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How many utility debts do Russians have? Debt to housing and communal services. Where to start

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. The economic situation is such 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 that manage the common property of residents of apartment buildings on the basis of an agreement control the persons who have arrears 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 the total amount of all utility payments can count on it. The income also applies to persons under the age of majority who legally live with the debtor. 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 is unable 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 on the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the 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 the new version of the law, benefits were not abolished.
  • 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 2019, they are entitled to benefits, since there have been no changes in the new version of the decree.
  • Teachers working in rural areas. They receive a 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.

Rosvodokanal admitted that it is already partially working with professional collectors. They are given no more than five percent of the total debt, but they plan to increase the volume. Mosenergo also confirmed that they are thinking about possible interaction with collectors. Only accredited agencies will be considered.

What else is known:

The total debts of the population for housing and communal services in September 2018 amounted to 535 billion rubles. Utilities report poor collection results, as well as an increase in total debt by 20 percent per year.

Collectors are interested in the housing and communal services market and believe that they could organize the work more efficiently. According to forecasts, by 2020 they will collect five to six percent of the total debt of Russians for utilities.

Why is it important:

Lawyer Oleg Sukhov believes that it is beneficial for collectors to transfer only significant amounts of debt, so the situation will affect citizens who have not paid utility bills for several years.

Experts told Kommersant that involving debt collectors in debt collection can cause social tension, since consumers are not accustomed to professional debt collectors interfering in such matters. Also, the growth of concern will be facilitated by the fact that people remember the “inhumane methods of debt collection by collectors,” clarifies the head of Legal Bureau No. 1, Yulia Kombarova.

The population's debt to pay for housing and communal services amounts to more than 535 billion rubles. These data were reported to Nezavisimaya Gazeta by the Ministry of Construction. At the same time, more than 257 billion rubles were collected by management companies from consumers, but were not transferred to resource supply organizations

Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes that judging by past reports from the ministry, the debt situation has not improved. And if we take regional news reports, then in some cases it has worsened. The government is considering how to increase utility tariffs next year, take into account the Central Bank's targets, and convince the population of the fairness of the decisions being made.

Related materials

Within two weeks, the government will decide on the possibility of increasing tariffs for utility services (housing and communal services) from January 1, 2019, taking into account the increase in value added tax. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko. As he clarified, there are “very few” alternative options, but the government has not developed a final position.

Earlier, information appeared that housing and communal services tariffs will be increased twice in 2019 - from January 1 by 1.7%, and from July 1 - by another 2.4%. Currently, tariffs are indexed on July 1.

“According to Rosstat, the population’s debt for paying for housing and communal services amounts to more than 535 billion rubles,” the press service of the Ministry of Construction told NG. – At the same time, the issue remains very important regarding the debt for housing and communal services accumulated by management companies to resource supply organizations - this is more than 257 billion rubles. These funds were collected by management companies from consumers, but were not transferred to resource providers.”

Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes that exactly a year ago the Ministry of Construction reported that the population's debt to pay for housing and communal services in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to 508.8 billion rubles; in the first quarter of 2015, the population's debt to pay for housing and communal services was about 524 billion rubles. From this we can conclude that the situation with citizens’ debt has not changed dramatically for years. At the same time, experts close to the ministry drew attention to the fact that now the methodology for calculating debt has changed, and comparison of current indicators with previous ones may not be entirely correct.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta refers to regional reports that indicate that debt for utility bills is becoming a chronic problem. From different parts of the country, news regularly comes in about debtors who are either unwilling or unable to pay their bills.

For example, in the Orenburg region, as of the beginning of August, the population’s debts for electricity and heat supply exceeded 2 billion rubles, Regnum reports. Over the year, the amount of debt increased by 100 million rubles, or approximately 5%.

“The situation with debts for energy resources requires special attention,” says the website of the administration of the Serpukhov district of the Moscow region. – For a long period of time, the Serpukhov district has been consistently in the “red zone” according to this indicator. Payment discipline is extremely low, almost every fifth consumer does not pay bills, and this has become habitual for many.”

In regional offices, bailiffs report that they “work under the highest pressure.” Stories about how bailiffs seize household appliances, cars, and bank accounts to pay off utility debts have become the talk of the town. Also, persistent defaulters are restricted from traveling abroad. Sometimes they try to influence debtors using psychological methods: by posting at the entrance to the entrance a list of apartments that are overdue for housing and utility payments, or, as happened last year, by threatening to send curious TV journalists to the debtors.

According to statistics from the Federal Bailiff Service (FSPP), cited by TASS, “over the six months of 2018, 3.5 million enforcement proceedings were pending in the territorial bodies of the FSPP for the collection of debts for utilities in the amount of 91.8 billion rubles, which by 512 thousand enforcement proceedings (17.1%) and by 18.1 billion rubles. (24.5%) more than for the same period in 2017.” It is clarified that the main debtors are individuals: they account for more than 99% of all enforcement proceedings and almost 96% of the total amount of debt.

“The population's debts for housing and communal services remain an alarming signal for the government, since the poor and the poor bear the brunt. The pressure on them has the greatest impact not only economically, but also socially,” Sergei Zvenigorodsky, an analyst at Solid Management, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. At the same time, the publication notes that the lists of defaulters are replenished not only by the poor, but also by well-to-do citizens who own cars and are planning a vacation abroad.

Housing and communal services is a vast non-productive sector of the national economy, the functions of which include providing a comfortable and safe living environment that meets the needs of people. The state of the housing stock and the activities of public utilities is studied by housing and communal services statistics.

Structure of the housing and communal services sector of the Russian Federation

The Russian housing and communal services system includes:

  • sanitary service companies, which maintain water supply and sewer systems, maintain local areas in satisfactory condition;
  • public transport companies, starting from the metro and urban public transport to water sports under local jurisdiction;
  • enterprises included in the energy system– power plants of various types and their distribution networks, boiler houses and gas services.

All residential buildings require comfortable living and public services. Organizations that have the right to manage the house:


  • management organizations (MA);
  • owners' associations (HOA);
  • owners .

Often residents do not know how their home is managed. You can find out which housing and communal services a particular residential building belongs to on the website reformagkh.ru (Housing and communal services reform). It also indicates the operating hours of housing and communal services, addresses of management companies, and contact numbers of officials.


The Russian housing and communal services market has an annual turnover of more than 4 trillion. rub. More than 2 million people are involved here. As housing and communal services statistics show, the total length of utility networks is over 900 thousand km. Of them:

  • water supply and sewerage – 750 thousand km;
  • heat supply – 170 thousand km.

Types of paid services

Housing and communal services are one of the key expense items for Russians. They are divided into two types. Utilities include:

  • power supply;
  • provision of cold and hot water;
  • gas supply;
  • heating organization;
  • sewerage system.

Housing services include:

  • payment for the maintenance of the house and its timely repairs;
  • payment for rent;
  • removal of household waste;
  • elevator and garbage chute maintenance.

Additional services include maintenance of intercoms, radio points, combination locks or a collective antenna. The cost of services depends on:

  • on their volume;
  • accommodation;
  • seasonality;
  • consumer categories.

Tariffication of services

Issues of formation of housing and communal services tariffs are regulated by Federal legislation. According to the law on housing and communal services, standards for the consumption of utility services, as well as their tariffs, are carried out by government bodies. Housing and communal services tariffs by region are set by municipalities in the regions. Statistics of housing and communal services tariffs by year:

In 2017, tariffs increased by an average of 4.9%. Next year growth is projected to be 4.4%.

Receipts

Residents of apartment buildings receive an invoice at their residential address. In addition to the details of the property owners and the service provider, the document contains the following data:

  • the amount of charges for utility services received last month, indicating the type, volume, unit of measurement and amount of payment;
  • information on the volume and cost of services related to general household needs;
  • information about overpayments or debts for housing and communal services.

Consumer Responsibilities

The responsibilities of each consumer include:

  • timely payment of housing and communal services;
  • monthly taking of readings from measuring instruments and transferring them to the management organization by telephone to the housing and communal services;
  • systematic verification of utility meters.

The accounting system for personal accounts of housing and communal services makes it possible to quickly identify the payer and automatically credit money.

  • participants and veterans;
  • the poor;
  • disabled people.

Situation in other countries

An extremely difficult situation has developed in the housing and communal services sector of Ukraine. The constant increase in tariffs also leads to an increase in household debt. Housing and communal services statistics:

  • at the beginning of 2017, the debt amounted to almost 23 billion hryvnia. The amount of debt of budgets of different levels for subsidies is approximately the same - UAH 22 billion;
  • The average bill for housing and communal services reaches 36% of wages after taxes.

Kazakhstan is implementing a two-stage modernization program for housing and communal services, which is designed until 2020. By this time it is expected:

  • create a regularly updated database on the state of affairs in the industry based on the annual inventory;
  • modernize the infrastructure of the complex with the help of government loans;
  • reduce the specific energy consumption of houses to 180 kW per sq. m;
  • improve tariff setting mechanisms.

Payment for housing and communal services in Belarus is only 11% of wages, which is significantly less than in neighboring countries:

  • Russia – 17%;
  • Lithuania – 35%;
  • Poland – 25%;
  • Kazakhstan – 16%.

By the end of 2017, citizens of Belarus will be reimbursed 75% of the costs of provided utility services, and next year – 100%.