Instead of collectors, notaries will “knock out” money
It will become easier to work with persistent defaulters on utility debts. A group of State Duma deputies proposes to seek compensation for their debts without trial, using the so-called writ of execution by a notary. The corresponding bill has already been submitted to parliament and will most likely be considered at the next session. According to legislators, this initiative will reduce the burden on the judicial system and increase the payment discipline of the population. But will Russians like it?
Utility non-payments remain the «number 1 issue» for management companies and utility companies. When pipes burst in winter and hot geysers start gushing out of the ground, utility workers don't mince words. «Housing owners don't pay for services, so how can we afford to replace old pipes with new ones?»
Russians' utility debts amounted to almost 900 billion rubles in the first quarter of 2024. And it's not that easy to squeeze a penny out of debtors. According to the law, the management company files a lawsuit against the owner, who is already literally drowning in a stream of civil cases. Thus, last year, courts of general jurisdiction considered about 25 million cases on the merits, a significant portion of which (more than 10 million) were about collecting debts for housing and communal services.
The authors of the bill are confident that with the notary’s writ of execution, the problem of non-payments will disappear. They propose to notify the debtor in advance of the received demand from the collector (indicating the amount of debt), giving him a period to respond. 14 days are allotted for this. And if the citizen does not react in any way, the notary’s writ of execution comes into play. It is equivalent to a court decision; it is a simplified way of collecting a debt — according to it, all the debtor’s accounts are frozen and, in fact, the collection process takes place.
It is noted that collection is carried out only on the principal part of the debt, taking into account interest — without paying fines and penalties. 80% of management companies, as expected, support such a bill; in their opinion, it will increase the payment discipline of homeowners.
How should the population feel about this communal innovation? We are talking about this with the Chairman of the Housing Union, a member of the Housing and Housing Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Konstantin Krokhin.
— If you understand, then there are no problems. In the statement of claim, the management company must indicate the debtor’s passport details and some other information that is not publicly available. Judicial authorities can obtain such information through a request, but this takes additional time, 2-3 months. But such a law was adopted by members of parliament! Let them cancel it and that’s it.
In terms of influencing the unscrupulous owner, the measures are very prompt. His exit from the country is prohibited, all accounts are blocked, funds are written off from them… It’s all very simple. But now they want to make this procedure even easier! But I consider simplified debt collection, given the situation in the public utilities sector, dangerous.
— It is no secret that our administrative and state authorities do not always respect the rights of consumers. Rospotrebnadzor, the Housing Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office… You go around in circles, but these bodies are not particularly agile in protecting citizens. Today's judicial review is the only constitutional mechanism for protecting consumer rights. And in this case they want to remove it.
— The court, for example, can protect a person from incorrect calculation of utility bills. Today there is simply a “pandemic” of such charges in the country. In one of the capital's districts, residents have been fighting the communal services for three years now, who charged them 4.5 thousand percent (!) for general household needs for one summer month.
In court, a person has at least a theoretical opportunity to prove his case, provide documents — although this is not always possible. If today we deprive him of this opportunity, then the following situation is quite possible: the notary will not deal with the charges and will make a decision in favor of the applicant, that is, the management company, period!
— On in my opinion — monopolists — suppliers of resources: light, heat, water. Having lost part of their revenue on foreign markets, they decided to increase profits at the expense of the population. Harmful innovations come from there to make it even easier for them to collect money. I do not rule out that the next step could be a “lighter version” of selling housing for debts; now this is very difficult to do.
I believe that such a bill needs wide public discussion. This is a deliberate simplification of the collection of unjustified debts…