"Hostages" of North Avenue

Residents of No. 6 building of North Avenue building, including world chess champion Vladimir Hakobyan, Vice-President of the Chess Federation Vanik Zakarian, NA MP Khosrov Harutyunnyan, the latter's son, Armenian Development Agency director Robert Harutyunyan, "Maternal and Child Health Research Center" director Georgi Okoev, "Ingo-Armenia" Insurance Company's Executive Director Levon Altunian and about 70 families appear in "hostage" status. The reason was, that they bought an apartment in elite new-built, which had been built by "Nord Island" Ltd.

"Harutyunyan brothers" Law Office registered the legal entities of this company in the State Register, which belongs to NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs President, at that time holding the position of Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan's brothers. After the construction of "Nord Island" the director Galina Yedigaryan property rented "Nord Avenue" Ltd, director of which Martin Yedigaryand was involved in purchase and sale of apartments.

And so, after the completion of the construction, Ltd creates of a new LLC with very reliable address and gives the latter the future management and maintenance of buildings.

This service under the name of the company over the years has continued to successfully empty the pockets of residents, forcing them to pay arbitrarily set fees, service charges, monthly 67 thousand AMD, hot and cold water, hot and cold air, heating, guard service, parking of every month, hundreds of dollars.

After years of paying the lease in 2011 the residents of the building finally realized that theeir chronic status was not a good thing and created their condominium, called "Northern Avenue 6," to self-manage their building management. 

When purchasing the residents were promised appropriate conditions of luxury apartments, but only after 8 years living there the residents found that they were given four walls of the house, but nothing else. The residents have no rights over the yard because it also LLC's property.

During Purchase and sale contracts, building elevators had to be Finn production, while there are cheap, local elevators. 1 cubic meter of hot water in the neighboring building is sold for 1578 AMD, but in this building it is sold for 3100 AMD, including 25-40 degree heat.

Identifying what kinds of illegalities took place, the condominium sued the "Nord Island" Ltd and "Nord Avenue" LLC. At the same time complaints were addressed in various instances, up to the President Serzh Sargsyan.

The condominium, unable to get any response from "Nord Island", all documents relating to the building and the building yard, requested the Municipality and Cadastre State Committee, but again met with negative attitudes. 

Residents say it is not likely that there is no document, the building was qiuckly sold after building with violations of norms, the documents were taken, that no one knows about that.

However, the condominium has been more than a year is in judicial process with the companies, which are excluding its rights. 

And Armenia, perhaps, will become a legal state when people finally gett rid of various municipalities, becoming a hostage in small and medium hands of bureaucrats, and we will meet justice in case of first problems arising from the primary level.

Lusine Kesoyan