hand, you will be able to use the space of your home more rationally, but on the other hand, you absolutely don’t want to become a criminal because of a few square centimeters, right? So is this procedure legal and what should be done to avoid penalties?

We will help you find answers to your questions - in the article below we will tell you in detail 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 considered unlawful and what risks the violator bears.

Rules for placing a cabinet on a box

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

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

• neighbors;
• housing inspection.

Next, we will consider in detail how these actions will help you avoid gross mistakes that will lead to significant financial losses.

Whether or not the design of ventilation ducts can be changed is described in detail in laws and regulations. Among them is the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.Therefore, all work should begin with studying the requirements and standards in order to avoid mistakes that will lead to financial and other losses.

Obtaining permission from neighbors

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

From the above it follows that the owner of the apartment is not the owner of the ventilation duct located in it.

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

In any other case, using ventilation ducts for your own purposes will be illegal.

Coordination of actions with the housing inspectorate

If neighbors have the right to allow the use of common property as a whole, then representatives of the housing inspection deal with the technical side of the matter.

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

The Housing Inspectorate is a government body that is endowed with impressive powers. They are provided so that inspectors can effectively resist violators whose actions lead to the deterioration of living conditions for people and the destruction of buildings

The procedure for obtaining permission to execute is called agreement.

Its implementation is regulated by regional legislation, for example:

• For this purpose, the Moscow Government issued a Decree number 508-PP.
• In the Northern capital, the approval procedure is described in the Order of the Government of St. Petersburg with number 39-r, which came into force in January 2018.

You can find out what document regulates obtaining permission to redevelop housing in your region by contacting representatives of the local administration or housing inspection.

To complete the approval it is necessary draw up a project. But you should start by getting technical report, which indicates that changing the design of the ventilation duct will be safe and will not lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the entire ventilation system. And, consequently, to the deterioration of the living conditions of the work organizer himself and his neighbors.

Anyone can draw up the specified technical conclusion, as well as a redevelopment project. project organization.

Next, the home owner should contact the nearest housing inspection body or at the MFC. Where it is necessary to submit an application requesting approval of redevelopment.

The following should also be attached to this document:

• technical conclusion;
• project, and you will need 2 copies of it;
• technical passport 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 your passport and relevant certificate with you.

Since changing the design of ventilation ducts is called redevelopment in legislative acts, its implementation will only be possible after obtaining the appropriate permission from the housing inspectorate. In any other case, the work organizer will become a violator and must know that he performs all work at his own peril and risk

It should be remembered that the housing commission is a body that has the right to:

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

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

In addition, approval will be refused if a change in the design of the duct will lead to a decrease in the performance of the entire ventilation system due to reducing the cross-section of the box or clogging of the ventilation duct.

And the wording itself “change in ventilation duct design” is also a basis for refusing approval. The application may also be returned due to the fact that it is planned to hang a cabinet on the ventilation shaft, which will impair access to the utility system of the building. And this cannot be allowed.

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

If you don’t want to waste time and money abandoning the project, contacting neighbors and the housing inspector for permission, then you can do as shown in the photo - make the most efficient use of the space around the ventilation duct and at the same time hang the cabinets on a regular wall

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

And to prevent this from happening, it is recommended to abandon attempts to use ventilation ducts for personal purposes.

If you still really want to, you should seek help from design organization. After inspecting the premises, its specialists will give an accurate answer as to 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 for consultation fees will be wasted.

In addition, you should not attempt to carry out redevelopment in order to legitimize it retroactively - an application with such a request will also not be accepted by the housing inspector for consideration.

Reasons for the inflexibility of the law

Ventilation ducts are an important component of ventilation systems, on which not only comfort but also safety of living largely depends.

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

• destruction of the building due to gas explosion;
• fire due to gas leaks;
• tragedy due to the accumulation of carbon monoxide in the room, which can be detected using special sensors.

In addition, the general house air exchange system ensures the removal of 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 and other consequences with a subsequent 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 completely inoperable - just make changes to the design of the duct.

Even if they are insignificant, another user may do the same, and another neighbor will decide to install a fan that the system is not designed to use. Such actions will complicate the situation, as a result of which you can expect backdraft and other troubles.

We discussed other reasons for the decrease in the efficiency of the ventilation system and ways to restore it in next article.

Ventilation ducts are often self-supporting structures. For example, this is exactly how things are in the houses of the P-44 project. This means that each element of the ventilation duct rests on the one below. However, they cannot withstand significant lateral loads. As a result, even with normal drilling, cracks may appear. The consequence is weakening of the structure and sediment, which often leads to disruption of air circulation

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

To prevent such consequences from occurring, it is prohibited by law to change the design of the boxes.

What happens if you ignore the requirements?

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

As a result, 2 scenarios will arise:

• illegal redevelopment will not be detected and everything will get away with it;
• tampering with the structure will be detected and punishment will have to be incurred.

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

Option #1 - redevelopment not detected

It happens that the owner of the premises violated the law, but the efficiency of the ventilation system, as well as its integrity, was not affected. 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 a ventilation duct. If the owner of the premises decides to do just that, he will become a violator. And the further course of events depends on how much damage is caused to the ventilation duct and when the violation is discovered. Moreover, one call from a neighbor to the housing inspection hotline is enough for a whole series of unpleasant events to arise in the violator’s life.

But it should be remembered that the idyll may be short-lived - the fact of illegal actions may attract the attention of neighbors, gas workers, and representatives of the management company. Which will contact the management company, housing inspection. Or they will simply raise the issue at a meeting of residents. Moreover, you need to understand that the negative scenario is quite relevant and its likelihood is increasing every year.

And the reason is that the time of lack of control in the 90s has already passed and today the state is actively fighting against tenants who violate the rules of safe living. In addition, the legal literacy of Russians is growing, and they are increasingly less likely to remain indifferent when they discover that someone is trying to get some kind of bonus at their expense.

As a result, you will have to expect troubles, big ones at that. More details about them in the next section of the article.

Option #2 - structural violation detected

Now let’s talk about how the housing inspection will react if the residents hung the cabinet on the ventilation shaft “at their own peril and risk.” So, when it comes to the housing inspection, its representatives will impose a fine right on the spot, the amount of which will be in the range of 2-2.5 thousand rubles. But you shouldn’t be happy about the tiny amount, as this is just the beginning.

And then the inspector will demand:

• 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 conclusion 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 system, if the violator is unable to provide the documents specified in the first paragraph.

Moreover, simply removing the shelf that the offender decided to illegally hang on the wall of the ventilation shaft may not be enough, since, according to the law, a project will have to be done. And if the load-bearing structures are not affected, then any designer can handle 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 house project.

The photo shows a TV and a bar counter mounted on a ventilation duct. It's not even a closet. But, if during the placement of all of the above, the load-bearing elements of the structure were damaged or there was simply suspicion of this, then the worst will happen for the violator. Since the representative of the housing inspectorate, in order to eliminate the deficiency, will require you to contact the research institute that created the house project. 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 will have to look for an organization that replaces him.

Any of the listed procedures will not be cheap. But the worst thing is that you cannot ignore them. The reason is that the demands of neighbors and other parties to the conflict are legitimate and should be fulfilled. Since they can demand to restore the integrity of the structure only 2 times. And then the sale of housing will follow. They will do this in order to get money to restore the integrity of the structure.

The photo shows a kitchen cabinet placed on a ventilation duct, which is already a violation. If the cabinet is placed on ordinary walls, but it blocks the ventilation vent or closes the exhaust duct, then such actions may be considered a violation, since access to general building engineering systems will be blocked, which may cause a decrease in ventilation efficiency

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

Other penalties also 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 ventilation duct is redesigned in a way that violates the integrity of its structure. And although the video talks about the fact of complete dismantling, this does not matter. Since redevelopment is considered to be any change in the design of the ventilation duct:

By hanging a cabinet 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 living space. Sometimes such a solution can improve the aesthetic qualities of the room. And this is where all the advantages of changing the design of the ventilation duct end.

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

Have you hung the cabinets on the ventilation duct and coordinated your actions with the housing inspector? Share your experience with other users - tell us about the difficulties you encountered, as well as how long it took you to complete all the necessary documents.If you still have questions, ask them to our experts and other site visitors in the comment block located below the article.