We bought an apartment with debts on utility bills: what to do?

Real estate transactions require serious attention to documents, however, it is impossible to foresee all the difficulties and circumstances, especially when it comes to secondary housing. When the apartment has already been in use for some time, it is necessary to prepare a certificate of absence of debts for housing and communal services along with the main documents for the transaction. Sometimes sellers are silent about the presence of problems with payments, and buying an apartment with debts on utility bills becomes a “pig in a poke.” Regardless of whether the buyer knew about the debt, the law does not prohibit transactions and does not force the new owner to pay for the previous owner.

Features of legislation on the issue of purchase

To ensure the security and transparency of the transaction, the seller prepares, and the buyer, when signing the deed of sale, checks the presence of a document indicating the absence of debts to utility services. If a situation arises where the apartment has accumulated a large debt for utility bills when the owner changes, it will be necessary to additionally resolve issues with payment for the previous period.

It is necessary to understand whether payment claims against new owners are legal, and what is the procedure when the buyer has not resolved the problem with housing and communal services before the transaction.

It is important to understand that the law cannot prohibit recognizing a transaction with a problem apartment as valid if there are no other restrictions on the right of disposal. At the same time, accumulated unpaid bills cannot be transferred to a new owner, since they were issued in relation to other citizens.

When faced with an insistent demand to pay debts for the seller, it is necessary to remember that such coercion is illegal, as established by the provisions of housing legislation.

According to Art. 153 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, a citizen who purchased property bears financial responsibility for consumed utilities only within the period of ownership of the property . Similar requirements apply to citizens who consume utilities on the basis of a lease agreement.

The situation with payment for major repairs is less clear. On the one hand, Art. 154 classifies this expense item as utility services, which cannot be transferred to another owner; on the other hand, Article 158 (clause 3) places responsibility for debts for major repairs on the current owner.

Precautionary measures

You can ensure the security of the transaction by checking, at the stage of signing the purchase and sale agreement, certificates confirming the repayment of all current expenses. If information about the debt is revealed after the re-registration of real estate, it will be useful to know the following nuances:

• it is allowed not only to sell, but also to give or bequeath housing with debts;
• The previous owner is responsible for payments, but the new owner may face the problem of re-registration of the apartment if debts have led to a restriction of the right to dispose of property;
• despite the obligation to pay in full, when claiming a debt in court, a limitation period is applied - the debt can be obligated to be repaid through the court only for the last three years;
• The management company's claims against the new owner on the basis of billing at a specific address are illegal - financial responsibility lies with the specific individual who owned the apartment for the period when the debt arose.

At the same time, there is a significant issue of determining the debtor for payments for major repairs -
the application of Art. 158 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation allows you to transfer utility debts from previous owners to the buyer who has taken ownership of the property at a specific address. Resolving the problem of debts for major repairs, if the previous owner refuses to pay the bills, is best done with the involvement of experienced lawyers.

The need to change your personal account

It should be noted that there are no articles in the legislation of the Russian Federation that would force a change of personal account. Therefore, leaving it unchanged will not be considered a violation .

In addition, this combination of numbers belongs to the apartment that became the property of the new owner. The legal address and characteristics remain the same, which means that nothing needs to be changed. But in some cases, claims arise from the management company, and payment of utilities when the owner changes still forces the account to be reissued .

Thus, it is better to carry out this procedure so that payment for real estate is made in accordance with all the rules and regulations of the company.

How to find out about housing and communal services debts for an apartment?

A certificate confirming the repayment of all current payments for the alienated apartment is the only measure that will allow the new owner to avoid troubles. Moreover, large debts over a long period can lead to the seizure of real estate and restriction of the right of disposal. Thus, the risk of refusal to transfer property to another owner is quite high.

To avoid risk, when purchasing an apartment with a mortgage, the lending bank will require evidence confirming the absence of any financial claims in relation to the property. The seriousness of the situation forces the buyer to take safety measures by clarifying the situation with payment for housing and communal services in advance. If desired, the buyer has the right to appeal the transaction for a problem apartment.

The following methods will help you check whether there are any financial claims against the object of the transaction:

1. The Internet resource of the State IP Coordination Center provides information on real estate located in the Moscow region. Here you can get general information about housing and statements for certain periods.
2. Official Internet resources of management companies serving specific addresses.
3. Information resources of various government agencies and banks.
4. Cash settlement centers, housing office offices.
5. Specific organizations providing services at the apartment's location.

Among financial institutions, Sberbank provides information services about the presence of debts. There you can also find out debts using the details of existing receipts - when paying to a specific address, the total amount of debt for a certain type of service will be indicated.

What to do if the management company insists on payment?

A well-drafted agreement with the seller that includes a clause stating that the debt cannot be transferred to the buyer will help eliminate claims from utility companies The presence of such a clause in the deed of sale will protect against claims from the management company and service providers during the judicial review of the case.

An exception is the situation when the agreement with the management company or utility services indicates the legality of the transfer of debt. According to Art. 391 of the Civil Code, the seller can avoid liability for payment if the agreement with the management company contains specific provisions allowing the debt to be transferred to the new owner.

Faced with persistent demands from utility companies to pay bills for the previous owner, the buyer must take the following actions:

1. Prepare documents establishing the rights to the object in question (purchase and sale agreement, certificate, extract from the Unified State Register).
2. Submit a written statement requesting that debt amounts for previous periods be excluded from pay stubs.
3. If the acceptance certificate contains information about the meter readings at the time the apartment was transferred to the new owner, a copy of it must also be attached to the application.
4. The prepared package is sent by mail with notification, or personally taken to the representative office of the management company. After recording the fact of transfer of the appeal, any measures against the new owner will be illegal, and an attempt to force payment may lead to prosecution in accordance with Art. 163 of the Criminal Code.

Since after the transaction the relationship between the parties is considered completed, the seller has the right not to provide the new owner with information about his new place of residence and contact numbers.

Re-registration procedure

Every citizen who decides to open a personal account in his or her own name must go through a number of procedures.

This will happen in the following sequence:

1. the new owner must order verification of meters in the apartment. Taking readings is necessary to recalculate utility bills for the citizen who purchased the property. To carry out this operation you will need a passport and property documents;
2. This is followed by the collection of all the above documents. You need to be prepared for the management company to request additional paperwork;
3. after which it is necessary to submit all collected documents to the housing and communal services servicing the house. During a personal visit, you will need to fill out an application for re-registration of your personal account.
4. a new digital combination of real estate is assigned by the management company;
5. re-application to the housing and communal services to re-register the contract for the receipt of utility services;
6. the last step is a visit to other supplier companies that supply the apartment with the necessary amenities: water, electricity, internet, telephone communications, etc. They also need to provide information about changing their personal account number.

After completing this path, the citizen has every right not only to be considered the owner of the home, but also to pay for utilities only on his own behalf.

What documents are needed when changing owner information?

First, you need to conclude a new agreement with the management company. This is done during a personal visit to the housing and communal services department and provision of a passport.

Then you need to collect the following package of documents to re-register your personal account:

• identification document;
• extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
• application from the owner to change registration data;
• documents registering the owner's rights to this property.

All of this paperwork should be filed with the homeowners association or utility company. You should first ask the organization about additional documents.

Possible options for submitting documents and deadlines for consideration of the application

You can open a new account not only with a personal visit to the relevant organizations. This can also be done through Internet portals . For example, you can go to the official website of a single settlement center and fill out an application online in electronic form. You will also need to send copies of your identification document and papers proving home ownership.

Once the application is accepted, new data will be available three working days Those persons who have an electronic signature have the right to complete online applications. Without it, the authenticity of some documents will be impossible.

Multifunctional centers help significantly save citizens' time . By contacting there, you can immediately receive qualified assistance in re-registering data from all resource supply organizations at once. This is a big plus for those who do not have time to visit all the companies.

Important! The management company reviews the application for no more than 5 calendar days, after which the citizen receives a statement with the already changed account number. In multifunctional centers, this procedure also lasts from 2 to 5 working days.

Rules for registering the transfer of rights

The following algorithm will help the buyer avoid problems and unpleasant proceedings with the management company and judicial authorities if there are doubts about the absence of debts for housing and communal services:

• Request from the seller an exhaustive list of documents for the alienated property (title documentation, extract of the Unified State Register, certificates).
• Studying the presented list will reveal whether there are legal restrictions on the re-registration of real estate to the new owner, or whether the property has been seized due to debts.
• Send a request to the management company or check on specialized websites about the situation with payments for the apartment in question. These requests will require consent for the disclosure of information to outsiders, however, if the current owner does not intend to facilitate the receipt of information, there is a high probability of risk. Refusal to provide documents confirming payment for utility costs is a serious reason to refuse the purchase.
• If unpaid bills are identified, it is necessary to include clauses in the contract being drawn up regarding the responsibility of the previous owner for debts that arose during the period of ownership of the property.
• Alternatively, a clause can be included in the contract establishing a discount when paying for an apartment, which will allow the new owner to pay off the resulting debt.
• After the issue of debt repayment is settled by agreement, the apartment is re-registered in the name of the buyer in Rosreestr.
• In the apartment acceptance certificate, a separate point is indicated where the meter data is recorded at the time of acceptance of the property.

An impressive list of securities is being prepared for the transaction , reducing the risk of a problematic transaction to a minimum:

• identification documents of the buyer and seller.
• extract from the Unified State Register.
• document from the Federal Tax Service confirming payment of property tax.
• a certificate from the FSSP establishing the right to re-register real estate.
• invoices and statements from the service organization, housing office office, service providers, indicating full settlement of payments.
• purchase and sale agreement (if there is a debt - with the inclusion of a separate clause establishing the responsibility of a specific party to the transaction for payment for consumed services;
• certificate, title document confirming the legitimacy of the disposal of property;
• certificate of residents, registered residents or their absence;
• a payment document confirming payment of a fee in the amount of 2 thousand rubles;
• acceptance certificate including information about meter readings;
• a receipt establishing the payment of funds in the amount specified in the bill of sale.

What is a personal account

A personal account on a housing and communal services payment card is understood as a set of numbers that is individual for each owner. It is assigned to each payer for the property he owns.

This number is required to reflect the following information:

• characteristics of the provided public services;
• information about the citizen who owns the apartment;
• other homeowners;
• information about the management company.

There is also an extract from the house register, which helps to obtain information about all persons living in the apartment, as well as find out the personal account number of the premises.

Extract from the house register

This document is provided when contacting a multifunctional center or the management company of a residential complex. To obtain it you will need an identification document.

The extract contains:

1. last name, first name, patronymic of the owner of the premises;
2. legal address of the apartment;
3. list of provided utilities;
4. real estate data;
5. information about other persons registered in the living space;
6. benefits received by a citizen and social payments from the state.

This document is issued at the request of other authorized bodies or to obtain information about the owner of the property.

Sample of a personal account statement:

An extract can also be requested when submitting an application online. To do this, you need to go to your personal State Services account or the official website of the housing and communal services company.