The constant increase in rent arrears is a problem for many Russians. Evasion of payments entails a lot of unpleasant consequences: power outages, blocking of water drainage, litigation.
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However, there is a way out of this situation. Legislation allows you not only to reduce the amount of debt, but also to write it off completely.
What it is?
A penalty is a penalty levied on the debtor when there is a long delay in paying utility bills.
Its size depends on the time during which no payments were made. In addition, different payment systems are provided for different categories of payers.
Why are they charged?
When a person fails to pay utility bills, he develops and often accumulates debt. To motivate citizens to repay it, management companies have been given a wide range of influences, one of which is the accrual of penalties on the resulting amount of debt.
Resource supply and management organizations depend on payments from utility consumers. The accumulation of a critical amount of debt can lead to bankruptcy of the company itself. Therefore, the size of fines is growing every year and more and more citizens are wondering whether it is possible to write off penalties on utility bills.
What to do if you have nothing to pay a large debt for an apartment
In accordance with Article 159 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, there is a category of citizens who have the right to various benefits from the state. Disabled people, families of disabled people, low-income or single-parent families, pensioners, orphans and the unemployed have the right to benefits for housing and communal services, subsidies and compensation from the local or federal budget.
If you have accumulated a large debt for an apartment, it is important to know about your rights and options, and not run headlong to friends, relatives and acquaintances to borrow a round sum from them. First of all, contact the management company and remember that there are no hopeless situations!
11 Mar 2020 lawurist7 1709
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The legislative framework
The obligation to pay for utilities and other expenses for the maintenance and upkeep of residential buildings is established by Article 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Payments are subject to requirements for completeness and timeliness of payment.
The timing of payment is determined in Article 155 of the RF Housing Code, the frequency of repayment of monetary obligations is determined in Article 319 of the RF Civil Code.
For violation of the requirements established by law, various penalties are provided in the form of sanctions and unfavorable measures.
Is it possible to write off penalties for utility bills?
Current legislation provides for various options for partial or complete write-off of utility debt.
They can be used depending on the current situation and the availability of special rights to the resource consumer.
Partially
For those who are unable to get rid of rent debt completely, you can significantly reduce it. This is provided for by housing legislation.
The remaining amount in this case is paid in installments or restructured.
The timing of payment of utility bills is determined by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Who pays the previous owner's utility bills? See here.
How to avoid paying penalties for utilities
To get a clear answer to the question of whether it is possible not to pay penalties for utility bills, you should find out whether you have entered into an agreement with the management company. If such an agreement has not been drawn up, then the Criminal Code will act based on the norms of the Civil Code, or more precisely, its Article 395. According to the law, the amount of the penalty directly depends on the refinancing rate adopted by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Article 155 of the Housing Code of our country states that the amount of debt is considered to be in debt if the owner has not paid the utility bill by the 10th day of the month following the billing month. This law applies if an agreement between the owner and the management company has not been concluded.
This is interesting: Benefits for a labor veteran in the Lipetsk regional district
Reasons
You can reduce or write off the amount of rent arrears for various reasons:
- division of financial obligations between homeowners;
- application of the principle of limitation of actions based on a court decision;
- use of recourse to collect debt;
- deferment of payments under an agreement with the management company and utility providers.
By statute of limitations
Long-term utility debt is collected using the principle of limitation. The service provider has the right to demand payment only for the last 3 years. This rule is established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. To use the statute of limitations, you must go to court.
In this situation, it is important to consider the following points:
- The debtor must have time to file a petition to apply the statute of limitations before the court makes a decision.
- Penalties on utility bills are not completely written off, but the amount of debt is significantly reduced.
- No rent payments can be made during this period. Otherwise, the limitation period will be determined from the new date - the day the last payment was made.
Bankruptcy of an individual
In this case, the legislation provides for the possibility of writing off debts from a bankrupt not only to banks (on loans), but also to other authorities.
The law allows you to write off utility bills owed to service providers and management companies. In this case, not only the principal amount is written off from the bankrupt, but also all penalties accrued on it.
The bankruptcy procedure for citizens takes a lot of time and requires financial investments. To implement it in 2020, certain conditions must be met :
- total amount of debt – from 500 thousand rubles;
- the period for non-fulfillment of monetary obligations is from 3 months.
Rent debt is included in the total amount. As a result of bankruptcy, it is not simply written off. The debtor will have to part with property of equal value.
The sale of only a single residential premises (house, apartment) and land is prohibited. By court decision, the debt can be restructured.
How can I reduce the payment amount?
If you can't completely get rid of rent debts, you can reduce them. The legislation provides for various options for resolving this issue:
- subsidies and benefits;
- regression;
- installments.
Subsidies
Certain categories of homeowners are given the right to a rent reduction. You can find out about belonging to one of them from the social authority.
Currently there are subsidies and benefits for the following persons:
- disabled people (reduced to 50%);
- veterans (reduction to 50%), the benefit applies to each family member living with the beneficiary;
- pensioners with too little pension;
- families with three or more minor children;
- low-income people (official confirmation of status with a social authority is required);
- teachers.
This list can be expanded. A specific list of beneficiaries entitled to subsidies is established by local authorities at the regional level.
Regression
This method of reducing rent is possible only if there are several owners of one residential property. It involves dividing utility debt between them without their consent.
Recourse is applied after the debt is closed by court decision.
The owner who has fulfilled his obligations to the management company files a claim to compensate all other co-owners for expenses incurred.
Installment plan
Many citizens are trying in good faith to correct the situation with rent arrears. However, when it has accumulated to a serious extent, it is difficult to do this quickly.
To avoid accrual of penalties and litigation, it is better to use installments or deferment.
To apply for an installment plan, you must submit an application to the management company or other similar organization. It is provided for a certain period, dividing the accumulated amount of debt by month.
Read about liability for non-payment of utilities. Are there penalties for incorrect calculation of utility bills? Information here.
How to pay utility bills through Sberbank Online? Details in this article.
Documents and application
To resolve the issue of providing a consumer with installment plans, you need to submit an application and a number of other documents. The applicant will need to confirm his identity (passport, other document) and the right to occupy this housing. If installments are mandatory, then nothing else is required.
Additional documents justifying the need to obtain an installment plan may be needed when resolving the issue by agreement. These include certificates of income, long-term illness, disability and other papers that indicate the objectivity of the reasons for non-payment. The applicant may also be required to provide other documents.
You can receive an installment plan only by writing a corresponding application. It is drawn up in writing, indicating the applicant and addressee and their full data. Then you should justify the reason for filing the application.
To do this, it is worth referring to the Rules on the provision of public utility services, which establish this opportunity for consumers. If the reason is different, then you need to indicate the impossibility of payment in the usual manner and confirm your readiness to fulfill the established schedule.
The application must be signed and sent (transferred) to the addressee. After its consideration, a decision is made to provide the consumer with an installment plan or to refuse it. The decision to refuse can be challenged in court.
Where to write the application
You should apply for an installment plan to pay for housing and communal services to your management organization. If a different method of managing an apartment building is chosen, then the application is sent to another organization involved in providing utility services to consumers.
Therefore, before writing an application, you should find out where exactly to apply.
It is worth paying for the provided housing and communal services on time. Late payment threatens the consumer with penalties and other measures. However, in certain cases, you can count on the provision of an installment payment plan and write-off of accrued penalties.
How are utility fees calculated:
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Discussion: 2 comments
- Evgeniya says:
08/19/2018 at 22:15If people were paid wages on time and they were not as meager as they are, then everyone would be paid regularly. It's my opinion. If we figure it out like this, what part of our salary should we pay for utilities? If I'm not mistaken, it's 20%. And here the size of utilities is equal to the size of wages. Where is the justice, and then how will people live if they give everything for an apartment?
Answer
- Ivan says:
09.20.2018 at 18:41
As far as I can imagine, most utilities are provided to me without some kind of agreement with my signature, so when accruing interest on the debt, if such arises, there will be options to challenge their amount.
Answer
Limitation period for debt collection
In Russia, the limitation period is three years. It is established by Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Debt collection through court is possible only during this time. However, this period can be restored, for example, if the debtor has paid at least some amount of money on a receipt for utility bills.
These provisions apply in all civil cases, including those in which the housing and communal services are the plaintiff.
So, if desired and possible, the homeowner can pay off even a significant amount of rent arrears. The law provides for various options for reducing the debtor's burden.
To reduce debt, subsidies and benefits, recourse, installment plans and deferments, and partial write-off due to prescription are used. If the situation is particularly difficult, the way out of the debt trap is to declare the property owner bankrupt.
