How to find out the rent debt: when buying an apartment, by address, personal account, Internet, what the risk of debt is

The issue of timely payment of utility bills is especially relevant now. Persons with housing and communal services debt are required to pay penalties, the amount of which has increased significantly. Previously, fines for late communal payments were low. Now progressive calculations are used. We will tell you what responsibility the debtor bears for housing and communal services, how to check what utility debt there is for a specific residential premises

From June 1, 2021, the collection of utility debt will be much simpler; within 5 days, the court will make a positive decision in absentia.

Who can I know about my debt?

The homeowner's obligation to pay for services on time presupposes his awareness of the cost of the benefits provided. And yet, due to various circumstances, unpaid bills accumulate. Such cases may be:

during a long business trip of the owner. Due to periodic tariff increases, there is a possibility that payment will not be made in full;
when receiving an apartment as an inheritance. Sometimes the debt for utility bills accumulated over the years becomes a surprise for the heirs;
as a result of the acquisition of an apartment under a gift, exchange, or purchase and sale agreement, if the acquirer did not take care to inquire about the absence of debts.

Some buyers deliberately choose to buy an apartment with utility bills. The seller can make a discount from the basic price of the residential premises. If such an agreement exists, the new owner is obligated to pay the outstanding bills. To do this, you need to know the amount of rent owed and how to pay it.

Debt collection: how it happens

Forced collection of debt for housing and communal services is carried out in court; for this, the management company or other authorized body must perform the following actions:

if the amount of the debt is indisputable, collection can be carried out by issuing a court order from a bailiff;
if there is a dispute, the case is considered by courts of general jurisdiction;
Based on the results of the trial, a decision is made and a writ of execution is issued;
enforcement documents are sent to officials of the FSSP for enforcement proceedings;
within the framework of enforcement proceedings, the recovery is applied to the debtor’s salary or other income, and in case of a large amount of debt - to the property of citizens.

To avoid forced debt collection, it is necessary to timely clarify the amount of overdue payments and repay the debt in full for the provided housing and communal services.

Find out about debt at

If the buyer of an apartment wants to make sure that he does not acquire obligations along with the housing. Or he already knows about the debt, but wants to pay it off, there is an opportunity to check the debt for the apartment at its location.

Information about the presence of debts at the apartment address can be found out without the participation of the owner in the following ways:

At the service of public services. On the official websites for the provision of housing and communal services, a form is presented, by filling out which you can obtain information about the debt for a specific apartment;
Through your personal account on the website of the management company. At the moment, more than half of management companies have their own website on the Internet and a section for information on payment for housing and communal services;
Using the website of a bank that accepts utility payments. For example, in the Moscow region, the bank that accepts all possible payments for housing and communal services is the Bank of Moscow. If you register in your personal account on the bank’s website, then through it you can not only find out about the debt, but also pay it online. A similar service in the regions of Russia is provided by Sberbank;
ATMs - knowing the address, you can obtain information about payment for the provision of electricity, heat, gas, water through the ATMs of those banking organizations that work with utility payments;
In large cities there are coordination centers for real estate issues (in Moscow - the GUIS Coordination Center), where you can find out free information about debts on any real estate property. There is also a calculator program where you can calculate the amount to be paid after entering the necessary meter data.

Why check utility bills with online payments?

Not long ago my wife and I moved to a new apartment. And for housing and communal services, as before, they paid at the post office using a personal account.

At the old address where we used to live, rent and garbage collection are paid on separate accounts. However, on the new one - one at a time. And it so happened that by mistake the money for the apartment was transferred for the solid waste removal service.

We did not find any errors in the receipt, because it only indicated the personal account and the payment amount. When the debt began to grow, we found out about it late, and an impressive amount had already accumulated.

The epiphany came only after we received a notification about the amount of payment for the vein service for reconciliation. It already contained a breakdown of what we paid for and what we didn’t. This is how we found out that in the end, after several months, we paid for garbage many months in advance. But for the apartment - not a penny.

Actually, the situation is fixable. You could simply write a statement and get your money back for the garbage. And then pay them for the apartment. But the procedure is not quick. Recalculations could take up to a month. And since we were about to travel to another country, we were afraid that we might have difficulties at the border with our debt. Therefore, we decided to pay the debt immediately.

Since then, I prefer to play it safe and additionally independently review and reconcile the payment of all receipts online. At the same time, I found several ways to check payment of housing and communal services on a personal account via the Internet. And I will share this experience with you.

Find out about the debt on your personal account

Often, the buyer of an apartment becomes aware of her personal account; it is easy to obtain information about the presence and amount of debt from it:

At the Russian Post Office. To do this, you need to contact a post office employee and give your personal account number. The presence of the owner of the residential premises and the provision of a passport are not required;
In the terminal, where it is possible to pay utility bills. There, in the same terminals, after entering the personal account number in the appropriate column, you can find out about the debt;
In a bank, if its employees accept payments on personal accounts;
By telephone to a company representing a certain type of service (water and gas supply company, electricity company). By naming your personal account, you can get complete information about the presence or absence of debt of the subscriber.

Due to the daily accrual of penalties and fines for non-payment of housing and communal services, information on the Internet may be displayed incorrectly. There are often cases when the accrued daily penalty is not taken into account on the day it is accrued and is shown in the program only the next day. It is better to verify that the amount paid is correct directly at the office of the management company or the housing office. Then you will be able to avoid underpaying a few rubles or kopecks, for which a fine will also be charged later.

Contacting the management company in person or via the website

You can check rent arrears online, however, if this is not possible, you will have to call or go to the management company to find out the details. If the management company has a website, try entering the property address or 10-digit personal account on this portal. You can receive a response to your request instantly or after some time via email.

On most sites, the data is displayed in the “Payment” section. Here you can also see the current meter readings, so you can be sure that the information will be accurate.

If you have time, you can come to the management company in person, during business hours (many companies have pre-registration, which will allow you to avoid long queues). Give the employee the apartment number and exact address, your data - in a few minutes you will receive all the information and advice from the service representative. You can pay off your debt here - management companies have terminals that accept cash and cards.

Debt for paying for landline phone and internet

Companies that provide landline telephone and cable Internet services often inform citizens with whom an agreement has been concluded about the next payment. But more than half of all debtors do not know the amount of payments.

You can find out about debts of this kind (and pay them off immediately) directly on the websites of companies providing telephone and Internet services. You just need to know the phone number, contract or address information. Companies such as Rostelecom, NTV, Tricolor, and MTS offer to check for debt and pay it directly on the website.

If utility debts are not paid

From what month of debt can services be disconnected or go to court?

Don't pay for six months. When utility debts accumulate for more than six months, members of the HOA board, representatives of the housing office or the management company resort to judicial collection of the amount of non-payment from the debtor. A debt that is not paid within six months gives grounds for eviction of the debtor from municipal housing. But such a measure of influence is a last resort.
Debt for 2 months or more. But stopping the actual supply of light, heat, gas, and water is quite possible. After two months of no payments (without a court decision).
The amount of debt is large and comparable to the cost of housing. Seizure of an apartment if it is not the only home (see whether an apartment can be seized for debts).

Other consequences

In addition, reluctance to pay your debts can lead to such consequences as:

inclusion in the register of debtors;
receipt of information to credit organizations, when applying to them with a loan application will most likely be refused (negative credit history);
if the management company goes to court, the debtor bears all the expenses incurred by the organization in connection with this (lawyer’s work, preparation of documents, participation of a representative in court);
if the amount of the debt was collected by the court (in 85% of cases, claims for debt collection are satisfied by the court), then the debtor will face enforcement proceedings. Accordingly, the troubles that are associated with the activities of bailiffs (inventory of property, collection of part of wages, freezing of accounts, seizure of an apartment, etc. (see what a bailiff can take for debts).

Statute of limitations

Let us remind you that collection of debts for housing and communal services can only be for the last 3 years preceding the filing of the claim.

Do debt obligations pass from the seller to the buyer?

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, the debts of the previous owner do not pass to the new owner . Obligations for the maintenance of the apartment, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 153 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and paragraph 2 of Article 223 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation arise from the owner of the property from the moment of state registration of the DCP in Rosreestr. The registration date will be indicated in the USRN extract, which is issued to the owner after completion of the procedure.

The only exception is the debt for major repairs - it passes to the buyer after completion of the transaction (according to paragraph 3 of Article 158 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

Buying and selling an apartment with utility debts

As a general rule, in Russia, when purchasing an apartment, government agencies for registering real estate transactions do not require a certificate of no debt to utility companies.

The most cautious purchasers have the right to demand that the seller provide such a certificate for personal purposes in order to ensure that there are no debts on the apartment. It is necessary not only to familiarize yourself with such a certificate, but also to check the readings of the meters indicated in it. So, if the testimony when paying for utilities was underestimated, then a certificate of no debt does not guarantee the transfer of unpaid bills along with the housing to the new owner.

Let's say the heir got an apartment with a large utility debt. The heir does not want to live in the apartment or rent it out. There is an intention to sell the inherited housing. Is it possible to sell an apartment with rent arrears? The law does not prohibit this, but it is better to comply with some conditions:

do not hide the presence of debts on the apartment;
calculate the amount of debts not paid on time and compare it with the cost of the apartment;
discuss with a potential buyer a reduction in the price of housing in the amount of the debt;
upon reaching agreement with the buyer, include in the purchase and sale agreement a clause on the transfer of debt to the buyer. Then the new owner (the one who bought the apartment with a rent debt) is obliged to pay the housing and communal services debt in the amount specified in the contract. If nothing is said about the transfer of debt in the main agreement, the debt must be collected from the former owner.
Debts on contributions for major repairs

This is one of those debts that moves from owner to owner. Contributions are of a slightly different legal nature. Therefore, if information about the debt for capital contributions was hidden from the buyer, then this burden falls on the shoulders of the new owner. There's no getting away from this.

Methods for checking and paying debts for housing and communal services in Moscow, Moscow Region and St. Petersburg

Organizations that supply goods in the form of water, electricity and heating, and also service apartment buildings, must promptly enter data on the amounts for services into the general information system.

GIS on a state scale is a link between housing and communal services, management companies → consumer → banks.

The Ministry of Mass Communications of the Russian Federation chose Russian Post for these purposes. Those who wish to familiarize themselves in detail with the regulations on the operation of the state information system (GIS) can read Law No. 209/FZ of July 24, 2014 (latest edition).

According to the project, every citizen of the Russian Federation can find out the debt for housing and communal services in Moscow and the region. The data is entered fractionally according to the points specified in Resolution No. 209-FZ; this innovation has been in effect since the beginning of 2021.

An organization that sent a utility bill on paper without submitting an electronic statement may not receive payment. And in this case, the consumer will be right.

GIS Housing and Communal Services is integrated into a database with the EIRC, banks and Russian Post. In addition, there is a call center, from whose employees you can find out all the necessary information.

Watch the video: “How to check housing and communal services debt in 2 minutes.”

Moscow website of GU IS

Residents of Moscow and surrounding areas can obtain account information on the website - https://mosobleirts.rf or https://www.is.mos.ru. The portal brings together engineering services by region. Each region has a similar resource.

To receive a total invoice for payment for a house/apartment, you should indicate:

region/region of location;
the exact address where the information is needed;
service list;
number of floors (for MKD);
living/common/useful area;
the period for which the amount of debt is of interest;
the actual number of persons living at the address;
type of document confirming ownership.

This site allows users to calculate the amount of future payments. To do this, you should choose a calculation method - averaged or based on the readings of measuring instruments.

Via the Moscow Mayor's Website

The link is the official website of the Moscow City Hall. On the portal, by entering the consumer code and apartment number according to the housing and communal services data of Moscow, you can find out the debt on utility bills.

The service is available to individuals. If you have a social card, no commission is charged. Payment by other methods requires a service fee of 0.8% of the amount.

The following information will be required:

The personal account number is taken from the paper receipt (look for it in the upper right corner).
There are two document options, you need to choose one: current period or debt.
Time frames – month, quarter, year.

The latest settlement information will be available 24 hours after your request is submitted.

Official website of the Mayor of Moscow

EPD - a single payment document has the function of a “personal account”. By subscribing to it through notifications, the user regularly receives information about new invoices. Further work with housing and communal services in Moscow - checking and paying debts takes no more than two minutes a month.

Through EIRC

The Unified Information Center issues data if you have a passport and residence address. You can provide a paper receipt, then an EIRC employee will print out a statement of your personal account.

Citizens also have the right to order a report for the periods. The information will be complete with information about penalties and fines.

Checking debts for housing and communal services through Moscow banks

Yandex offers on the website to find out the amount of debt for housing and communal services in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region.

By indicating the personal account number via the link - Yandex Money/checking amounts for housing and communal services, the user receives a detailed report on accrued funds for the services of resource supply organizations.

VTB Bank of Russia provides the opportunity to find out and pay receipts for utility services using an individual payer code, having previously indicated the time period for which the report is needed. To do this, go to the site and follow the instructions and tips.

Sberbank of Russia provides the opportunity to check housing and communal services debt through the Bank of Moscow. The online structure is located at this address. To use the Internet portal, you need to go through a simple registration procedure, and then log in by entering your username and password.

By personal account number

Through Moscow banks, you can check your debt to housing and communal services at the place where you collect utility bills. In addition, ATMs and terminals are programmed to issue a check against a personal account with data on the amount and timing of transfer of payments for the apartment.

The disadvantage of this method of obtaining information is the inability to find out the presence of late fees and the amount of old debts.

Address, full name – in person or by phone

In the absence of the opportunity to receive information via the Internet about the status of debts on the apartment, you can contact the management company. You need to visit the management company that controls the institutions that provide services for a particular apartment building. This can be done by visiting the organization's office or by calling.

A citizen, by contacting directly the accounting department of the management company at the address of residence, will receive a detailed report indicating current and old debts, as well as the accrued penalty, if any.

There are several ways to find out your rent arrears by phone:

specialist in a management company; The hotline is different in each region, so you need to look for information on the GUIS websites for a specific subject.
Directorate for Building Operations (DEZ);
unified information center (UIRC).

All telephone numbers that provide information about the status of personal accounts are indicated on paper receipts. Additionally, this data can be obtained at the reception of the management company, housing and communal services, HOA, as well as at information stands located in the house.

Through State Services

You can find out the debt for housing and communal services, knowing your personal account online in Moscow, on the public services portal - www.gosuslugi.ru.

Portal of public services of the Russian Federation

You can make a payment or obtain information about the amount of debt without creating an account.

To do this you should:

Go through the authorization procedure.
Next, click on the “service catalog” icon.
Then enter the phrase “payment for housing and communal services” in the search bar. This will allow you to go to the desired section of the site, where you can find out the amount of debt and make a payment.

Obtaining data on the status of personal accounts is carried out in a free format.

Note: when starting to work with the State Services website, you should select your region of residence. This is done manually or automatically, provided you are connected to geolocation.

After selecting the region and place of residence, the page will display a list of resource supply organizations. In addition, you will need to specify the calculation method. This can be done using an identification code or from the state information system.