Debt for utilities. Debt collection for housing and communal services

The debt for utilities is one of the most acute problems in Russia today. There is a deterioration in the economic situation and, as a consequence, rising prices for food, medicine, communication services, tariffs for light, gas, water, etc. However, the amount of wages, pensions and benefits remained at the same pre-crisis level that Led to a deficit of family budgets in the population. Naturally, something has to be sacrificed in this situation - hence the debt for utilities increases. It is about them, as well as the ways of recovery and responsibility for non-payment, we'll discuss in detail later in the article.

The consequence is the first - the accrual of penalties

For failure to pay on time, the required amount is provided with a penalty + debts for communal services. Sooner or later, they will have to pay, only the management company has the right to add 1/300 of the Central Bank's refinancing rate for 1 day of delay. Each year this percentage is different, to date it is 10.5% per annum.

Example of charging penalties

Suppose a certain citizen by the name Petrov BB 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 into 300, total: 5.25 rubles for each day of delay.

Of course, at first glance, the amount is small, but think about whether it is worthwhile to bring such measures to the general level, if you still have to pay the entire amount.

The debt for utility services 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 bit about what it is.

A court order or a court decision: what's the difference?

Legally illiterate people equate the court order and the decision. However, these are completely different resolutions:

• The order is accepted by the judge in an individual order, on the basis of written evidence, which does not cause doubts from the point of view of the law. The parties are not invited to the meetings, and the defendant's position is not listened to. This means that the debtor does not come to court and does not say that he actually paid, all checks were preserved, etc. Such a process initially assumes the result of the meeting: it will have to pay all the debt (utilities), the court will additionally add to A fine, a state fee, as well as a fee on the writ of execution of bailiffs, despite the fact that a citizen, maybe, absolutely does not owe anything to service providers.
• The decision is made on the basis of a judicial dispute with motions, opinions of the parties on the basis of equality of all before the law. During the process, the debtor can be present, express their opinions, present evidence, etc. If a citizen is credited with a debt by mistake, for example, if the information system fails, then he can present all saved checks as an excuse.

The court order, in case of disagreement with it, can be canceled within ten days from the moment of its adoption. For this, it is not necessary to give any arguments and arguments - it is enough to write simply in the objection: "I do not agree with the decision, I ask it to be canceled". This will be sufficient for the corresponding procedural actions.

However, a court order is canceled by those citizens who do not contest their obligations, but do so in order to delay collection of debts for housing and communal services, as their suppliers in this case will have to be submitted to another court, and this will take a certain time.

The consequence is the second - supply restriction

The government of the Russian Federation in 2011 allowed the management companies to suspend supply to the debtors after 30 days after the warning.

Possible restrictions are imposed in the case of incomplete payment in the amount of three minimum wages, which are calculated in accordance with the norms of its consumption, regardless of the meters registered 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. The water will still be cut off, since the company will think that it does not have any meter, and, having reached the necessary normative mark, will close the valve.

After the debt for utilities is repaid, the service provider company must resume the supply no later than two days.

The consequences of the third - eviction from housing

Debts on the apartment for utilities can lead to eviction from housing. Of course, here we mean citizens who hire him under a social contract of employment. The debt of the owner (communal services) can not lead to eviction, since in this case the property right enshrined in the Constitution will be violated.

But for those citizens who have concluded a social employment contract with municipal authorities, such a measure is possible, but only by a court decision. Neither the local authorities nor the management company have the right to independently take such decisions. The court will deal with the reasons for non-payment during the meeting. Perhaps they are respectful: the debtor's illness, reduction at work, delays in the payment of wages, a citizen is an invalid, etc.

The correct actions of the debtor in order to avoid problems

To try to avoid the above problems, we will analyze the rules of behavior.

The first thing you need to do when you receive a notice of duty is to check all the calculations. Often happens, that the companies "were mistaken", and at tenants there are no corresponding checks and receipts to prove the correctness.

Secondly, if there is a debt, it is necessary to try to negotiate with the service providers about a possible delay, the provision of installments in order to prevent the supply restriction. The company is also people, and they can understand the financial situation. At least, such actions will be at hand in court in the proceedings - this can mitigate the court's decision, although it will not save the payment obligations.

You need to know that sometimes installment is mandatory: if the cost of the service is 25% higher, for example, than in the same month last year.

Disconnection (restriction) of supply can be carried out only when it does no harm to other citizens. For example, technically there is no way to turn off the water in the countryside for one house. It is necessary to carry out certain technical work for this. But all the costs will have to pay the debtor sooner or later, if this happens.

"Not your business!", Or the participation of collection agencies

Some management companies conclude contracts on "knocking out" debts with collection agencies. In judicial practice, there were cases of treatment of the latter in court. With evidence of the existence of a debt, he sometimes ruled in favor of the plaintiff.

However, it should be noted that the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Eastern Siberian District indicated that extrajudicial collection of debts from citizens on housing and communal services is unacceptable, it violates Art. 35 of the RF Constitution. In this decree we are talking about collector agencies, since the debts of citizens for utilities are not related to their activities. In other words, the FAS in legal language said such enterprises "not your business".

The court passed - the debt remained, or Useless collection of debts for utilities

Very often there are cases in the judicial practice, when the court ruled in favor of housing, and from the debtor, as they say, and take nothing. This happens in the following situations:

• The only housing.
• Entrepreneurial activities are conducted on the confiscated land: a farm, a greenhouse, etc.
• Cash income to the accounts is the subsistence minimum for all family members.
• A debtor is an invalid who can not confiscate an existing car.

In other words, there are debts, and it is not possible to recover them. Many employees of housing and communal services try to solve the problems with debtors in a pre-trial order, granting various installments, some, for example, of able-bodied unemployed debtors hire for one-time works that do not require special professional knowledge in payment of a certain amount of debt, etc.

Possible measures to reduce payments for utilities

Municipal debts in most cases are not paid from the deficit of the family budget. To reduce them, we need mechanisms to reduce payment for services. As a tool to reduce the burden of citizens on the communal payment, many experts propose the following solutions:

1. Restrict foreclosure from common accounting devices. It often happens that the amount of income in the housing and communal services is less than the total counters show, then it automatically spends on the other tenants. Many politicians want to introduce a legislative restriction on such actions. In this case, the management companies will be interested to find out why the funds are not coming, which will lead to a fair imposition of individual tariffs.
2. Provide consumers with an impact on the approval of tariffs for utility services by including them in various pricing commissions.
3. To forbid to charge various percent for payment of services to such companies as Sberbank and "Post of Russia".

I would like to say that it is necessary to pay debts. But management companies make tariffs, as they say, from the ceiling, several times higher than real costs. Unfortunately, the state does not manage to fix prices for housing services for today, which is very sad.