State Duma deputy Nikita Chaplin told Gazeta.ru that individual apartment residents in Russia cannot cancel building intercom services on their own.
Chaplin explained that intercom systems belong to the common property of an apartment building. Because of this legal status, decisions regarding their use must be made collectively at a general meeting of building owners.
A management company does not have the legal right to disconnect an intercom at the request of a single resident if the system was legally installed, Chaplin said.
Voting rules and handset options
Refusing the intercom service requires securing more than 50 percent of the votes at an owners meeting, the parliamentarian explained.
Residents can independently disconnect the receiver device inside their apartment by contacting their management company, Chaplin noted. However, residents must still pay for maintenance because the intercom remains common property.
Housing and communal services expert Dmitry Bondar previously stated that any resident can refuse the placement of an intercom device inside their apartment.
