What to do if the second owner does not pay rent?

Payment for housing and communal services in case of shared ownership

Let's figure out what payment rules are stipulated in the regulatory documentation.

Legislation

In accordance with Article 30 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the owner of real estate in communal premises must maintain common property, unless otherwise provided by regulations.

The issue of the obligation to pay utilities for a residential property is considered in Article 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

The citizen must pay the amounts on time and in full. Payment must be made:

• tenant of a residential property in accordance with the terms of the social rental agreement;
• tenant of premises in state and municipal funds;
• tenant of the same housing;
• member of a housing cooperative;
• owner of the object, if there is a document confirming ownership;
• the person who received the property from the developers, if permission to use the property was given.

The following services are paid for (Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation):

• house maintenance;
• overhaul;
• for consumed resources (gas, electricity, etc.).

If a person does not pay for housing and communal services on time or does not fully pay, then a penalty is charged in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Accrual is carried out for all overdue days. Such tariffs cannot be increased.

In accordance with Article 8 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, members of the cooperative must fulfill their obligations and pay the amounts established by the authorized persons of the cooperative.

A citizen can be expelled from a cooperative if he violates the rules and fails to pay contributions more than 3 times a year (Article 10 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

Who is required to pay for housing?

In accordance with Art. 210 of the Civil Code, the burden of maintaining property owned by a person rests with its owner, unless the agreement or law provides otherwise. Utilities are one of the types of maintenance assigned to homeowners. However, this rule applies to residential real estate with some nuances. According to paragraph 2 of Art. 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the law provides a list of persons obliged to pay for residential premises and utilities:

• tenants who received housing under social tenancy agreements;
• tenants of premises of state and municipal housing stock or tenants under lease agreements for such premises;
• members of housing cooperatives who received housing from the housing complex;
• owners from the moment their ownership rights arise;
• persons who accepted residential premises from the developer under the relevant act;
• developers who did not transfer residential premises to customers;
• state/municipal authorities prior to occupancy of the relevant residential premises.

Note!

For different categories of payers, different housing payment structures have been determined.

According to Art. 154 LCD it consists of:

• payment for the use of housing;
• payment for the maintenance of premises;
• payments for utilities;
• contribution for major repairs.

One of the owners does not pay utility bills

It is not always possible to live peacefully with your neighbors, especially if you have to share the same living space with them.

Often problems arise due to failure to pay utility bills by one of the owners. Is this issue solvable?

Personal accounts section

In accordance with Article 210 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the owner of the premises must pay utilities. If the apartment is in shared ownership, then each shareholder must fulfill this obligation in proportional distribution according to the share.

If one of the owners does not temporarily live in the apartment, the obligation to pay utility bills is not lifted (Article 155 of the Housing Code).

But what if one of the owners does not repay the accrued amounts?

The optimal solution is to divide payments for housing and communal services.

In accordance with Article 247 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

• All owners can own and use the premises by agreement;
• each participant will have to pay on a separate receipt, but payment is made to one personal account;
• invoice receipts can consist of several invoices - for each owner.

To split the bill in this way, you should contact a representative of the management organization or HOA with a prepared application and collected certificates of ownership.

If one participant refuses to split payments, then you have the right to resolve this issue in court.

Here you can apply for a section of your personal account for utility payments.

What to do if one of the owners does not pay

If the residential premises are in shared ownership, the burden of maintaining it and paying for utilities falls on each of the housing owners in proportion to the size of the owned share under Art. 249 Civil Code. The owner of a ½ share in the ownership of an apartment must pay ½ of the utilities and other mandatory payments, regardless of whether he lives in the premises he owns and whether he uses utilities.

If such a co-owner refuses to maintain a share of the common property or does not participate in paying utility bills without an agreement, other owners have the right to share personal accounts with him.

Note!

Following the logic of Art. 155 of the Housing Code, each of the owners of shares in the ownership of housing may require the management company, HOA, housing cooperative, utility service provider to enter into an independent agreement for the supply of utility resources, management, and maintenance of apartment buildings. This gives the right to pay for residential premises and utilities on the basis of a separate payment document, in proportion to the share of ownership.

To conclude such an agreement and separate personal accounts, it is enough to contact the management company, homeowners association or resource provider with a free-form application. After such a division, the cost of the communal apartment in the receipts of each of the owners will be proportional to his share, and the owner who refuses to participate in the maintenance will accumulate personal debt.

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Liability for non-payment

What responsibility awaits apartment residents if one of the owners does not pay utility bills?

If you pay for services using a separate receipt, you will be able to prove that you are fulfilling your obligations in full. The debtor will be personally liable.

Is it possible to evict?

According to Article 3 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, no one has the right to evict from housing or limit the right to use premises or receive housing and communal services, except for structures authorized to do so.

The governing body does not have the right to evict citizens who are debtors. Only the court can do this. But please note that no one can force you to pay off someone else’s debt.

If the owner does not have the right to use the premises in accordance with regulations, or such a decision is made by the court, then he must vacate the premises (Article 35 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

In the event that a citizen does not evict within the time period established by law, the decision to evict will be controlled by the authorized bodies.

The procedure for eviction is stated in Article 31 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. In case of termination of membership in cooperatives, the person will have to vacate the premises within 2 months from the date of such decision. If the cooperative is liquidated - from the moment of liquidation.

Recalculation if not staying

Certain types of utilities (which can be calculated in accordance with consumption standards) may be paid recalculated for the period when a person does not live in the premises.

The owner of an apartment share can make a recalculation for the time when he was absent or he actually has a different place of residence (in case of divorce, moving to another premises).

Recalculation is made when submitting an application from a citizen who does not live in the apartment, upon presentation of a certificate of temporary registration in another facility.

The citizen attaches a photocopy of the receipt for repayment of the debt for utility bills regarding the premises where he lives.

Here you can apply for recalculation of utility bills.

You can recalculate at:

• water (cold and hot);
• gas;
• electricity;
• sewerage

If a certificate of residence in another apartment is not submitted, the person will be considered to live at the place of registration. Then receipts will arrive according to the number of homeowners.

Arbitrage practice

According to the law, the shared owner who does not live in the apartment must pay for the maintenance of the house, repairs and heating. Other services will be calculated depending on certain cases.

The participant is not obliged to pay for gas, electricity and water if he does not live, but a controversial situation may arise.

It happens that owners decide through the court the issue of collecting the required amount from the debtor. But it often happens that the management company independently goes to court. In this case, claims will be made against all owners.

If you have proof that you paid, then there should be no problem. In the absence of separate payment, it will be very difficult to defend this fact.

If you contacted the management company with a request to send a separate receipt to each owner, but received a refusal, you can file a claim in court:

• the court will recognize such a decision as unlawful and will oblige the management company to enter into agreements with each participant separately, according to which the payment will be calculated in accordance with shares;
• It happens that representatives of the management company do not agree with such a decision and file a lawsuit to appeal it. The court will refuse to satisfy the demands.

Here is the judicial practice on the recalculation of utility bills.

Resolving the issue through court

If an agreement on the division of property between the co-owners of the property has not been reached or the management company has refused to enter into a separate agreement with the applicant owners, the issue can be resolved in court. To do this, interested co-owners file a claim to establish the procedure and amount of payment for housing and utilities, division of personal accounts and making payments based on separate payment documents. This was established by the Supreme Court in response to question 27 of the Review of the practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation for the fourth quarter. 2006.

In court, you will have to justify your position by presenting to the court evidence of the co-owner’s non-participation in paying for utilities. A positive court decision will be the basis for separating personal accounts and sending different receipts to co-owners.

Note!

Representatives of the management company are usually involved as a third party in such cases, so filing an additional application to separate accounts is not required.

FAQ

What to do if there is a debt on utility bills due to the fault of the second owner of the apartment? What rules should former family members adhere to? Let's consider what to do in such situations.

How to attract a second owner?

Even if the co-owner of the apartment does not live in the premises, he is obliged to pay for the provided utilities.

Apply to the participant himself to repay the debt, and if he refuses, file a claim in court:

• in relation to certain types of utilities (mentioned earlier), if they were not consumed, then the obligation to pay them does not arise;
• the remaining payments must be made according to the size of their share of the premises in apartment buildings.

The limitation period is no more than three years.

How are utility bills calculated?

Based on standards, tariffs and the amount of services consumed.

Is it possible to buy an apartment with debts on utility bills in 2021? Read here.

Do you need judicial practice in collecting debts on utility bills? It is presented in this article.

Former family member

Let's look at the situation using an example:

1. Citizen Ivanov lives in the owner’s premises as a former family member.
2. The owner is demanding not only to pay for half of the housing and communal services, but also to carry out major repairs of the property, which is in the common possession of the residents of the apartment building.
3. Ivanov argues that such a requirement does not comply with the rules described in Article 39 and Article 158 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, which stipulate that the owner participates in the costs of maintaining common property objects in accordance with the share in the rights of common property. The citizen refuses to pay because he is not a shared owner.

Such actions will be considered illegal. A person must rely on the procedure specified in Articles 31 and 32 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, where there is information that residents must participate in the costs of such a plan.

Ivanov should come to an agreement with the owner, because he could simply be evicted as a tenant, having lost his rights to residential real estate.

If the shared owner of an apartment does not pay utility bills, this does not mean that his responsibility passes to you.

In accordance with legislative acts, you have the right not to repay someone else's debt, and if such a demand is presented to you, you can sue for extortion.

Video about non-payment

Utility debt that arises for one reason or another is always unpleasant.

But if it is not you, but someone else, who is to blame for the debt, everything is even more complicated. Many co-owners of apartments believe that they are obliged to pay for housing and communal services both for themselves and for “that guy.” It is not right.

In this article, we will figure out who must pay for what in case of shared ownership, what utility bills are required to be paid by the owner of the apartment who does not live in it, what sanctions are applicable to the negligent owner, as well as legal options for dividing joint receipts.

Obligations to pay housing and communal services

According to Russian law, property owners are required to pay monthly utility bills, as well as bear the costs of maintaining and repairing common property.

Moreover, this responsibility is assigned not only to home owners, but also to members of their families living in the same territory.

Unless otherwise provided by agreements with utility service providers or service management companies, payments for housing and communal services must be made no later than the 10th day of the month following the reporting period.

This legislative provision allows utility companies to supply natural resources to apartment and private buildings around the clock, maintain the necessary communications in proper form, and fully fulfill their obligations to recipients of housing and communal services.

Legislative acts

The most important articles of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation regulating the responsibility of payers and property owners in the field of payment for housing and communal services are:

Share owner

Shared ownership in the eyes of ordinary people looks like a kind of family investment.

In fact, joint ownership of something, such as real estate, often turns into a common headache.

The most common participants in shared ownership are:

Despite the fact that shareholders are usually not strangers to each other, a huge number of problems and misunderstandings arise.

This is due to the fact that at the moment the ownership of real estate arises, the obligation to maintain this property also arises.

The question often arises: who should pay utility bills - the registered owner or the owner who does not live in the apartment?

Many shareholders do not live on their square meters and believe that by doing so they protect themselves from all financial claims in the field of paying for utilities. This is partly true.

As for paying for consumed utilities (heating, water supply, gas supply, sewerage), the owner who does not live in a shared apartment or house is not obliged to pay for what he did not use.

Video: if the owner does not want to become a member of the HOA

But as for the costs of maintaining the house, current and major repairs, the obligation to pay them in proportion to your share does not depend on permanent residence or absence in a shared apartment.

One of the owners does not pay utility bills in Russia

Peaceful coexistence of shared owners is practically impossible.

Even if one of the owners does not live in his half or part of the apartment.

It always seems to someone who lives in an apartment that he is doing much more for their common property than the other owner (repairs, changing the furnishings, installing metering devices, etc.).

And the one who is nominally the owner of half or part of the residential property believes that the possibility of sole residence and use of all common property must be paid for.

And the demands of the second owner to proportionally pay the costs of maintaining the house are often perceived as a personal insult and inability to be grateful.

To exclude the occurrence of disputes and scandals, it makes sense to divide the financial obligations for paying for housing and communal services, so as not to wonder in the future about the correctness of payments made for the apartment.

Personal accounts section

If shareholders cannot find a common language on issues of paying for utility services, the best way out of the situation would be to divide the common personal account into two separate ones.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for several options for owners of shared ownership to fulfill their financial obligations:

In order to start the procedure for dividing a personal account, you must submit an application to your homeowners association or management company.

Usually, this requires collecting a package of necessary documents and obtaining the consent of the remaining owners.

If the remaining property owners refuse to divide the personal account, you have the right to go to court and forcefully demand the implementation of this procedure.

Penalties for non-payment

Just as in the case of private property, certain penalties and sanctions are applicable to property owners in parts for non-payment of utilities.

In fact, it does not matter to suppliers of natural resources and management companies that maintain apartment buildings in proper condition who pays the rent.

The main thing is that funds are transferred to the personal account of a particular apartment in full and on time.

The main means that allow management companies to effectively influence debtors are:

Is eviction possible?

If there is a long absence of funds being received into the debtor’s personal account, it is permissible to use an extreme measure of influence - eviction.

However, neither the management company nor the utility service provider can carry out this procedure.

Eviction of tenants from an apartment is possible only by decision of a court of general jurisdiction.

Based on the court decision on eviction that has entered into force, and also, guided by Article No. 35 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the tenant of municipal housing is obliged to vacate the premises within the agreed time frame.

The procedure for eviction is regulated by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation in Article No. 31.

In case of refusal or evasion of execution of a court decision, eviction can be carried out with the help and under the control of authorized bodies (bailiffs).

As for negligent members of housing cooperatives who do not fulfill their financial obligations, exclusion from membership and further eviction are applicable to them.

The former cooperative member is given 2 months to do this, during which he will have to leave the premises.

Recalculation for temporary absence

In situations where one owner of a home permanently resides in it, and the other owners actually have another place of residence, it makes sense to recalculate the accrual of utility bills.

An owner who does not live in a shared apartment can contact the management company with an application for recalculation.

To do this, he must provide the following documents:

Recalculation is not made for the entire list of provided utility services, but only for certain types.

Gas supply, water supply, sewerage, electricity - these utilities can be recalculated taking into account the fact that one or more owners do not live permanently in their own apartment.

If there are no individual metering devices in the residential premises, consumption calculations are made based on current standards and the number of registered people.

Measures to influence debtors

If the co-owner continues to evade paying utility bills, he will accumulate debt, on the basis of which he will be brought to civil liability:

• accrual of a penalty in the amount of 1/300 of the Central Bank rate for each day of delay on the amount of debt in the period from 31 to 90 days from the moment the payment was due to be received, and in the amount of 1/130 of the rate for each day from the 91st day to day of actual repayment of the debt - Art. 155 LCD;
• suspension or restriction of utility supplies;
• forced debt collection.

The management company takes the debtor to court, where, in addition to the debt, he is also charged a penalty. The writ of execution received on the basis of a court decision is transferred to the district OSB for forced collection of debt through bailiffs. They can seize a share of the apartment, describe the property, and foreclose on wages.

Arbitrage practice

Even if you have not lived in the apartment you own for a single day, you are required to pay monthly for certain utilities:

In case of non-payment of the above-mentioned housing and communal services, the management company has the right to file a claim for debt collection in court.

Moreover, the requirements are put forward to all co-owners of the property.

If you have evidence of utility payments, you will need to present it at court proceedings.

In the case of a joint personal account, it will be quite difficult to prove that you paid and your co-owners did not.

Also, one of the owners who has claims regarding the fulfillment of financial obligations by other property owners has the right to go to court with a demand for debt collection.

Filing a claim

When drawing up a statement of claim to the judicial authorities, it is necessary to be guided by the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

A sample drafting form can be found on the Internet or at the information stand in the courthouse.

The statement of claim must necessarily contain the following information:

After submitting the statement of claim and the required package of documents, some time may pass before you will be notified that the case has been accepted for consideration or rejected (incorrect drafting of the claim, lack of any documents, lack of legal grounds for opening court proceedings).

Who should pay for utilities

People related by family rarely have conflicts related to paying for housing and communal services. Usually money for utilities is transferred from the general family budget. But when people who are not related to each other live in a residential building, such disputes often arise.

Owners of shared real estate have the right to resolve this dispute independently by concluding an agreement. It is recommended that the terms of the agreement be put in writing. If the owners cannot come to an agreement, then they should contact the management company with an application to divide the payment. The personal account will remain common, but the receipts will be divided. And each shareholder must pay independently.

In the event of no agreement and the formation of debt, the punishment will be applied to everyone jointly.

And if during the period for which the debt arose, the co-owner did not live in the house, then the obligation to repay the debt will be assigned to the other party.