Code of Conduct | Lithuanian Chamber of Housing

This is an informational English translation of the regulations and Code of Conduct published on the former website. The regulations were approved on 6 May 2010 and the Code on 19 March 2009. The original Lithuanian text and historical records are retained.

Code of Conduct Compliance Commission: regulations

Approved at the Council meeting of the Lithuanian Chamber of Housing on 6 May 2010, Minutes No.16.

General provisions

The Code of Conduct Compliance Commission assesses the conduct of members of the Chamber bound by its Code of Conduct and their representatives. It oversees compliance with the Code and provides advice and recommendations on its application.

The Council establishes the Commission and approves its regulations, number of members and individual composition. The Commission has at least five members. Members perform the duties of Chair and Deputy Chair in rotation, in alphabetical order.

The Commission is appointed for up to three years. Its term ends when a new Council is elected at the General Assembly.

The quorum is four members. Decisions are made by a majority vote. In the event of a tie, the Chair, or the Deputy Chair in the Chair’s absence, has the casting vote.

The Commission may obtain material necessary to examine a reported breach from the person or organisation suspected of breaching the Code. A party may refuse to provide information constituting its commercial secret.

The Chamber’s office provides administrative support. The Commission is accountable to the Council. It prepares an annual report for the General Assembly, and the report is published on the Chamber’s website.

Reports of breaches allegedly committed by a Chamber member are examined on an equal basis whether submitted by consumers, Chamber members or other parties. Reports must be made in writing to the Chamber and accompanied by documents supporting the alleged breach.

The Commission may begin examining a breach on its own initiative if it identifies one.

Working arrangements and funding

The Commission meets after receiving reports of breaches or to discuss other matters concerning the Code or its responsibilities. Meetings are convened by the Chair or, in the Chair’s absence, the Deputy Chair.

Minutes are kept. Minutes and other Commission materials are stored under the Chamber’s document retention arrangements.

The Commission may seek specialist assistance. Specialists providing advice may be invited to meetings as experts.

To prevent conflicts of interest, members must disclose all interests connected with a case before it is examined. The Chair or Deputy Chair determines whether a member may vote. A member connected with the complainant or respondent must withdraw from the relevant decision and must not vote.

Where the facts of a dispute cannot be established adequately from a written report, the Commission may invite the directly involved parties to a meeting, ask questions and receive additional oral information. Parties may accept the invitation and/or submit written explanations.

The Commission and its members undertake to keep information received from parties during an investigation confidential and not use it for other purposes.

The Chamber’s budget covers the Commission’s costs. When preparing the budget, the Council or General Assembly must allocate funds under a separate budget line on the basis of the Commission’s advance estimate of planned expenditure.

Procedure for examining reports

Within 15 calendar days after receiving a report of a possible breach, the Chair convenes a meeting to assess the material provisionally and determine whether the matter falls within the scope of the Code. If it does, the Commission informs the complainant and respondent. If it does not, the person submitting the report is informed.

The Commission does not examine a breach already being considered by a public dispute resolution body, law enforcement institution or court, unless that body requests the Chamber’s opinion. It also does not examine a matter on which a dispute resolution or law enforcement body has decided, or a court judgment has become final.

For the preliminary assessment, the Chair may consult Commission members by means of communication instead of convening a meeting.

When starting the procedure, the Commission writes to the head of the party suspected of breaching the Code, by fax or email, requesting comments on the reported material and setting a deadline for replies and observations.

The party must reply in writing within 15 calendar days from the date the Commission sends its letter. If a reply is posted, it must also be sent by fax or email on the same day. If no reply is received within 15 calendar days, the Commission may, where necessary, examine the breach without waiting.

Once sufficient information has been collected, and no later than six weeks after receipt of the report, a meeting is convened to decide whether the Code was breached. If no decision is reached, another meeting must be held within two weeks to take a final decision.

A report must be examined on its merits and a final decision adopted within two months of receipt.

Commission decisions

If the Commission finds that the Code was breached, it informs the complainant and respondent and gives the reasons for its decision.

On receiving a reasoned report from the Code of Conduct Compliance Commission, the Council may impose one of the following sanctions on a member for a breach by that member or its representative:

A warning.
Publication of the breach on the Chamber’s website.
A fine, with the recommended amount determined by the General Assembly.

Repeated breaches by a member or its representatives may result in suspension or termination of membership.

If the Commission finds no breach, its decision is not published; only the complainant and respondent are informed of the decision and reasons.

Code of Conduct for members of the Lithuanian Chamber of Housing

Approved by the General Assembly on 19 March 2009.

Article 1. Objectives

To establish standards of conduct higher than those required by legislation, governing relations between parties bound by the Code and their representatives, household and business consumers, other parties and third persons.
To define how the Code’s rules are applied.
To increase consumers’ confidence in the Chamber and its members.

Compliance with legislation is mandatory in itself and is therefore not the subject of this Code.

Article 2. Terms and abbreviations

Code of Conduct: rules of conduct established by agreement between businesses in one or more commercial sectors, businesses across sectors, or non-profit organisations, and not approved by legislation.
Party responsible for the Code: a person, business, group of businesses, non-profit organisation or voluntary oversight body they establish, responsible for drafting and reviewing the Code and monitoring parties bound by it.
Household consumer: an individual who owns an apartment or other premises and decides to buy, purchases and uses a product for personal, family or household needs unrelated to business or a profession.
Business consumer: an individual or legal entity owning an apartment or other premises who decides to buy, purchases and uses a product for business or professional needs.
Average consumer: a reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect consumer, taking account of social, cultural and linguistic factors.
Discrediting: an act or omission that undermines confidence or damages or diminishes standing.
Chamber: the short name for Lietuvos respublikiniai būsto valdymo ir priežiūros rūmai.
Chamber member: a member of the Chamber; this term does not include supporting members.
Party: for this Code, a Chamber member that is a business or any other Chamber member bound by the Code.
Party’s representative: a director, manager, accountant or other employee, including persons connected to the party by private-law contracts, such as business-licence holders or persons working under authorship contracts, who has work-related contact with household or business consumers.

Other terms follow the Lithuanian Law on the Prohibition of Unfair Business-to-Consumer Commercial Practices and other applicable legislation.

Article 3. General provisions

The Code applies to all Chamber members, including those joining after its adoption.
Its requirements apply to all activities undertaken by a member, including administration of apartment owners’ common property; organisation, maintenance, repair and other management of shared building facilities and land assigned to the building; and maintenance or operation of heating and hot-water systems.
The Code defines minimum standards only. Each party may adopt higher standards at its discretion.
Where legislation does not regulate a situation or allows a choice, the party and its representatives follow general principles of civil law, including justice, reasonableness and good faith.
Parties and their representatives must comply with the Code in relations with one another, consumers and third persons.
Each party must assess other Chamber members’ acts or omissions critically and on principle against the Code.

Article 4. General requirements for parties

Protect the reputation of the Chamber and membership of it; do not discredit the party or Chamber through acts or omissions; respect consumers’ lawful and reasonable expectations.
Do not engage in unfair selling practices. Sales activity must not be misleading, aggressive or materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer, or average member of a targeted group, concerning the offered product.
Use powers only for the purposes for which they were granted. In particular, avoid using them for purposes unsupported by law or contrary to consumers’ interests.
Ensure decisions affecting consumers’ economic rights and legitimate interests comply with both legislation and the Code.
Avoid court disputes with consumers unless the party’s position complies with legislation as well as justice, reasonableness and good faith.
Defend the economic and other legitimate interests of apartment owners not only in the party’s own activities, such as common-property management, but also in related areas, including heating, electricity, hot-water and cold-water supply.
Defend the economic and other legitimate interests of the majority of a specific consumer group, such as the owners of premises in an apartment building, even if that majority is passive and makes no demands.
Offer owners services necessary to uphold their economic rights and legitimate interests even where these exceed the party’s statutory duties. Examples include finding or restoring the heating and hot-water system design; requiring owners who unlawfully altered heating elements to restore the prior condition; and proposing partial building improvements to save energy efficiently at minimum cost.
Encourage responsible consumers, community awareness and self-governance within consumer groups.
Improve communication with consumer groups and conduct meetings democratically in appropriate conditions and premises.
Educate consumers and inform them about legislative changes affecting their position in the party’s activities and related areas.
Avoid unjustified discrimination based on nationality, sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, national-minority membership, wealth, descent, legal incapacity, age or sexual orientation.
Seek to provide impartial, comprehensive and non-misleading information.
Protect the confidentiality of consumers’ personal data against unlawful disclosure or use.
Examine every consumer complaint or statement thoroughly and use the conclusions to improve future work with consumers.
Continuously improve organisational and professional practice, raise representatives’ qualifications and update their professional knowledge.
Introduce employees to the Code under the party’s own arrangements.
Be responsible for ensuring representatives’ activities comply with the letter and spirit of the Code.

Article 5. Additional rules for representatives

A party must seek to ensure its representative is loyal to it and to the Chamber and has the following qualities:

Professionalism and proper, responsible performance of duties towards consumers.
Professional diligence in work.
Helpfulness, correctness, courtesy and availability to consumers, providing necessary information under legislation and the party’s internal rules.
Honesty, without seeking personal gain or exploiting consumers.

If a representative makes an error adversely affecting consumers’ rights or legitimate interests, the representative must apologise and seek to remedy the consequences as quickly and appropriately as possible.

Article 6. Compliance, oversight and liability for breaches

Chamber members undertake to comply with the Code.
The Code applies where legislation does not regulate the disputed relationship, and where it establishes higher standards than legislation.
The Code is taken into account when assessing whether a party applied legislation properly.
The Code of Conduct Compliance Commission oversees compliance under its regulations, which are drawn up in accordance with the Chamber’s statutes.
On receiving a reasoned report from the Commission concerning a breach by a party or its representative, the Council may impose a warning, publication of the breach on the Chamber’s website, or a fine. The General Assembly determines the recommended fine.
Repeated breaches by a party or its representatives may result in suspension or termination of Chamber membership.

Article 7. Final provisions

The Code ceases to bind a party that withdraws from Chamber membership, but continues to apply to events, relationships and transactions occurring or concluded while it was a member.
Members review the Code at least every three years and amend or improve it where necessary.

Historical list of parties bound by the Code

The following is the list published on the former website, preserving organisation names, addresses, original numbering and recorded status notes. It is a historical source list, not a newly verified current membership register.

The original introduction concerned the reappointment of apartment-building administrators before 1 July. It explained that some companies claimed to be bound by a code in their declarations, and that such claims needed verification. It stated that the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority must be informed of adopted codes and the parties responsible for them.

The listed housing management companies were described as having accepted additional service-quality commitments and Code of Conduct oversight. The source referred to information from the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority and stated that it recorded no other shared-property administrators bound by those additional requirements.

No.	Organisation	Registered address
1.	UAB „Jūros būstas“	Minijos g. 130, 93244 Klaipėda
2.	UAB „Vėtrungės būstas“	Kauno g. 5, 91156 Klaipėda
3.	UAB „Žaidas“	Žiburio g. 10-2, 63235 Alytus
4.	UAB „Tauragės butų ūkis“	Prezidento g. 17, 72253 Tauragė (Removed from the list)
5.	Savivaldybės įmonė „Telšių butų ūkis“	Plungės g. 29, 87329 Telšiai
6.	UAB „Pašilaičių būstas“	Medeinos g. 8A, 06112 Vilnius
7.	UAB „Žardės būstas“	Taikos pr.117, 94231 Klaipėda
8.	UAB „ Utenos butų ūkis“	Rašės g. 1, 28197 Utena (Removed from the list)
9.	UAB „Ukmergės butų ūkis“	S. Daukanto g 18, 20176 Ukmergė
10.	UAB „Kaišiadorių butų ūkis“	Birutės g. 6, 56124 Kaišiadorys
11.	UAB „Nemuno būstas“	Maironio g. 14b-4, 44298 Kaunas
12.	UAB „Siregita“	Ryšininkų g. 6-21, 91117 Klaipėda
13.	UAB „Lazdynų būstas“	Architektų g. 13, 04118 Vilnius
14.	UAB „Šiaulių būstas“	Žemaitės g. 20, 77167 Šiauliai
15.	UAB „Mažeikių butų ūkis“	Laisvės pr. 12, 89223 Mažeikiai
16.	UAB „Šiaulių butų ūkis“	Vilniaus g. 255-19, 76345 Šiauliai (Company liquidated)
17.	UAB „Adminsta“	Justiniškių g. 64a-58, 05239 Vilnius
18.	UAB „Žirmūnų būstas“	Kalvarijų g.156, 08207 Vilnius
19.	UAB „Radviliškio būstas“	Maironio g. 65, 82129 Radviliškis
20.	UAB „Šilėja“	Ukmergės g. 222, 07157 Vilnius (Membership suspended)
21.	Civinity	Viršutinė g. 1, Klaipėda
22.	Vilniaus DNSB asociacijos nariai	Stiklių g. 8, 01131 Vilnius
23.	Šiaulių AMDNSB nariai	Aušros al.15, Šiauliai
24.	IĮ „Devilmora“	Totorių g. 22-10, 01121 Vilnius
25.	UAB „Mano sauga“	Medeinos g. 8A, Vilnius (Removed from the membership list from 10 July 2016)
26.	UAB „Joniškio butų ūkis“	Vilniaus g. 46, 84166 Joniškis
27.	UAB „Būsto arka“	Žirmūnų g. 67A., 09112 Vilnius (Company declared bankrupt)
28.	UAB „Senamiesčio ūkis“	Vilniaus g. 25, 01402 Vilnius
29.	Viešoji įstaiga „Akmenės būstas“	Respublikos g. 3b, 85149 Naujoji Akmenė
30.	UAB „Naujininkų ūkis“	V. Šopeno g. 3B, 01314 Vilnius
31.	UAB „Tavo pastogė”	Sodų g. 7, 89114 Mažeikiai
32.	UAB „Marijampolės butų ūkis“	Šaulių g. 4, 68177 Marijampolė
33.	UAB „Kelmės vietinis ūkis”	Žemaitės g. 23, 86143 Kelmė
34.	UAB „Antakalnio būstas”	Antakalnio g. 51, Vilnius
35.	UAB „Laukininkų valda”	L. Giros g. 4, 92221 Klaipėda
36.	NPSB Laisvės prospektas 88	Laisvės pr. 88, Vilnius
37.	DNSB „Kaštonas”, Raseiniai	Vaižganto g. 20b, Raseiniai
38.	UAB „Aukštaitijos būstas”	Nemuno g. 79, Panevėžys
39.	DNSB „Žemaitija”	Vaižganto g. 22, Raseiniai
40.	DNSB „Taikos nuosavybė”	Taikos pr. 131-33, Klaipėda
41.	UAB „Danės būstas”	Kauno g. 5, Klaipėda
42.	UAB „Saulės dominija”	Aušros alėja 53, 76302 Šiauliai
42.	UAB „Jonavos paslaugos”	Klaipėdos g. 17, Jonava (Removed from the list)

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