A mass survey of balconies in residential buildings is underway in Lviv. According to the Department of Housing and Infrastructure of the Lviv City Council, district commissions have already checked 22,121 balconies, of which 3,611 were found to be in unsatisfactory condition.
The owners of these balconies have already been warned about the need to bring the private property to proper condition. And those who are financially unable to do so were offered to participate in the co-financing program for urgent or capital repairs, where the city is ready to cover up to 80% of the cost of the works.
As explained by Iryna Marunyak, the deputy mayor of Lviv in charge of housing and communal services, relevant working groups have been created in each district of the city and have been inspecting balconies for a month. As of today, the commission has checked more than 22,000 balconies, of which almost 16% were found to be in unsatisfactory condition. According to the interim results of inspections, the largest number of emergency balconies are located in Halytskyi district, the least – in Sykhivskyi. In general, inspections of balconies in Lviv should be completed by October 14, 2023. After that, the commission will draw up relevant acts with the results: how many balconies are in good condition, how many are in satisfactory condition, and how many need immediate repair.
“The commission, with the participation of a representative of the management company or condominium, a representative of the district, conducts an inspection of the slab, the railing of the balcony and determines its condition. When the committee sees that the balcony is in bad condition, it issues a prescription to the resident that he must bring the balcony to the proper condition in order to prevent injury to himself and/or passers-by. And then it is necessary to order an expert opinion from a specialized organization that will give a proper assessment of the condition of the balcony. If this conclusion confirms the emergency, then the balcony must be repaired.
If the amount of repairs is unaffordable for the resident, he can collect the appropriate package of documents and apply for participation in the city’s Balcony Restoration Programs. There are already two programs in Lviv – the Program for restoring balconies in buildings that are architectural monuments, and, accordingly, the Program for repairing balconies in buildings that are not monuments,” Iryna Marunyak reported.
As a reminder, residents who own balconies in architectural monuments must apply for the Co-financing Program for the Restoration of Balconies in Residential Buildings in order to repair their balconies. You can get more detailed advice on this program by contacting the Department of Historic Environment Protection. And the documents will need to be submitted to TsNAP. You can read more about this program here.
Owners of individual balconies in buildings that are not architectural monuments in poor condition can apply for a special program to support co-owners of apartment buildings in carrying out urgent or capital repairs, reconstruction, repair and restoration works of common property in apartment buildings of the Lviv MTG. The repair of the balcony will be co-financed: 80% will be paid by the city, and 20% will remain with the resident.
Learn more about these programs here
To the attention of journalists, a trip to inspect the balconies will be organized next week. The time and address will be announced in addition, follow the announcements.