A New Way to Vote: Belgorod Region Takes Apartment Building Meetings Digital
Residents of Russia’s Belgorod Region are increasingly using digital services to make decisions about the management of their apartment buildings. The Gosuslugi Dom (Government Services Home) app and the GIS ZhKKh (State Information System for Housing and Utilities) allow residents to hold general meetings remotely.
Since the beginning of 2026, residents of Belgorod Region have held 1,768 general meetings of apartment building property owners through GIS ZhKKh. The digital format, available through the Gosuslugi Dom mobile app, allows residents to vote remotely without spending time on in-person meetings or paper ballots.
A general meeting can be initiated either by a property management company or by any property owner. The organizer must post a notice on the official GIS ZhKKh portal and notify every residential property owner no later than 10 days before the meeting. Previously, this was done through registered mail, hand-delivered notices and information posted on bulletin boards in the building.
Electronic voting through the Gosuslugi Dom mobile app has made the process much easier. Once a meeting is registered in GIS ZhKKh, property owners automatically receive notifications in their personal accounts on the Gosuslugi government services portal. An information banner reading “Voting in Progress” appears on the app’s home screen. Residents can review the agenda and attached materials, then select one of three options – “For,” “Abstain” or “Against.”
The digital meeting format allows residents to vote remotely without attending in person. That can bring more residents into the general meeting, making it easier to reach the required quorum, while making the decision-making process more convenient and transparent. Voting results are posted on the GIS ZhKKh platform. This format is convenient not only for residents but also for property management companies and local authorities. It sharply reduces the number of disputes and cases in which the results of property owners’ meetings are documented improperly.
Digitalization Continues
Since March 1, 2026, property owners holding meetings by absentee voting with digital tools have been allowed to use only GIS ZhKKh or equivalent regional information systems – a requirement designed to make these procedures as transparent as possible. Going forward, electronic voting is expected to spread to more residential buildings across Russia. The system may also gain new tools, including features for analyzing property owners’ participation.
The Gosuslugi Dom app already offers a broad range of functions and is gradually becoming a single digital gateway through which residents can interact with property management companies and utility providers.
How the Platform Has Evolved
Gosuslugi Dom was launched in several pilot regions in 2022 as a core digital tool for apartment owners. At the time, its functions were limited to submitting meter readings, paying utility bills without commission fees and sending service requests to property management companies.
The service gradually expanded. Building chats were added, along with the ability to access property information and correct it when errors are found. While Gosuslugi Dom was originally developed for apartment building residents, by the end of 2024 its features had also become available to owners of private homes. Guest access was later introduced for tenants and property owners’ relatives. By mid-2026, the service had more than 20 million users. In Belgorod Region alone, 225,138 residents now use it.
A Digital Shift in Residential Property Management
Belgorod Region shows how electronic voting is already becoming a routine way to organize general meetings of property owners. These are no longer pilot projects – digital services are now being used at scale.
Over the next several years, the share of meetings held remotely or in a hybrid format is expected to continue growing. That trend is being driven both by wider adoption of Gosuslugi Dom and by the growing presence of digital services throughout residents’ everyday lives.
