Today there is a huge number of different documents, certificates, etc. Some of them are very important papers, without which it is not possible to do this or that action. Others seem insignificant and it is not clear why they are needed.
Here, for example, is a certificate of absence of debt on utility bills. Why is it needed? Just confirm the fact that there are no debts? But why? Where does it come from, what documents will you need to collect and what do you need to know before receiving it?
Why do you need a certificate of no rent arrears?
A rent arrears document is used as a source of relevant information and may be required in various situations as proof that the bearer has no outstanding financial obligations to utility providers.
The purpose of issuing a certificate of absence of debt for housing and communal services
Written confirmation of the absence of debt for utility bills may be required in the following cases:
- When making transactions with real estate. The certificate is required to confirm that the seller has no debts for housing and communal services.
- For traveling abroad. If there are debts that are in enforcement proceedings, travel abroad may be limited.
- When applying for a mortgage. The certificate is required to confirm the borrower's solvency.
- Upon receipt of Russian citizenship.
- When processing government payments.
- For the privatization of housing.
- When dividing property in divorce proceedings.
- When investing capital in real estate.
- When registering guardianship.
- To participate in a tender for government operations.
Information contained in the help
The law does not provide for a single form of certificate confirming the absence of arrears in payment of utility services. Therefore, it may contain any additional information that the management company considers important.
The help text may contain the following information:
- information about the management company that issued the certificate, indicating its address and telephone numbers;
- address of the residential premises and information about its owner;
- information about the absence of arrears in payment of utility services;
- date of issue of the document and signature of its originator.
The certificate is certified by the seal of the management company. The document is valid for 1 month.
Procedure for filing a claim
In arbitration and magistrate courts, as well as courts of general jurisdiction, the algorithm of actions will be different. The process of applying to courts of general jurisdiction and magistrates' courts includes several simple steps:
- filing a claim;
- preparation of documents;
- payment of state duty;
- submitting an application.
As mentioned above, the claim is drawn up according to the number of defendants, and another copy is prepared for the court. If the plaintiff submits documents to the court on his own, he needs to prepare an additional copy, which will have a stamp on acceptance of the claim or a covering letter. If documents are sent by valuable mail with a list of attachments, an additional copy is not required.
Who is issued the certificate - categories of applicants
The following may apply for a certificate:
- property owners over 18 years of age;
- citizens with permanent registration at the apartment address;
- guardianship and trusteeship authorities;
- judiciary;
- official representatives of the property owner (if there is an appropriate power of attorney).
Attention! To receive written confirmation that there is no debt to pay for utility bills, you must fill out an application, which should indicate what information is required to be displayed in the document.
General instructions - how to obtain a certificate of no debt on utility bills?
To receive a notification about the absence of debts for housing and communal services, you need to contact the authorized body. You should have the necessary documents with you.
Where to go and where can I get a certificate of housing and communal services debts?
The application should be submitted to the organization with which the consumer of services has entered into an agreement for their supply. The contact details of this company can be found on the receipt.
The list of organizations that you can contact to request a certificate may vary depending on the region. As a rule, these are the following companies:
- Unified information settlement center.
- Management company, homeowners association, housing and communal services, housing office, SNT.
- Resource suppliers (“Vodokanal”, “Petroelectrosbyt”, “Mosoblgaz”, etc.).
- Administration of the locality.
- MFC.
Sometimes, for example, when concluding a contract for the purchase and sale of housing, notification of the absence of arrears in contributions for major repairs may be required. If payments are made to the details of a regional operator, it is he who needs to be contacted for the document.
Documents for submitting an application to obtain a certificate
To obtain a certificate, you may need a completed application (not in all cases) and a package of documents, which includes:
- passport or other document confirming the identity of the owner of the apartment;
- documents establishing the right of ownership of real estate, for example, an extract from the Unified State Register, a social tenancy agreement, a certificate of inheritance of property, etc.;
- certificate of registration at the place of residence (if available);
- readings from resource consumption meters (if available);
- receipts for payment of utilities, including by the previous owner (if available).
Attention! The list of documents may vary depending on the requirements of the organization.
Registration cost
A certificate of no debt for utility bills is issued free of charge.
How much to wait
The timing for obtaining a certificate depends on how and where the application for its receipt is submitted. If the homeowner contacts the city administration in person, the document can be received on the same day. The maximum waiting period is 3 days. If the application is submitted by mail, the wait for a response may last up to 30 days.
Validity period for a certificate of no debt for housing and communal services
The validity period of a certificate of no debt for housing and communal services is 30 days from the date of its issuance. Then, if necessary, you should issue a new document.
Limitation periods
The general limitation period is 3 years. But you need to take into account Article 200 of the Civil Code, which states that the limitation period begins to run from the moment a claim for payment of the debt is presented, provided that the period is not defined or is determined by the moment of fulfillment of obligations/the moment of demand.
The period is not interrupted if an agreement is signed with the debtor, for example, on repayment of payments and continues after the expiration of the time provided for repayment of the debt - but not more than 10 years.
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How to make an application for a certificate - forms and samples
The procedure for drawing up an application for a certificate depends on the type of document that is required to be obtained.
Sample application:
Certificate of absence of debts on utility bills - sample
To obtain a certificate of absence of rent arrears, you should contact the management company or the HOA (depending on the chosen method of managing an apartment building), or the unified information settlement center.
When making an application you must indicate:
- details of the company where the application is being submitted and information about the applicant;
- reasons for requesting a certificate;
- date of document preparation and signature of the applicant.
Attention! If the application is submitted to the HOA, the document is drawn up in the name of the chairman of the governing body.
Sample:
certificates of debt for utility bills: spravka-ob-otsutstvii-dolgov-po-kommunalnym-platezham-obrazec.docx
Document confirming the absence of debt for major repairs
An application for a certificate of no debt for major repairs is submitted to the regional operator. You can get information about it from the management company or the HOA.
When making an application you must indicate:
- details of the company where the application is being submitted and information about the applicant;
- reasons for requesting a certificate;
- date of document preparation and signature of the applicant.
It was not possible to find a sample certificate of absence of debt for major repairs. This may be due to the fact that the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 29, 2019 canceled the issuance of this document for citizens to receive benefits in paying contributions for major repairs. In 2021, this issue is being dealt with by organizations that are forming a capital repair fund.
Certificate of debts for electricity and water supply
Subscribers receive payment orders for electricity payments in the form of separate documents. The name of the service provider and his contact details can be seen on the receipt.
When making an application you must indicate:
- details of the company where the application is being submitted and information about the applicant;
- reasons for requesting a certificate;
- meter readings;
- date of document preparation and signature of the applicant.
Sample:
Certificate of water supply debts
Before drawing up an application for notification of the absence of arrears in payment for water supply services, you must first understand which company acts as an authorized water supplier. This could be a city water utility or a management company.
If the rent receipt indicates water supply, you should contact the management company. If the payer receives an invoice for payment for water supply as a separate receipt, an application must be submitted to the city water utility.
When making an application you must indicate:
- details of the company where the application is being submitted and information about the applicant;
- reasons for requesting a certificate;
- meter readings;
- date of document preparation and signature of the applicant.
Sample:
Information about gas debts
An application for a certificate of no gas debt should be submitted to the city gas authority or to the management company, depending on who the service provider is.
When making an application you must indicate:
- details of the company where the application is being submitted and information about the applicant;
- reasons for requesting a certificate;
- meter readings;
- date of document preparation and signature of the applicant.
Sample:
Certificate of debt upon sale of housing
In most cases, a certificate of absence of debt for housing and communal services is required when concluding real estate transactions. For this purpose, an extract for all types of utility payments is prepared.
Certificate in form EIRTs-22
A certificate in form EIRTs-22 can be obtained from the unified information and settlement center.
This document contains the following information:
- name of the OEIRC and information about the person to whom the certificate is issued;
- list of utilities;
- information about the absence or presence of debt for payment for each of the listed services;
- date of issue of the document and signature of the head of the unified information settlement center.
Sample:
Procedure for filing a claim
To file a claim in arbitration court, the claim is initially sent to the defendant. Upon expiration of the debt repayment period:
- a claim is filed;
- all documents are prepared;
- state duty is paid;
- the plaintiff sends a statement of claim to the defendant with a package of documents;
- then the plaintiff attaches a receipt to the statement of claim for delivery to the defendant and submits documents to the court.
The statement of claim is also submitted to the arbitration court by the number of parties, third parties are taken into account. All copies are certified with the inscription “Copy is correct. Chairman full name." Certified by the seal and signature of the chairman/general director of the management company. At their discretion, district and arbitration courts may request original documents.
Nuances and possible problems
The main problems that may arise due to the presence of debt for housing and communal services are associated with real estate purchase and sale transactions. Despite the fact that the law does not provide for the transfer of debt from the previous owner to the new one, most management companies use this procedure in practice. The fact is that collecting obligations in court takes a lot of time. Management companies try to avoid lawsuits by shifting responsibility to the new owner of the apartment.
To avoid trouble, the buyer is recommended to ask the seller in advance to provide written confirmation of the absence of debt.
Attention! If you have debts, you should discuss with the seller of the apartment the methods and timing of their repayment and indicate these nuances in the purchase and sale agreement. This will make it possible in the future, if necessary, to collect debts from the previous owner of the property through the court.
The following measures apply to citizens who refuse to pay utility bills:
- eviction if the debtor lives in the apartment on the basis of a lease agreement;
- refusal to privatize real estate;
- refusal to supply utilities (water, electricity, gas), of which residents must be notified in advance;
- forced collection of debt by court decision.
How to prepare documents for application
If the debt belongs to an individual, it is necessary to file a claim in a magistrate’s court or a court of general jurisdiction, in other words, a district court. If the debtor is an organization, you should apply to the arbitration court.
The activities of arbitration courts are based on uniformity. If a court decision was made in one of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which contains conditions/circumstances suitable for this process, you can refer to it, including on the condition that the decision was made in another subject of the federation. When considering a case and making a decision, arbitration courts are based on judicial arbitration practice.
The BIT.Debt Management program solves the problems of effective management of electronic documentation with the ability to create any documents based on templates with automatic calculation of state duty.
Document templates loaded into the program:
- Pre-trial claim
- Statement of claim
- Application for a court order
- Application for replacement of a party
- Application for initiation of enforcement proceedings
