Renting out an apartment without paying taxes - what does the landlord face: what happens if you don’t pay, what is the fine, and what liability can you face?

What does this mean?

Illegal rental of an apartment means that the owner receives a profit without deductions to the tax authorities. According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Article 3, Part 2, every person is obliged to pay taxes established by the current code.

If the owner of the property receives rental income, then he is required to submit a tax return, Form 3-NDFL, no later than April 30 following the reporting period. If the owner rented out the apartment for a period of more than 12 months, then such a transaction must be registered with Rosreestr (Article 674 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the conclusion of an agreement is a mandatory condition.

Payment to the state treasury must be made before July 15. In case of non-payment of tax, the rental of real estate is considered illegal. Renting out real estate is included in the list of sources of income for individuals subject to taxes. The full list is presented in Article 208 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Clause 1 of the code states that the tax applies to profits derived from the rental of property located on the territory of Russia.

IMPORTANT! If the tenant does not have temporary registration in the apartment, then such residence will be considered illegal, and renting out housing by the owner will also be illegal.

Is it possible to rent without a contract and what will be the consequences?

If the owner rents out the apartment illegally, then the contract between him and the tenant is concluded by their mutual decision. Many owners hiding from the tax authorities neglect the conclusion of the document.

However, in the event of a conflict between the owner and the tenant, it will be impossible for each of them to defend their interests in court in this case. Renting an apartment without a contract is a risk for both parties to the transaction. This document states the rights and obligations of the parties, indicates the amount of rent and other nuances that are important for both the owner and the tenant.

What happens if you don't pay?

The vast majority of owners are not afraid of punishment for tax evasion and illegal rental of apartments.

Proving the fact of receiving a profit from a tenant is quite problematic. Apartment owners find many ways to avoid the law: they do not draw up contracts, pass off tenants as relatives, and receive money in cash. However, not everyone succeeds in evading taxes. What does this threaten? For illegal rental business, the owner faces administrative and criminal penalties.

Administrative penalty

If the fact of illegal rental of property has been proven, the owner will be held administratively liable:

Art. 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation obliges to pay tax to the state treasury for the entire period during which the owner of the apartment received funds from residents. Penalties are added to this amount - 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate for each day of delay. What will be the penalty for non-payment? The owner will have to pay 20% of the tax amount. If tax evasion was intentional or repeated, the amount increases to 40%.
Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for a fine for the absence of a tax return in the amount of 1 thousand rubles for every 30 days of delay.

REFERENCE! If the authorities find a tenant in the apartment without registration at the place of residence, the owner will also face a fine. In accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, Article 19.15.1, the owner of the property will have to pay 2-5 thousand rubles. for one illegal tenant. If the housing is located in Moscow or St. Petersburg, then the fine will range from 5-7 thousand rubles.

Criminal liability

The owner of the property may be charged under several charges. Article 198 of the Criminal Code “Tax Evasion”:

fine from 100 to 300 thousand rubles;
a fine in the amount of salary for a period of 12 to 24 months;
arrest for 6 months;
imprisonment for a period of 1 year;
forced labor for up to 12 months.

If the amount of debt to the tax authorities fits the definition of “large amount” (this is up to 900 thousand rubles over 3 years), then the owner of the property will face a more severe punishment:

fine from 200 to 500 thousand rubles;
a fine in the amount of wages received for a period of 18 months to 3 years;
forced labor for up to 3 years;
imprisonment for up to 3 years.

The main thing that needs to be fixed in the contract is the procedure for early termination of the agreement

Expert opinion

Murat Borokov

Head of Department at Kalinka Legal Services

— Lease agreements must clearly state the tenant’s living conditions: who can be in the premises (tenant, family members, guests), whether he has the right to live with animals and what kind of animals, and so on.

But the most important thing that needs to be fixed in the contract is the procedure for early termination of the agreement. Most controversial situations arise precisely because of this. Let’s say that for some reason the tenant cannot or does not want to pay the rent, or the owner has decided to sell the apartment and the tenant needs to move out as soon as possible.

It is important to stipulate in the contract penalties for violations of the terms of the agreement: whether the security deposit remains with the landlord, for what period of time the tenant must inform the owner that he will not rent the property, etc. In my practice, there was a case when the buyer of an apartment was ready to pay a large compensation, if only the tenant would move out and the housing would be sold without encumbrances.

The landlord should also remember that he must pay tax on the rental of housing, and tax evasion is a violation of the Criminal Code, which entails criminal liability.

In fact, tax authorities can find out about the rental of an apartment even without concluding an agreement. It is very easy to identify this by tracking bank card transactions. Law enforcement agencies use systematic payments (regularity, equal amount) when proving rental relations between the owner and the tenant.

How does the tax office calculate it?

About 80% of owners rent out housing illegally at their own peril and risk, hoping that the authorities will not find out about their illegal act. Nevertheless, every year the authorities expose more and more unscrupulous tenants. How do tax inspectors most often find out about illegal rental of property?

Neighbours . A conflict with the owner living next door may result in him contacting the authorities with a complaint about the illegal rental of housing. As a rule, neighbors file complaints if tenants violate public order, the rights of resident owners, make noise at inappropriate times, or lead an immoral lifestyle.
Rosreestr . If the agreement between the owner and the tenant is concluded for 1 year or more, then such a transaction must be registered with Rosreestr. Information about the fact of leasing of real estate from the registration authority also goes to the tax office.
Migration Service . If a migrant lives in an apartment without registration at the place of stay, then if this fact is discovered, the migration department will transfer data about the tenant to the Federal Tax Service.
Realtors . If you contact intermediaries when renting out housing, one sample contract remains with the real estate agent. A conflict with a realtor or an audit of the agency’s activities may lead to the establishment of the fact of illegal rental of property.

ATTENTION! If the law was violated for the first time, then the owners face only a minimal fine. If brought to justice again, they face a more serious punishment - from forced labor to imprisonment.

Where to go if owners rent out housing illegally?

Most often, complaints about illegal rental of real estate are filed due to disturbance of public peace by tenants. Tenants are noisy, hooligan, or walk around the entrance drunk - no one will like being in the neighborhood with such citizens. Where to go with a complaint?

To the local police officer . It is best to file a complaint in writing so that an official can conduct an official inspection of the apartment, identify violations and send a response to the complaint.
Rospotrebnadzor . You should contact this authority if there are unscrupulous tenants living next door. An unpleasant smell from the apartment or failure to maintain order on the landing is a reason to go to Rospotrebnadzor.
to the Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (migration service) if persons without registration live in the living space.
The Tax Service also responds to requests from citizens complaining about owners illegally renting out housing.
To the prosecutor's office . It is advisable to go to this body only if other authorities have not responded to the appeal, and the applicant has evidence that the owner of the property has violated the law. The main evidence is the lease agreement, receipt of money for accommodation, video and photographic materials.

Who should not rent an apartment?

Any rentier wants to quickly and in advance assess all the possible risks of renting out an apartment to one or another tenant. Therefore, when meeting a potential tenant, logic, the method of deduction and psychological portraiture combined are used. By what signs can you determine who is worth believing and who is not, without confusing common sense with stereotypes?

Of course, you want to figure out from the very beginning, like Sherlock, who is who based on insignificant details. That this man with a luxurious lush mustache is definitely a non-smoker and will not smoke up the apartment, because with this bad habit such wealth can be burned. Or that this woman in dusty ankle boots, on the contrary, will neglect her home because she cannot even bother to wipe her own shoes. True, in practice it turns out that barbels can be very dexterous, and ladies in dirty shoes can be pathologically tidy at home. Therefore, when communicating with applicants for an apartment, rely, first of all, on common sense.

Drawing: Anastasia Timofeeva

a guy and a girl aged 20-25 approached you . First, ask who they are related to each other. If a boy and a girl decide to play family, keep in mind that they can move out after the first quarrel. I flirted with a friend, didn’t meet him after work, refused to wash my socks, forgot about “that very day,” cooked borscht incorrectly—in youth, anything can become a good reason for breaking up. And where there is no stamp, there are always more temptations to pack your bags and hand over the keys to the owner. You should also be wary if a three- or four-room apartment is for rent, and a young, supposedly married couple . Don’t be shy to ask how many children they have and why they actually need such a large apartment. If there are five children, this clarifies a lot. But the answer “we don’t have children” is a bad answer. Very often, spacious multi-room apartments are rented as brothels, and this is probably the ambitious founders of one of them. An apartment with a large number of rooms often becomes a tasty morsel for those who cannot afford even a one-room apartment. Collective removal is another problem that the owner of a large item may encounter. Too often they are removed for workers (not always with Russian citizenship) or for “division” between several families at once. If you sensed something was wrong, but, in general, have come to terms with the communal fate of the apartment, still insist that a separate rental agreement for “part of the living space” (room) be signed with each family. Troubles can come from places where you least expect them. For example, foreigners , for whom our rentiers feel special awe and reverence, expecting stability and accuracy, are not very attractive to ideal employers. Thus, Italians and Spaniards categorically refuse to take off their shoes in the apartment, and they are not at all embarrassed that the dug up Builders Street after the rain has nothing in common with Margutta or Rambla. Americans can be meticulous, picky and keep the owner in suspense every day of rent: a dripping faucet, a TV with “noises” that is usually repaired with a simple tap on the lid, a refrigerator that is suspiciously frozen more than usual - such complaints will last for a long time. The situation is even worse with Indians and Asians who came to study from overseas countries - dishes of national cuisines are prepared from products that often have a very specific smell that is firmly ingrained in the walls, so you can only agree to such tenants if in the foreseeable future renovation is planned. Africans are also not the most exemplary employers, since problems with the law are far from uncommon among them.

EXPERT'S COMMENT

Head of the Agentton real estate exchange Sergei Smirnov : - With peace of mind, you can rent out real estate to a foreigner only when you speak his language decently. One of our clients was rented from a luxury apartment on Ostozhenka by a Briton. And then one day the water supply started leaking at the hot water tap. Somehow, over the phone, the owner realized that there was a problem with the water, and called a plumber. The mechanic came, realized that he didn’t have such a line, turned off the hot water tap in the riser and, without really delving into the fact that the interlocutor did not understand Russian, said something that would not surprise our brother: “In short, I have one like this.” I don’t have any eyeliner right now, buy it and call me, here’s my number,” and he left. The Briton did not understand anything and sat without hot water for three days. I called our client, trying to explain that there was a problem. As a result, I asked a colleague at work to act as a translator, and this “translation” turned out to be not very pleasant for the owner. He deducted the cost of three days without water from the next month's payment. And since the apartment was rented for $6,000, three days cost the owner of the apartment a decent $600.

17.05.15

How to complain to the tax office about a landlord?

Where can you file a claim against the owner if he doesn’t pay taxes? You can use two methods:

through the official website of the Federal Tax Service;
personally to the tax office with a written application.

Let's take a closer look at how to file a complaint.

Via the site

Filing a complaint electronically saves time and makes it possible to contact the authorities in a short time. What should be done:

Go to the website nalog.ru.
Go to the “Electronic Services” section.
Select the “Contact the Federal Tax Service of Russia” service.
Next, you need to select your status - individual, individual entrepreneur or legal entity and fill out information about yourself:
TIN;
telephone;
information about previously filed complaints on the issue of interest to other authorities;
name of the territorial tax service.
In a separate field you will need to state the purpose of the appeal. If there are any materials on the case, they are attached immediately in scanned format.

REFERENCE! Having filed a complaint through the website, the applicant has the opportunity to monitor the progress of its consideration in the “Learn about the complaint” section. The “Resolutions on Complaints” service allows you to obtain complete official information on the case.

In person with a written statement

For a personal appeal, you need to prepare a document in advance outlining the problem. What must be indicated in the complaint:

Name and address of the Federal Tax Service.
Your details:
FULL NAME;
phone number or email.
Purpose of application: you must indicate:
Full name of the owner;
information about the tenant (if known);
the period of illegal rental of housing and other details that are known.
Request to hold the owner accountable. Here you should rely on Article 198 of the Criminal Code, as well as Articles 75 and 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The application can be submitted in person or sent by registered mail. The period for consideration of a complaint is up to 30 days. After the inspection, the applicant should receive a response letter about the results at the address specified in the complaint.

Renting an apartment without a contract liability

Please help me with a question I have.

I entered into an agreement to invest in housing construction. The investment fee was paid on time and in full, but the house has not yet been put into operation. In order to receive the keys and begin repairs, the Company obliges me to sign an additional agreement, which, in my opinion, infringes on my rights to receive penalties in accordance with clause 9.1 of the agreement.

Here are excerpts from the agreement.

“Legal basis of the contract: Civil Code, Federal Law No. 39-FZ dated February 25, 1999.

Obligations and rights of the parties:

The company is obliged: 1) Within 5 days from the date of handing over the house to the State Acceptance Commission and putting it into operation, notify the investor (me) about this 2) Within 30 days after putting the house into operation, provide to SEA the documents necessary to formalize the ownership of the transferred An apartment for an investor.

The investor is obliged: 1) Before registering ownership of the apartment, not to carry out finishing work without the consent of the company, subject to the obligatory condition of concluding an additional agreement on this. 2) Sign the acceptance certificate of the apartment within 10 days from the date of delivery of the house to the state acceptance committee.

Clause 9.1. The house will be put into operation in accordance with the work schedule. The planned date of commissioning of the house is the fourth quarter of 2002. The apartment is rented out furnished in accordance with Appendix No. 1

Clause 9.2. The signing of the act of acceptance and transfer of the apartment is carried out within 10 days from the date of signing the act of acceptance of the house by the State Commission. The keys to the apartment are transferred by the Company to the Investor only after the Investor signs the transfer acceptance certificate and concludes an agreement with the Municipal Unitary Enterprise SEZ Housing and Communal Services for the operation and maintenance of the apartment.

Responsibility of the parties.

In case of violation of the deadlines established in clause 9.1 by more than 60 days, the Company pays the Investor a penalty of 0.1% of the amount paid in rubles for each day of delay but not more than 3% of the specified amount.”

I quote excerpts from additional agreement (it has not yet been signed by me) another person of Exol CJSC appears in it

"1. JSC "Exol" is the customer's attorney on the basis of an agency agreement.

2. JSC "Exol" and the Investor (that's me) sign the acceptance certificate of the apartment for finishing work in accordance with Appendix No. 1 and enter into an agreement for the maintenance of residential buildings.

3. After signing an acceptance certificate for the transfer of the apartment for finishing work with Exol CJSC, the Company grants the Investor the right to carry out finishing work in the apartment.

6. In clause 9.1. agreement to make changes: the planned date of commissioning of a group of residential buildings is the 2nd quarter of 2003.

After the houses are handed over by the State Reception Commission, a Transfer Deed will be signed between the company and the investor for provision to SEA for registration of ownership.”

Question: If I sign the add. agreement means I agree to the change in clause 9.1 of the agreement and will not receive the penalties due to me. If I don't sign the add. agreement, then I will not receive the keys and the right to decorate the apartment. Can I request an exception from the add. agreement of the clause on rescheduling and how can I expect to receive a penalty.

Thank you in advance. I'm looking forward to your answer.

Is it possible to arrange a rental without making contributions to the state treasury?

There is an opinion that if you sign a lease for a period of 11 months, you do not need to pay taxes. In fact, a rental agreement signed for this period only exempts you from registration with Rosreestr, but not from taxes.

You will have to make contributions from the profits to the state treasury in any case, regardless of the lease term. Is there a way to legally rent out property without paying taxes? The only way out is to conclude an agreement between the owner and the tenant orally.

Then it will be almost impossible to prove the fact of renting out housing. But it should be remembered that renting without documents entails risks both on the part of the property owner and on the part of the tenant. Despite the legal provision for paying tax on income received from rental real estate, about 80% of owners still evade taxes.

The reason is the lack of clear work by the authorities to identify unscrupulous tenants and bring them to justice. Those who are engaged in rental business on a large scale prefer to pay taxes. Owners of one rental premises, as a rule, shirk responsibility at their own peril and risk.

If the case goes to court, the contract will play an important role

Expert opinion

Gleb Podyablonsky

lawyer at URVISTA

— Firstly, remember that only the owner or the owner’s representative who has a notarized power of attorney can rent out housing. If the apartment belongs in shares to several citizens, then everyone’s consent is required to rent out the apartment.

How to draw up a rental agreement?

The landlord and tenant regulate their relationship using a residential lease agreement. This document must reflect the “essential” conditions: the subject of the contract, the rental period and the price. They are the ones that must be included in the contract. Without them, according to paragraph 1 of Art. 432 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the contract is considered not concluded.

Is it possible to rent and lease an apartment without a contract?

There is no clear answer to the question whether it is possible to rent out an apartment without a contract. The law does not provide penalties for failure to draw up a lease agreement for either the landlord or the tenant. According to the civil code of the Russian Federation - in particular, Art. 609 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, - for this type of relationship a simple written form of agreement is provided. But remember that a contract is a document. And if you and the tenants or owners have disagreements and the matter goes to court, then the agreement will play an important role.

Also remember that the court does not take into account witness testimony, but only receipts for receipt of funds, acceptance certificates, payment receipts, and so on.

Is renting out an apartment subject to tax?

Renting out housing is a type of making a profit, on which, according to general rules, you must pay a tax of 13%. The owner must annually submit an income tax return as an individual, if he is not an entrepreneur, and pay tax to the treasury. Tax evasion entails a fine of 20 to 40% of the debt and penalties for each day of delay. And willful defaulters can even be brought to criminal liability.

Does the tax office track rental housing?

The tax service does not track the rental of housing, but can find out through government agencies whether housing is rented or not. It is very difficult to prove the fact of receiving money for the use of housing. If only tax inspectors receive documents confirming the transfer of money for rent - for example, receipts. Otherwise, the owner can always declare that he let the person live for free and has no income from this.