What to do if it was not possible to solve the problem peacefully
First of all, it is necessary to use the pre-trial procedure for resolving a conflict situation. To do this, you need to make a statement to the police, describing the circumstances and asking them to check the specified facts.
The district police officer will perform the following actions:
- will arrive at the right address;
- will interview the residents of the disputed apartment, as well as people living in the neighborhood;
- will hold a warning conversation with violators;
- draw up a resolution to refuse to initiate criminal proceedings.
Perhaps the residents will let the owner into the apartment to avoid further problems. After all, if they refuse, they will have to participate in court proceedings, reimburse the plaintiff for costs, and be present during the forced move into housing with FSSP employees.
If the local police officer’s visit does not help, you will need to go to court . To do this, you need to prepare a claim and attach documents to it proving the existence of rights to the disputed apartment - for example:
- purchase and sale agreement, gift, certificate of inheritance.
- receipts for payment for housing and communal services or repair work, furniture.
Also attached to the claim is a resolution refusing to initiate criminal proceedings. This is necessary for two reasons:
- this document proves the fact that the owner made pre-trial attempts to resolve the controversial situation;
- The resolution contains a list of persons, indicating their full names, who violate legal norms.
After the court considers the situation and satisfies the claims, the owner can use the help of bailiffs, police officers and the Ministry of Emergency Situations in order to gain access to his home.
If you have any questions, you can contact us for free at the following phone numbers:
- Moscow ext. 143
- St. Petersburg ext. 702
- RF ext. 684
If you have any questions, you can consult for free by chatting with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or by calling the following phone numbers:
- Moscow ext. 143
- St. Petersburg ext. 702
- RF ext. 684
In the presence of police officers, bailiffs will move in the owner according to the relevant act. If the court rules that the interfering persons should be evicted, then authorized persons will carry out this procedure.
How to move into an apartment where you are registered through the court?
How to move into an apartment where you are registered through the court? You must go to court by filing a statement of claim. It is necessary to draw it up correctly and attach documents to it - evidence that you are registered in the apartment, evidence that you are being prevented from using the apartment. To prove that you are being obstructed, you can attach copies of your complaints to the police station, the prosecutor's office or written statements to the apartment owners; to prove the obstacles, you can involve witnesses - your neighbors, relatives or friends who are aware of the situation and observed it with their own eyes .
You can demand in a statement of claim to move you into the apartment and pay you for the damage. You may claim damages for causing you both moral and ethical suffering, and for the fact that you rented housing at a time when you were not allowed into the apartment where you are registered.
During the trial, the judge will weigh all your arguments and check the documents you submitted. The judge will give your defendants due notice and hear their side.
We would like to clarify that our legal advice can also offer you the services of a housing law lawyer who is ready to protect your interests in court. Without the help of a lawyer, such a process will not be easy. By ignorance, you may miss out on the right chances to quickly achieve justice. Legal advice on moving into an apartment takes place in our office for all St. Petersburg residents. You can make an appointment with us and solve a number of issues for yourself. Legal education in the situation of moving into an apartment where you are registered is a necessary and useful thing. Receiving such advice is the first step in resolving the issue of moving into an apartment.
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November 16, 2021.
Features and nuances
Recently, owners of small shares have often abused their property rights. The court may refuse forced occupancy on the basis that in reality the owner of a small share intends to cause harm to other owners of the apartment. If the plaintiff’s share is insignificant, then he will have to prove the fact that there are his things in the apartment, that he permanently lives in one of the rooms and bears the costs of its maintenance. Only in this case is there a chance that the court will satisfy the claims.
Agreement on determining shares in an apartment
If a person, for example, was registered in an apartment, but did not live in it for several years, then later he may need to pick up personal belongings. In this case, the procedure is the same: if it was not possible to come to an agreement with the residents, you must go to the police. Then a claim should be filed in court to seize the items from the illegal possession of third parties.
The plaintiff will need to prove the fact that specific things really belong to him. If he demands the seizure of inseparable items of property (for example, a built-in kitchen), the court will refuse him.
Rights of a citizen registered in an apartment
To begin with, it is worth knowing what rights a citizen registered in a residential building has, whether he is the owner or simply lives in an apartment and uses the premises. Let's consider two options: when a registered citizen is the owner, and when he is simply registered in the apartment, but does not have shares in the property.
A citizen registered in an apartment where he has a share, in accordance with the civil code, has the right to own, use and dispose of his share at his own discretion, without any restrictions. A citizen can sell the share, rent it out, or offer other owners to buy it out. In this case, everything is simple - there is a share, no one has the right to in any way infringe on the rights of the owner.
Sometimes situations happen when, for example, one citizen owns the 1st floor, another 2nd floor in the same house. The owner, whose share is on the 1st floor, does not allow the other one in, citing the fact that the latter is located on his territory, in his property. This position is fundamentally incorrect, since in civil law there is the concept of easement. We'll talk about this in more detail below.
In accordance with Russian legislation, a citizen who is registered in an apartment, but is not the owner of the residential premises, and does not have a share there, has the following rights:
- The right to reside, to use residential premises without the right to dispose of them;
- The right to protect the interests of the citizen registered in the apartment, as well as the protection of his rights in accordance with housing and other Russian legislation;
- Participation in privatization. In this case, the right to participate in privatization is available only if the apartment is state or municipal property.
Arbitrage practice
Alexey Kh. received a ¼ share of a one-room apartment in Sochi under a donation agreement. He did not live in it for several years, but then he needed this space. The second owner - owner of ¾ share Inna T. - refused to let Alexey into the apartment. The woman moved another man into the apartment, who changed the locks on the front door and refused to let Alexei inside.
Alexey Kh. filed a lawsuit with a request to oblige the defendants to provide him with access to the apartment. The Central Sochi District Court rejected his claims, finding that the exercise of property rights depended on the size of the share (there was no room in the apartment commensurate with the applicant’s share), and a participant in common shared ownership did not have an unconditional right to move into the apartment. The court also focused on the fact that the plaintiff was absent from the apartment for several years.
Alexey filed an appeal with the Krasnodar Regional Court. This time the claims were satisfied.
The case reached the Supreme Court. The following decision was made: since the apartment is one-room, the plaintiff and defendant cannot live in it. The court also ordered to establish the procedure for the right to use the premises. In this case, the plaintiff has the right to payment of financial compensation in the amount of his share. The case was remanded to the Court of Appeal.
How to move into an apartment where you are registered? How to legally resolve the issue of moving in?
Most citizens, when faced with a locked door for the first time, turn to the local police officer. And this is absolutely the right thing to do. In some cases, law enforcement officers help to understand the situation. The local police officer will check your passport details, make sure that you are actually registered in the apartment, escort you to the apartment and try to resolve the situation. The district police officer will explain to your relatives and neighbors that citizens do not have the right to restrict access to the apartment to those who are registered in it.
Unfortunately, the district police officer cannot resolve any difficult situation. If he tries to do this, but does not get results or shows inaction to your problem, you will need to solve the problem differently - go to court to move into the apartment.
Let's sum it up
Regardless of the status (owner, tenant or registered person), if problems arise with access to housing, you must contact the police, and if this does not help, go to court. If the court satisfies the claims, then if the property rights of the owner are violated again, the perpetrators will suffer administrative or criminal punishment.
Yulia Gromovenko
Practicing lawyer. Graduate of the Department of Commercial Law and Fundamentals of Law, Faculty of Law, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Currently an expert author on legal websites. Author's page
They won't let me into the apartment, what should I do?
In the case where a citizen registered in an apartment is the owner of a share, other owners do not have the right not to allow him into the apartment, nor to limit his freedom of action.
If the rights of a citizen who has a share in residential premises are violated, it is necessary to contact law enforcement agencies and the court.
In the case where a citizen is registered in an apartment, but is not the owner and has no shares, the situation is completely different. Since a citizen who is not the owner of an apartment does not have the right to own and dispose of property, only to use it.
Previously, an example was given in which one citizen owned the 1st floor of a house, another – the 2nd floor. When a situation arises where the owner of the 1st floor does not allow another owner who owns the 2nd floor into the premises, citing the fact that the 1st floor is not the property of the latter, this is a direct violation of the law. Despite the fact that the owner of the 1st floor is one citizen, another can use it, since in this case the easement rule applies.
An easement is a limited right of use. This means that a citizen who owns the 2nd floor can pass through the 1st floor, since otherwise he cannot get into the part of the house that he owns.
In this case, the issue can be resolved both pre-trial and in court, everything depends on the desire and relationship of the parties.
General information about the rights and responsibilities of residents
The rights of residents of a municipal apartment are regulated by the Housing Code - Chapter 8, and are enshrined in an individual social tenancy agreement. As a rule, to resolve any controversial situation, the information and data contained in these two sources is sufficient.
Important! If you are not sure whether you have the right to perform a particular action, look at your social employment contract and read our recommendations below. The situation should become clearer.
If the situation is ambiguous, then the legal norms of the Civil Code, the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, and local administrative regulations are involved. But in this situation you cannot do without qualified legal assistance.
To become registered residents of municipal housing, the following facts are required:
- official registration at the place of residence - registration in the apartment;
- inclusion of the person specified in the social tenancy agreement as a family member.
Along with their rights, registered residents receive certain responsibilities, for violation of which liability is established. In addition, there is a certain list of actions that under no circumstances can be performed with municipal housing.
“Secret enemy”: what to do if you are not allowed home
Devices designed to protect the comfort and safety of citizens can sometimes get out of control, and then no one will think that the “rebellion of the machines” will be ruthless and merciless. Moreover, even such a seemingly simple, ingenuous and unpretentious device as an intercom can rebel.
For example, late in the evening or early in the morning you return home, dial the usual combination - and nothing happens. You, like most of your neighbors, have long since lost your magnetic key. You try to enter your code again, and the control panel responds with E-2. You are intrigued: either the intercom overheated and, imagining itself as Ostap Bender, decided to play chess with you, or is it a glitch. All that remains is to dial E-4, but this option is not technically available on the panel.
Alternatively, in a multi-entrance house with a common attic space, you can try to enter your entrance through the attic, entering it from the neighboring “left passages”, but this plan may also fail. For example, if the attics were reliably protected from strangers with new ingenious locks. Besides, it’s a matter of principle to understand what kind of game the intercom is playing and why it won’t let you home.
Still far from panicking, you begin to press all the buttons, naturally assuming some kind of technical failure. E-2, the intercom is having fun and winking at you with some mysterious formulas from extraterrestrial civilizations.
Meanwhile, you also begin to involuntarily wink with one eye, despondently contemplating the dark neighbors’ windows. If the neighbors are sleeping, the chances of waking them up and breaking into your apartment increase noticeably, but if they are not at home, they are useless, since they will not open the door for you from the inside, and upon returning, they will also be forced, whether they want it or not, to participate in the session playing simultaneously with a self-proclaimed grandmaster. And you all run the risk of cheerfully and fervently meeting the dawn, covered with frost and dancing in front of your own door without any chance of success. Neither the number of players nor their intelligence will affect the outcome of the game - everything is like in a lottery. The outcome is programmed, and not in your favor.
Here, starting to get noticeably angry, you call the appropriate services, explaining that the intercom won’t let you in. A local dispatcher calls you back and says that an electrician has been sent to help, but he has, in principle, already finished his working day, and it is not known whether he will reach you or not. You call the electrician, he says that he is completely powerless in this situation, just like the locksmith. In general, they are not chess players, the intercom company is responsible for the intercom, and the electrician also wanted to go home (which, more than ever, is close and understandable to you).
But the main thing is that no one is to blame - it turns out that your senior lady at the entrance, a very elderly lady, simply forgot to renew the contract with the intercom company, and therefore the keys, codes and passwords are no longer valid. When asked “what to do,” you will be advised to re-elect the senior person in the building, but what to do right now will remain a mystery.
You call your relatives - just to whine, they are angry and are going to call the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and so on. Some people want to come and break the intercom manually (which is fraught with danger); they demand an electrician “to come to the studio.” A neighbor from another entrance passes by and tries to help you and open the door with his own magnetic key (what if it works?), but to no avail. He doesn’t have a crowbar, but he does have “a mother who is the eldest on their block.” The neighbor retires to his place with the promise that in 5 minutes you will be rescued. The rescue process follows the same pattern - the neighbors call the dispatcher, who explains that he can send an electrician whose work day has ended, but even if it had not ended, you should not expect much help from him. We need to continue playing with the intercom - cards, chess, checkers, there is a lot of choice, and there is still enough time until the morning.
And then you randomly dial the phone number of your neighbors, who, to your delight, turn out to be not absent, but peacefully sleeping at home. Sleepy neighbors in pajamas come down and nobly let you inside, telling you that they already went through this during the day, that they don’t know what to do, but someone has to answer for it.
Already from home, having spent an hour in the cold and bleeding with cold snot, you “in a great mood” call the city services and vividly describe to them your unforgettable feelings. Who is to blame and what to do is not clear, since it seems that no one is to blame.
The senior officer in the area calls you back, a nice guy who, after listening to your story about E2, laughs fervently and explains: they, of course, could come and “chew through” the intercom, “but suddenly the next morning someone will take a picture of the whole thing and post it on the portal ?
This is true, and then they will be punished. On the other hand, living without an intercom, “come in whoever you want, take what you want,” is also somehow unpleasant. “Let everyone in, don’t let anyone out” is not an option, nor vice versa. “That’s it,” says the senior officer in the area, and it’s hard to disagree with him.
However, he advises placing something under the door to prevent it from closing (freezing the lower three floors with a draft) and posting a notice for residents of the entrance. Meanwhile, during your conversation, several more calls are being made to him in parallel. Obviously, the intercom has found new playmates and is having fun in E-2 with them, while they dance in the frosty night in front of a locked door and call the authorities.
As a result of all these ordeals, a plastic bottle is placed under the door. But what would happen if on Sunday evening all the neighbors were absent from home at once and returned only in the morning? It would probably be possible to get into the apartments only with the help of climbing equipment, through a drainpipe, falling on each other like icicles, and mentally calculating the counter move to the magic combination E-2.
Perhaps, in such cases, all residents should have some kind of emergency access code to the entrance. Or, if the intercom is broken for some technical reason, should it be turned off completely, so as not to create such difficulties for people?
Indeed, regardless of whether the contract with the intercom company has been extended or not, a static emergency access code is the solution to the problem, explains technical specialist Oleg Usachev. “Yes, technically this is possible, there are no unsolvable problems, and these combinations should be known to residents in advance. All intercoms have a code by default, which sometimes changes, it all depends on how the residents agreed, how they did it during installation. In addition, you can create some code and change it periodically. Another option, of course, is to call your neighbors, climb through a window (for example, once a girl climbed onto the third floor), call the Ministry of Emergency Situations. In the cold season, they must come and solve this problem, open the intercom with a crowbar. This is a last resort,” explains the expert.
But the simplest solution lies on the surface. “Modern intercoms open when there is no power. The electrician had to come, cut off the power to the whole house for a minute through the basement, go inside and then deal with the intercom,” explained Oleg Usachev.
Accordingly, if a given citizen’s working day was over, the authorized authorities had to call an emergency team and do all the simple combinations described above. There really are no unsolvable problems, but rather a combination of circumstances coupled with the “human factor”. This raises a rhetorical question: if humanity cannot overcome the intercom in 2021, what are its chances of surviving when faced with omnipotent artificial intelligence in the future?
