Economy Ministry Proposes New Restrictions for Gardening Associations

The Economy Ministry has submitted for public discussion a draft decree aimed at improving the regulation of gardening associations. The discussion is being held on the Legal Forum through June 18.

The draft proposes introducing new restrictions. Under the proposal, when garden houses are rented to individuals for short-term stays, the following activities would be prohibited:

• organising leisure and entertainment activities;
• providing services related to the organisation and hosting of cultural, entertainment and sporting events;
• providing bathhouse (sauna) services.

The Economy Ministry justifies the proposal by noting that a gardening association is a non-profit organisation based on citizen membership and established for the purpose of collective gardening. The ministry also cited complaints received by state authorities indicating abuses in this area.

“Given that a rented garden house may be used by a group of people (there are no restrictions on the number of individuals who may simultaneously rent a garden house), such use is often accompanied by the provision of services related to organising and holding celebrations, banquets, anniversaries and other mass events. This frequently becomes a source of excessive noise (music, loud conversations, shouting and the like), environmental pollution from smoke (barbecues, bonfires, sauna heating and the like), and undesirable interactions with neighbouring land users, causing justified dissatisfaction among citizens who are members of gardening associations.

Moreover, if a garden house is rented out on a short-term basis, that is, on a regular basis, such income-generating business activity benefits some citizens while infringing upon the rights and legitimate interests of neighbouring land users who expect a peaceful stay on their plots within the gardening association.

We also note that such use of a garden house (together with a sauna, gazebo and adjacent recreation area) goes beyond the Civil Code’s permitted use of a garden house solely as a rental property and constitutes an activity that in some respects resembles agro-ecotourism services, which are permitted only in populated localities (a gardening association is not a populated locality),” the ministry said.

The ministry proposes imposing administrative liability for violations of the new rules under Part 4 of Article 13.3 of the Administrative Code (“Illegal Entrepreneurial Activity”). To do so, the article’s scope would be extended to persons renting out garden houses and providing services related to the organisation of celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, banquets, presentations, sporting events, fitness and recreational activities, cultural events, as well as bathhouse services. The sanction under this provision предусматривает a fine of between 10 and 30 basic units.

The draft also provides for:

• simplifying the procedure for transferring gardening associations’ power transmission lines into the ownership of the Republic of Belarus by eliminating the requirement to withdraw and allocate land plots for the construction and maintenance of electricity network facilities;
• amending the rule governing decisions by a general meeting to apply for the inclusion of an association’s territory within the boundaries of a populated locality or for the establishment of a populated locality on the basis of the association. Instead of requiring unanimous approval by all members, such a decision could be adopted by a qualified majority of at least two-thirds of all association members.