Questions and answers

A few simple points are enough: keep posts relevant, address each other politely and the way people in the building are used to, no insults or personal attacks, and don't post other people's phone numbers, photos or apartment numbers without their consent. It's also worth agreeing where for-sale posts and service offers go, so they don't bury the important stuff.

Usually it's whoever created the chat, or one or two residents the neighbors trust. It helps to have several moderators living in different parts of the building. Their job isn't to argue on everyone's behalf but to gently remind people of the rules and remove messages that break them.

Agree on a separate place or format for selling things, offering services and looking for handymen — for example, one set day of the week or a pinned thread. Keep the main chat for things that concern the whole building: shut-offs, shared work, found items, requests for help and warnings.

Don't answer in the same tone or add fuel to the fire. Message the moderator, ask them to remove the rude posts and remind everyone of the rules. If the dispute is personal, suggest the people involved continue it privately or in person, rather than in front of the whole building.

Post in the chat or put up a notice by the elevator ahead of time: when you'll start, which work will be the noisiest, roughly how long it will take and how to reach you. Also stop by your closest neighbors in person, especially if there are families with babies or older people among them.

Landings and hallways are shared space, and the rules for using them develop differently from building to building. Before you leave anything there, ask your neighbors and the building council whether it gets in the way. It's best to always keep the path to the stairs and the exit clear.

Start by talking to the person whose car is in the way, and leave a note on the windshield if you can't find the owner. Don't block their car in return. If the problem affects everyone, it's worth raising with the whole building rather than having each person deal with it alone.

Talk to them calmly and without an audience: explain that the smoke drifts up to your place and bothers you. You could suggest putting up a general, polite notice in the entrance without naming any apartments. If talking doesn't help, raise the issue at the general meeting or with the building council.

In Russia, the general meeting of owners of premises in an apartment building is the building's governing body, as stated in Article 44 of the Russian Housing Code. That's where owners discuss and decide the building's shared matters together. For details of how meetings are held, check the law itself or ask a professional.

In Russia, an apartment building council is elected at the general meeting of owners, as set out in Article 161.1 of the Russian Housing Code. If you'd like to join the council or find out who is on it now, ask your neighbors or the current council members.

Shared topics — quiet, a clean entrance, flower beds, a book shelf or the chat rules — can certainly be raised at a residents' meeting. It's better to talk about rules for everyone than to pick apart one apartment's behavior in front of all the neighbors.

First, calmly find out how and why the decision was made, and share your view with the council members or at the next meeting. If your rights, money or property are involved, consult a lawyer: we don't assess whether specific decisions are lawful.