Debt for utilities. Debt collection for housing and communal services

Payment for utility services is enshrined in law and is the responsibility of the population, regardless of the quality of the services provided. Tariffs are developed by special commissions under the Government of the Russian Federation and are revised almost annually upward.

The accumulation of household debt leads to dire consequences for the tenant in the form of penalties and disconnection of the consumer from engineering communications home, but there are nuances in which not all debts are payable. It is important to know how to write off utility debts.

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Main factors for debt write-off

Debt for utility bills from the population is unpaid amounts accrued by the service provider. For the Utility Service Provider, these are lost funds for the normal functioning of the enterprise and increasing the level of service provision. Every enterprise is interested in the absence accounts receivable, therefore, the grounds for writing off debts for utility bills are developed in Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n “On approval of the Regulations on accounting and financial statements, paragraph 77.

Based on this standard and Chapter 26 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, debit funds arising for the following reasons are subject to write-off:

Time expired limitation period.
The debtor is officially declared bankrupt.
The debtor has died or the legal entity has been liquidated.
In case of impossible execution court decision bailiff service.

The procedure for canceling receivables depends on the listed grounds and has a different algorithm of action on the part of the debtor.

Writing off debts for which the statute of limitations has expired

Cancellation of debts in bankruptcy

The amendments made to Federal Law No. 127 “On Insolvency,” which came into force in 2015, provided the opportunity for persons declared bankrupt to be exempt from paying debts.

An important condition for applying a write-off in connection with bankruptcy is the presence total debt not less than 500 thousand rubles in case of non-fulfillment financial obligations more than 3 months. The amount of utility bills is included in the total debt.

The procedure for recognizing bankruptcy occurs through litigation and by a court decision the debtor is released from paying debit funds. Accrued payments at the enterprise are written off based on the court decision.

Debt write-off due to the death of the debtor

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation clarifies the issue of canceling accrued debt from a deceased person in such a way that it is unrealistic to collect judicial procedure those amounts are recognized that are attributed to a person who is solely registered in the living space and has no heirs.

In case of inheritance of living space, all receivable claims are transferred to the receivers. It is not provided for by law for heirs not to pay for the services received by the deceased.

Mechanism for writing off debt if it is impossible to enforce a court decision

After a court decision is made to collect the debt from the tenant, the enforcement service begins work, which compulsorily collects the funds won by the utilities. A special case in compulsory enforcement is the impossibility of carrying out enforcement actions.

The reason for making a decision on impossible performance is the debtor’s lack of any Money, personal property, a source of income on which monetary penalties can be applied. The only place of residence, disability payments and benefits for minor children are not subject to exaction measures.

A decision by the Federal Executive Service on the impossibility of collecting funds is the basis for utility organizations to write off the debt.

Paying debts when making a purchase with debts

Based on the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the consumer’s obligation to pay for utility services begins from the moment he receives ownership of the apartment. All debts incurred before this date are paid former owner, if when purchasing an apartment the contract does not stipulate that all existing debts are assumed by the new owner of the property in voluntarily.

Housing and communal services providers can recover debit amounts remaining with the previous owners through the court through a standard procedure; automatic write-off of such amounts is not provided for by law.

The result in the matter of canceling accrued amounts depends on the correctness of filling out the documents and the legal study of the issue.

One of the most pressing problems in Russia today.

There is a deterioration in the economic situation and, as a consequence, an increase in prices for food, medicine, communication services, tariffs for electricity, gas, water, etc. However, the size wages, pensions and benefits remained at the same pre-crisis level, which led to a deficit in family budgets among the population. Naturally, something has to be sacrificed in this situation - hence the debt for public utilities. We will talk in detail about them, as well as about methods of collection and liability for non-payment, later in the article.

The first consequence is the accrual of penalties

For failure to pay the required amount on time, a penalty + utility debts are provided.

Sooner or later you will have to pay for them, only Management Company has the right to add 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate for 1 day of delay. Every year this percentage is different, today it is 10.5% per annum.

Example of penalty calculation

Let's say a certain citizen named B. B. Petrov has a debt: housing and communal services - 10 thousand rubles, electricity - 15 thousand rubles. Company A, which is an electricity supplier, will charge a penalty:

15 thousand - the amount of debt multiplied by 0.105 percent. It turns out 1575 rubles, this result must be divided by 300, total: 5.25 rubles for each day of delay.

Of course, at first glance, the amount is small, but let’s think about whether it’s worth taking such measures at all if you still have to pay the entire amount.

A debt for utilities can be demanded through the court if the debtor voluntarily refuses to fulfill it. The decision is made in the form of a court order. A little about what it is.

Court order or what's the difference?

Legally illiterate people equate and decision.

However, these are completely different decisions:

The order is adopted by the judge alone, on the basis of written evidence, not questionable from a legal point of view. The parties are not invited to the hearings, and the defendant’s position is not heard. This means that the debtor will not come to court and state that he actually paid, all the checks were preserved, etc. Such a process initially assumes the result of the meeting: the debt will have to be paid in full (utilities), and the court will also add penalize him, state fee, as well as collection on writ of execution bailiffs, despite the fact that the citizen may not owe service providers anything at all.
The decision is made on the basis of a judicial dispute with petitions and opinions of the parties on the basis of equality of all before the law. During the process, the debtor can be present, express his opinions, present evidence, etc. If a citizen was assigned a debt by mistake, for example, due to a failure information system, then he can present all the saved receipts as justification.

A court order, in case of disagreement with it, can be canceled within ten days from the date of its adoption. To do this, you do not need to provide any reasons or arguments - just write in your objection: “I don’t agree with the decision, I ask you to cancel it.” This will be sufficient for the relevant procedural actions.

However court order are canceled by those citizens who do not dispute their obligations, but do this in order to delay the collection of debts for housing and communal services, since their suppliers in this case will have to file a lawsuit in another court, and this will take some time.

Consequence two - supply limitation

Government Russian Federation back in 2011, it allowed management companies to suspend supplies to debtors after 30 days after warning.

Possible restrictions are imposed in case of incomplete payment in the amount of three minimum sizes wages, which are calculated in accordance with the standards for its consumption, regardless of the metering devices located in the apartment. This means that it does not matter that a citizen went on a business trip without paying for water, for example, and then did not use water for several months. His water will be turned off anyway, since the company will think that he does not have any metering device, and, having reached the required standard level, will shut off the valve.

After the utility debt is paid off, the service provider company must resume supply no later than two days.

Consequence three - eviction from housing

Apartment debts for utilities can lead to eviction from housing. Of course, this refers to citizens who hire him under a contract social hiring. The owner's debt (utilities) cannot lead to eviction, since in this case the right of property enshrined in the Constitution will be violated.

But for those citizens who have entered into a social rental agreement with municipal authorities, such a measure is possible, but only by court decision. Neither local authorities nor the management company have the right to make such decisions independently. During the hearing, the court will examine the reasons for non-payment. Perhaps they are valid: the debtor’s illness, layoffs at work, delays in payment of wages, the citizen is disabled, etc.

Correct actions of the debtor to avoid problems

To try to avoid the above problems, let's look at the rules of behavior.

The first thing you need to do when you receive notifications of a debt is to reconcile all the calculations. It often happens that companies are “wrong”, and residents do not have the appropriate receipts to prove they are right.

Secondly, if there is still a debt, it is necessary to try to negotiate with service providers on a possible deferment, provision of installment plans in order to prevent supply restrictions. There are also people in the company, and they can understand the financial situation. At the very least, such actions will be beneficial in court during proceedings - this may soften the court's decision, although it will not save you from payment obligations.

You need to know that sometimes installments are provided in mandatory: if the cost of the service has become 25% higher, for example, than in the same month last year.

Shutting off (limiting) supplies can only be carried out when it will not harm other citizens in any way. For example, it is technically impossible to turn off the water in rural areas for one house. It is necessary to carry out certain technical work for this. But the debtor will have to pay all the costs sooner or later if this happens.

“None of your business!”, or the participation of collection agencies

Some management companies enter into agreements to “knock out” debts with collection agencies. IN judicial practice There were cases of the latter going to court. When the existence of a debt was proven, he sometimes ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

However, it is worth noting that the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the East Siberian District indicated that extrajudicial collection of debts from citizens for housing and communal services is unacceptable; it violates Art. 35 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In this decree we're talking about exactly about collection agencies, since citizens’ debts for utilities are not related to their activities. In other words, the FAS, in legal language, told such enterprises “none of your business.”

The trial passed - the debt remains, or useless for utilities

Very often there are cases in judicial practice when the court made a decision in favor of the housing and communal services, but, as they say, there is nothing to take from the debtor. This occurs in the following situations:

The only housing.
Business activities are carried out on the confiscated land: a farm, a greenhouse, etc.
Cash receipts to accounts amount to living wage for all family members.
The debtor is a disabled person whose existing car cannot be confiscated.

In other words, there are debts, but it is not possible to collect them. Many employees of housing and communal services try to resolve problems with debtors out of court, providing various installment plans; some, for example, able-bodied non-working debtors are hired for one-time work that does not require special professional knowledge in order to pay a certain amount of debt, etc.

Possible measures to reduce utility bills

Utility debts in most cases are not paid due to deficit family budget. To reduce them, mechanisms for reducing payment for services are needed. As tools to reduce the burden of citizens to pay for utilities, many experts offer the following solutions:

Limit collections from common house metering devices. It often happens that the amount of revenue from housing and communal services is less than what the general meters show, then it is automatically distributed to the remaining residents. Many politicians want to introduce legal restrictions on such actions. In this case, management companies will be interested in finding out why funds are not being received, which will lead to the fair imposition of individual tariffs.
Give consumers influence on the approval of tariffs for housing and communal services by including them in various pricing commissions.
Prohibit charging various percentages for payment of services to companies such as Sberbank and Russian Post.

I would like to say that debts, of course, need to be paid. But management companies also set tariffs, so to speak, from the ceiling, several times higher than real costs. The state, unfortunately, is unable to fix prices for housing and communal services today, which is very sad.

Every homeowner or tenant is required to pay all utility bills that come to them monthly. Electricity and water are paid based on meter readings, other payments are calculated according to tariffs. Economic situation The reality is that not everyone is able to make timely payments on utility bills. As a result, debt arises. If this is the first time a citizen has had such a situation, the state can meet him halfway and write off his utility debt. Will utility debts be written off? To get rid of debt, you need to familiarize yourself with the laws that regulate the procedure for dealing with such a situation.

How to write off a debt in a management company

Organizations managing common property tenants apartment buildings on the basis of an agreement, control persons who have incurred debts for utility services. Management companies may decide to restructure the debt or write it off, but this is not in their area of interest, so they are in no hurry to make such a decision. It is possible to force them to write off the entire amount accumulated due to non-payment only through the court. In order for the court to make a positive decision, it is necessary to prove that the debt arose for a good reason.

Important! If there is no desire to go to court, then the apartment owner should obtain a subsidy for utility bills to facilitate payments. You won't be able to write off the funds, but the amount on the receipt will decrease. The benefit is regulated by articles number 159 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

Citizens whose total income is less than 88% of their income can count on it. total amount all utility payments. The income also applies to persons under the age of majority living with the debtor for legally. To be granted a benefit, a person must confirm the income level of all capable family members and submit an agreement with the management company on the gradual closure of the debt.

Legal justification

It is possible to write off debts in full in the following situations:

the death of the apartment owner who incurred a debt;
liquidation of a legal entity that is the owner of the premises;
bankruptcy of the citizen in whose name the premises are registered;
expiration of the statute of limitations for payment of utility bills by the homeowner;
recognition of a citizen's insolvency.

If the statute of limitations for rent has expired, then the owner of the living space has the right not to recognize the debt for utilities and then they will be written off. This situation is real if the debt has been accumulating for three years and none of the services have made any claims to the owner. This happens very rarely, since in most cases the apartment owner begins to be reminded of the debt less than six months after its formation. If a person in court can prove that he has not been reminded of the debt for 3 years, then the court can write off the funds based on the expiration of the statute of limitations. The main thing is that during this time no documents acknowledging the debt are signed and no utility payments are made for this period. If even part of the amount has been paid, then the application of the statute of limitations law will become impossible, which means it will not be possible to write off utility bills.

Important! Will utility debts be written off if the owner of the apartment has lost his ability to work? This is a reason to write off the debt if the owner had a good reason not to work, and he can prove it. A valid reason is injury, mental disorders or pathological conditions.

How to write off housing and communal services debts by declaring yourself bankrupt? To implement this, a citizen needs to file an application for declaring him bankrupt. To make such a decision and write off funds, the court needs justification - the absence of a permanent place of work for three years and a debt on loans and other payments of more than 500,000 rubles. The debt is not always written off as a result of the proceedings. Sometimes the court decides to auction off the debtor’s property, including real estate, and thus pay the entire amount that has accumulated during the insolvent period. If there is not enough money, the balance will be written off by a court order.

The reason for writing off is the death of the owner of the premises, but only in the absence of heirs. Based Civil Code Russian Federation heirs will receive not only property, but also all existing debts. If the deceased only had debts, they will be written off, since without property they are not inherited.

Debt restructuring

Utility services do not always resort to collecting debts for services through the courts. They can reach an agreement with the citizen to restructure the debt rather than write it off. It is impossible to get rid of the accumulated amount here, but it is possible to make payments in installments. To do this you will need the following package of documents:

identification document;
certificate of temporary disability;
certificate of family composition;
income certificate;
certificate of ownership of the apartment.

If all documents are in order, an agreement is signed. If the specialists of the management company filed an application in court, the claim will be canceled by agreement of the parties. If the user does not provide evidence of a valid reason for non-payment, his application will be rejected. The claim will not be cancelled.

Reduced utility bills

Writing off debts on utility bills is not always possible, but reducing utility bills is much more realistic. Benefits of payments for housing and communal services are provided to the following categories of citizens:

Persons with disabilities. According to the Federal Law, citizens of this category receive benefits in the amount of 50%. Benefits are provided not only as part of federal support, but also by law adopted by authorities at the local level. IN new edition benefits were not canceled by law.
Combat veterans. Family members are entitled to a discount on rent payments, and it is 50%.
Pensioners. These benefits are given only if the income of all family members of the pensioner is less than 88% of the amount of payments. Another condition is the absence of debt or the presence of a court order that the amounts are written off when the statute of limitations has expired.
Large families. The presidential decrees also affected families with three or more children. They are given a 30% discount on utilities and fuel. In 2018, they are entitled to benefits, since there have been no changes in the new version of the decree.
Teachers working in rural areas. They get the discount from the local or federal budget. These benefits have not been cancelled.

Important! The President of the Russian Federation regularly provides Russians with measures within the framework of state support to improve their financial situation. This also applies to utility bills. In 2019, Putin indicated that he would continue to do everything possible to help Russians improve their quality of life.

Punishment for non-payment of bills

If the debtor deliberately refuses to pay his bills and the debt appears not for the first time, then he will not be able to write off the funds. Debt forgiveness will only occur if the statute of limitations has expired. In other cases, the management company sues the user and all claims will be set out in the lawsuit. It is useless for a citizen to fight the organization, since he used public services but did not contribute money. The decision will not be in his favor. After the end of the trial, the bailiff service has the right to seize the user’s accounts and property. Bailiffs, without lifting the arrest, deprive the citizen of the opportunity to cross the border of the Russian Federation. To get rid of restrictions, you need to transfer all funds to the management account. Once utilities are paid, restrictions will be lifted.

Important! Writing off debts for utilities becomes possible when a citizen has a good reason not to make payments on receipts. The state will always meet you halfway. You can take advantage of the expired period or temporary disability and then the accumulated amounts are written off. To prove the existence of a good reason, you can write a petition to the management company.

You can do this yourself without contacting a legal service. If the management company was unable to get rid of debt obligations and write off the funds, then it is recommended to go to court. To win your case and get your debts forgiven, it is recommended to seek legal advice. If this is not possible, you can ask a lawyer online free of charge. Sometimes it is possible to write off the funds completely or split the debt into several payments.

And the definition of the limitation period, which is statutory period for defending your violated rights in a lawsuit.

How long does it take for housing and communal services debts to be written off? According to Art. 196, the general limitation period is three years. This provision applies to all civil claims, including those where the plaintiff is the housing and communal services company.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 196. General limitation period

The general limitation period is three years from the date determined in accordance with Article 200 of this Code.
The limitation period cannot exceed ten years from the date of violation of the right for the protection of which this period is established, with the exception of cases established by Federal Law of March 6, 2006 N 35-FZ “On Countering Terrorism”.

You just need to remember the following nuances:

The limitation period is taken into account by the court only upon the application of the defendant. If there is no such statement, the claim is considered in the general manner.
The fact that the debtor pays some part of the debt, even the smallest one, is equivalent to his recognition of his obligations, and in this case, the limitation period will be considered from the moment the funds are deposited.
Closely related to the previous point. Situations are common when housing and communal services make the current payment of the apartment owner to pay off the previous debt. So, such actions are prohibited by law.

Advice: Study all receipts carefully. Before you deposit money, warn the cashiers that you are making a strictly current payment so that they do not use the funds to pay off a past debt that is about to expire.

In the practice of collecting housing and communal services debts, there were precedents for partial debt write-off by reducing or eliminating late fees. However, such a measure in fact remains at the discretion of the service provider company.

In court, in order to reduce the amount of debt, you can try to appeal to Article 333 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, but you will need to convincingly prove the obvious disproportionality of the accrued penalties.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation Article 333. Reduction of penalties

If the penalty payable is clearly “disproportionate” to the consequences of the violation of the obligation, the court has the right to reduce the penalty. If the obligation is violated by the person carrying out entrepreneurial activity, the court has the right to reduce the penalty subject to the debtor’s application for such a reduction.
Reduction of the penalty determined by the contract and payable by the person carrying out entrepreneurial activities is allowed in exceptional cases, if it is proven that the collection of the penalty in stipulated by the contract amount may lead to the creditor receiving unjustified benefits.
The rules of this article do not affect the debtor’s right to reduce the amount of his liability on the basis of Article 404 of this Code and the creditor’s right to compensation for losses in cases provided for in Article 394 of this Code.

How is a three-year housing and communal services debt written off?

The law in this case is clear and categorical: It is possible to use the limitation period only by a court decision in response to a filed claim. The fact that this period has ended does not in itself constitute grounds for termination of the obligation.

It is for this reason that management companies in such cases delay going to court until the last minute.

Attention: In response to a motion to apply the statute of limitations, the plaintiff may restate the subject of the claim and demand payment of a penalty.

Debt restructuring for housing and communal services - what is it?

This measure involves the signing of an agreement between the organization to which the debt was incurred and the debtor himself. It consists of extending the term of debt repayment by dividing the principal amount into equal monthly payments.

Wherein the citizen's income is taken into account. Typically the size monthly payment cannot be more than 25% of the amount of income, and in the case of debt by pensioners and other disabled categories of the population - 20%. Thus, in each individual case, a individual schedule payments.

Payments under the agreement must be timely. A penalty is charged for each day of delay.

Attention: The procedure for restructuring rent arrears is not enshrined in law anywhere. However, in practice it is actively used by many organizations providing residential complex services.

Description of the procedure

How to write off debts for housing and communal services? Debt restructuring for housing and communal services includes several stages:

The debtor applies to the Management Company or other organization providing him with utility services with a statement of the reasons for non-payment and indicating the feasible terms and amount of payments.
If the management company makes a positive decision, a bilateral agreement is concluded, according to which payments are made.
The citizen fulfills his obligations under the contract. It is extremely important to do this on time, otherwise the management agreement may be terminated in unilaterally and applying to the court to demand repayment of the debt in full.

For your information: From the moment the restructuring agreement is concluded, the accrual of penalties on the debt stops, but this again works subject to the payment schedule.

So, we have figured out how to write off debt for housing and communal services, then let's talk about the rules for drawing up the main document - the contract.

Agreement

The debtor accompanies the application with a request for restructuring sent to the company supplying residential complex services with certificates of family composition and income.

The agreement must be drawn up in writing and is the result of a mutual agreement between the parties.

The Criminal Code is not obliged to provide installment plans to defaulters. However, as a rule, such agreements are concluded everywhere, because Housing and communal services are interested in this.

The agreement form is usually provided by the organization entering into the contract.

A typical restructuring agreement contains:

information about the debtor, full name of the service provider organization, details of the parties;
address of the apartment for which the debt arose;
rights and obligations, as well as responsibilities of the parties. The management company undertakes to continue to provide utilities in full, and the tenant - to pay the debt on time along with current payments;
payment schedule drawn up by the parties by mutual agreement;
signatures of participants and seal of the organization.

Such an agreement must be concluded in two copies and handed over to both parties.

Sometimes non-standard, exceptional situations arise in life. All such circumstances are also included in the contract as a separate clause.

Attention: Maybe early termination agreement due to the fact that the person who concluded it leaves the living space indicated in the agreement, for example, sells it. In this case, the citizen is obliged to repay the debt in full.

Conclusion

There is a way out of almost any situation. The main thing is to resist the temptation to ignore the problem. It is better to make every effort to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In most cases, housing and communal services organizations will accommodate responsible citizens who find themselves in difficult circumstances but are willing to cooperate and provide reasonable payment terms.

Article 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation states that all physical and legal entities Those receiving housing and communal services are required to pay monthly for them, as well as expenses for the maintenance and servicing of the premises. However, in times of crisis, as well as rising costs of utility services, many citizens, either out of principle or simply due to financial difficulties, stop paying for them, thereby creating and gradually accumulating debts for housing and communal services.

There are several punitive measures:

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Let's look at each point in more detail.

Penya According to paragraph 14 of Art. 155 Housing Code

The amount of penalties for enterprises and organizations is 1/130 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Russia and is approved at the legislative level. Previously, the rate could change throughout the year, ranging from 7 to 14%, entailing a corresponding increase or decrease in the size of the penalty. Today, the Bank of Russia has united key rate with a refinancing rate of 11%. This is what is used to calculate the penalty.

Suspending and disabling services

The defaulter must be notified in writing (under signature) of the suspension of utility services no later than 30 calendar days in advance. If nothing has changed during this time, a new notification is received three days in advance about the exact date and time of arrival of the technical team. But this is not a disconnection, but a suspension - before disconnection, the defaulter is given another 30 calendar days, only after which, if the situation has not changed, a complete disconnection is made. In total, you have 2 months and three days to complete either partial repayment debt.

Judicial debt collection

If this measure does not help, the management company will file a lawsuit in order to forced collection such a debt. The defendant must be properly informed about upcoming proceedings in court - by summons or registered mail. If the amount of debt is less than 50 thousand rubles, the claim is submitted to a magistrate for consideration. If more, the application is submitted in district court at the place of residence of the debtor.

Typically, decisions on such claims are made quickly and decisions are made in favor of the utility. According to the court decision, the debtor will be required to pay the debt in full within 10 days from the date of the verdict in the case. Most often, fulfilling this condition is impossible, and in this case they come bailiffs for the purpose of inventory and seizure of property.

It is also possible that bailiffs apply other measures: restrictions on leaving the Russian Federation or on registration actions with property.

Debtor eviction

If, after a court decision is made, the debtor does not comply with the requirements of the agreement on restructuring the amount of debt, and nothing can be recovered from him, the time comes for a last resort - eviction. It should be noted that this measure is applied if the period of non-payment of services is six months or more. In this case, the decision to evict is made based on a separate claim from the utility services strictly in court.

This procedure is carried out as follows:

The debtor is notified of the future in writing.
Next, a lawsuit is filed in court for forced eviction.
After a court decision on eviction, the debtor will be given 7 days to voluntarily leave, and then compulsory measures will be applied.

An exception may be the situation when the owner provides documents confirming the existence of a valid reason (loss of job or illness) for accumulating debt.

Based on the size of the debt, bailiffs have the right to take the following measures:

Removal of valuables from the apartment, the value of which is equivalent to the amount of debt. But there is one nuance here - the value of valuable things is not determined by their market value at the time of assessment, but “by eye”, so the final cost of such collection may differ significantly from the real one.
In exceptional cases, the debtor's apartment may be put up for auction to pay off rent arrears. Then the state is obliged to provide the owner with living space in the amount of at least six square meters per person in a hostel or in a communal apartment. After the apartment is sold and the debts are paid, the remaining funds are returned to the debtor.

Rent debt: what to do

What to do if you suddenly find that your utility debts are too high?

First of all, don't panic. There is a certain action plan, following which you will be able to pay off your debt, for example, for water, in the shortest possible time, with minimal financial costs.

Specify the amount of debt

To obtain such information, you need a passport, a telephone number, a receipt for payment of housing and communal services, as well as the Internet. You can:

Contact the housing office at your place of residence, where you will be informed of the amount of debt and accrued fines, if any. Minus this method There are often huge queues.
If you don’t have much time or don’t want to stand in long lines, you can find out information using the Internet. To do this, you need to go to the website of the management company, register using your phone number and log in Personal Area(here you will need to enter your personal account number).
Today many banks provide the opportunity online payment for electricity, for water, as well as for gas and electricity supply services and, of course, heating. On their website, after completing a short registration, you can not only find out the amount of debt, but also pay it instantly.

Contact the management company

There may be several possible outcomes here:

By law, the statute of limitations for debt obligations is 3 years. However, some amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation indicate that utility services can collect debt for a period of 5 years or more. You need to be careful here: if the management company filed a lawsuit demanding payment of receipts for a period of more than 3 years, you need to draw up an application to the court in which you indicate this. If such a statement is not received from your side, then no one will remember the statute of limitations for you.

Even if the debt for housing and communal services is very large and amounts to 100 thousand rubles or more, but you want to pay off a large debt for utilities and do not know what to do, management companies will willingly meet you halfway. You just need to choose the best way to pay off your debt from those suggested above and gradually follow it. In this situation the best solution will agree with utility companies on a mutually beneficial solution to the problem rather than face unpleasant consequences.

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