How to divide the personal account in an apartment for utility bills into several parts?

To determine the boundaries of responsibility of each of the owners or users of housing living together and to prevent penalties for other people's debts, separation of personal accounts is used in everyday life. This procedure allows you to clearly delineate financial obligations for housing and communal services.

Why do people split bills?

The practice of dividing personal accounts dates back to the times when people lived in communal apartments and, due to the circumstances of their common cohabitation, bore the same burden of paying for utilities.

Frequent disagreements between the owners of adjacent rooms over late payment of housing and communal services provoked the need to divide personal accounts.

A personal number (account) is understood as a digital combination assigned to an apartment or private building, according to which information on the consumption of services provided by them is listed in the database of resource supplying organizations.

Category Features:

1. Each type of service has its own personal account (accounts for electricity, water consumption, heating).
2. They remain the same even if the owner of the real estate has changed.
3. The Housing Code does not contain legal norms to resolve the issue of dividing financial personal accounts.
4. Each owner is responsible for making utility payments in proportion to his share of the right.

The division of the apartment’s personal account for payment of utilities can be done:

• by mutual consent of all co-owners;
• By the tribunal's decision.

The division of accounts is unacceptable in the following cases:

• residential real estate is the property of one owner;
• the apartment is official, departmental;
• the object is under arrest.

How to write an application to split a personal account?

When writing an application for division of a personal account, you must consider the following:

• written in free form;
• indicate the basis for the division;
• apply a decision on division on behalf of all residents, and if general agreement is not reached, only on behalf of those who have expressed a desire;
• the number of copies must correspond to the number of participants in the process.

Sample application

A sample application for pre-trial appeal contains:

• name of the organization with which the contract for the receipt of utility services was concluded;
• FULL NAME. owner, tenant;
• petition for separation with reasons;
• date, signature.

Download a sample statement of claim (.doc format).

The sample claim includes the following items:

• name of the judicial authority;
• FULL NAME. the applicant and his contact details;
• name of the organization acting as the defendant;
• circumstances that gave rise to the application (illegal refusal, leaving the application without consideration);
• reference to the rules of law that ensure the legality of the plaintiff’s position;
• applicant's requirements;
• application;
• date, signature.

Features of the personal accounts section

Most often, this procedure is used for municipal and privatized apartments. Let's take a closer look at the main design nuances for each of the apartments.

In the municipal

The division of personal numbers of municipal housing can be initiated by both the user of the property and the landlord. The peculiarity of the procedure is as follows:

• the owner of the property (the municipality) must be notified about the procedure;
• it is allowed to conclude a rental agreement on special conditions that define the boundaries of responsibility for the utility burden and cancel the previous one (the consequences remain the same as after the division of personal accounts).

In a privatized

If it is necessary to share personal numbers in a privatized apartment, it is better for residents to draw up an agreement and independently determine the size of the shares to be paid for the consumption of services in one territory.

When such agreement is unattainable, then upon application through the court the payment amounts will be determined, but the number will remain the same.

Dividing the account in a privatized apartment is possible only in cases where the premises themselves can be divided in kind - by separating premises, each of which will have its own entrance and technical support (plumbing, heating system, sewerage, etc.).

In a shared apartment

If the living space is in shared ownership, then the burden of utility bills is divided in proportion to the assigned shares.

Difficulties arise when it comes to a shared apartment between spouses, provoked by the following points:

• the ex-husband or ex-wife has not previously recorded the size of the shares of each spouse (then they are recognized as equal);
• if there is information about the shares for each spouse in the title documents, you should provide an extract from the register of rights;
• failure to reach agreement on the division is decided only by the court;
• the concept of joint ownership does not apply to cases of non-privatized housing.

What documents are required?

When resolving a matter out of court:

• application for division of personal accounts in an apartment (house) into shares;
• passport;
• an extract from the house registration book about the number of people registered in the living area;
• certificate of ownership indicating the share of each owner;
• agreement on the division of a personal account (if such is achieved).

When dividing the personal account of an apartment (house) through the court:

• statement of claim;
• extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
• title documents;
• social tenancy agreement (if not the owner);
• technical housing plan;
• written basis for refusal to share invoices from resource supply organizations;
• receipt for payment of state duty (300 rubles);
• agreement for assigning a personal account;
• certificates confirming the presence/absence of debt for services.

What to do if you have to go to court?

Before filing a claim for division in court, the following requirements must be met:

1. Comply with the pre-trial settlement procedure and obtain a reasoned refusal from:
   1. resource supplying organization (if the contract is concluded directly);
   2. management company.
2. Provide an evidence base to support your position (you can focus on judicial practice):
   1. provide receipts indicating timely payment of utility payments for your share;
   2. the amount of debt that falls on other co-owners;
   3. court notices of sanctions for non-payment of debt;
   4. acts restricting the supply of resources in connection with debt;
   5. a court decision to seize utility debts in the past.

Separation of personal numbers is a very labor-intensive process that requires weighty arguments. Companies supplying resources are reluctant to do this, since the appearance of several accounts for one object deprives them of the opportunity to assign full responsibility to only one person, provokes the accumulation of debts from unscrupulous users and litigation with them.