3 ways to write off utility debts legally

Due to the economic situation in the Russian Federation, some segments of the population are experiencing an accumulation of non-payments for rent services and many people are hoping for the debt to be written off in some way. According to Art. 195, 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, citizens have a real opportunity to reduce all their debts to zero.

There are several ways to write off debts for utility services in Russia, but each of them is unfavorable for the debtor in its own way.

A municipal debt is an obligation, for untimely fulfillment of which you may be subject to sanctions and other measures of responsibility, including the forced sale of property.

Look what Putin says at a press conference about debtors.

Can debts for housing and communal services be written off?

Payment of utilities is the responsibility of each property owner who has entered into an agreement with the management company. When selling a real estate property, the debt for the apartment does not pass to the new owner, but remains with the former owner.

The purchase and sale agreement may provide for a clause under which the amount of debt will proportionally reduce the redemption price of the property.

However, in practice there are grounds on which utility debts can be written off.

By statute of limitations

At the legislative level, there is a statute of limitations for housing and communal services debts. This rule applies as follows:

• The expiration of the statute of limitations occurs after 3 years of non-payment of housing and communal services debts . That is, after the specified time, the plaintiff loses the right to sue, and the debtor now may not pay at all - and this is already legal;
• if the debtor does not pay the debt on his own, then the resource supplying organization has the right to file a corresponding claim ( example );
  
• collection of debts for housing and communal services can be carried out only for the last three years preceding the start of the trial (all debts after 3 years cannot be claimed);
• if the debtor at the court hearing does not indicate the need to apply the rule (article) on the statute of limitations, then the court decision can be made to write off the debt in full (since the principle of legal proceedings is impartiality, therefore the judge cannot tell the parties to the process how it is more profitable to defend their position).

Due to the death of the debtor

Due to the fact that debts follow the owner who allowed them to accumulate, the occurrence of his death entails the complete termination of all rights and obligations of the subject , including the automatic write-off of debts for utilities.

The situation is different when the debtor is a legal entity. Cancellation of a legal entity's debt to resource supply organizations is permissible only in the event of bankruptcy of the debtor.

Under the housing and communal services amnesty from Putin

As part of the planned federal program, presented by the current President of Russia, it is planned to introduce an amnesty on property, transport, and land taxes. However, the bill does not say that Putin will write off utility debts.

There is a small caveat in that the 2018 housing and communal services debt amnesty will be applied to debt incurred before 2015. In fact, utility debts will be written off in 2018 due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

What to do if the debt for housing and communal services has not been written off?

There are several legal ways to reduce the burden of paying off housing and communal services debts if they could not be written off. Among them:

1. Debt restructuring or installment plan:

• It is an agreement that allows you to arrange installment plans to pay off a debt;
• The debtor repays the debt with monthly annuity payments;
• No penalties are charged on the debt;
• The agreement can be drawn up both out of court (directly with the management company) and by court decision on collection ( example );
• When forming a payment, the debtor’s income must be taken into account;

2. Divide the debt among all co-owners of the property:

• The communal burden is divided among all owners of the property in proportion to each person's share;
• It is possible to conclude an agreement and determine the amount of each person’s debt, to divide personal accounts (the agreement is provided to the management company, and if agreement is not reached, it is decided through the court).

3. Registration of benefits for payment of utility bills, due to the legal status of the subject. This category includes:

• veterans;
• disabled people;
• pensioners whose income is less than the amount of the utility burden;
• large families;
• low-income citizens;
• single mothers, teachers.

Housing and communal services in Russia are becoming an unbearable burden for citizens every year.

Debt obligations to resource supply companies may entail the introduction of restrictions on the provision of services, large penalties for late payment or the initiation of a lawsuit, the outcome of which is either voluntary repayment or collection with the help of a bailiff capable of seizing property with its subsequent sale.

It is important to remember the fact that no plaintiff company has the right to claim collection of a debt for which the statute of limitations of 3 years has expired.

Recently, citizens have begun to use the right to declare themselves bankrupt in order to avoid paying debts, however, as practice shows, many are not able to prove the validity of the grounds for declaring them as such.

However, if you manage to prove your bankruptcy in court, then you can rest easy and not worry about the question of whether officials will write off your housing and communal services debts or not. During bankruptcy, all claims against you from creditors remain without consideration.

Alexey Kurinny suggested writing off debts, like in Chechnya

In this video, the secretary of the Ulyanovsk regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Alexey Kurinny, calls on the Russian authorities to zero out the debt of citizens, following the example of the Chechen Republic.