As it should be by law
The main standards on a given topic are set out in special federal law No. 1510 of 07/04/1991. In addition to the basic principles, restrictions are listed. In particular, only adult residents with permanent registration are allowed to privatize an apartment. However, there is no prohibition on the gratuitous transfer of state real estate to private individuals due to debt. There are no similar obstacles in the rules for registering real estate (Federal Law No. 218 of July 15, 2015).
Nevertheless, according to the current Housing Code (Article 83, paragraph 4, paragraph 1), the municipality has the right to apply to the courts with a request to terminate the social contract. This collection of regulations states the obligation of residents to pay rent for:
- consumed energy and other resources;
- public utilities.
An exception is made only for major repairs. However, other positions are quite enough to accumulate significant debt. In this case, what matters is not the total amount, but the fact that there have been no regular payments for the last 6 months.
For your information! The law allows you to privatize an apartment with debts, but in practice you may encounter administrative refusals.
Privatization concept
The free transfer of municipal (state) real estate to private individuals is called “privatization.”
The advantages of re-registration of property are as follows:
- Gaining the right to freely dispose of property.
- Minimal risk of losing your home due to utility debts.
- Possibility of redevelopment of the premises.
The disadvantage is the need to invest in maintaining the apartment and pay taxes.
The transfer of ownership is distinguished by the principle of voluntariness. If a citizen does not want to re-register his living space, it is impossible to force him. In this case, a written refusal of any family member to participate in the procedure will be required.
How it happens in practice
Based on the data presented, two conclusions can be drawn:
- an apartment with a debt can be privatized legally;
- The municipality is able to apply specific enforcement measures only by appropriate decision of the courts.
However, in practice, obstacles arise during the procedure for transferring real estate into private ownership. In order to force the tenant to repay the debt, management company employees do not issue certificates of registered tenants. Responsible employees of the local administration refuse to accept documents for the privatization of real estate with rent arrears. Below are ways to solve the identified problems.
They do not issue a certificate to the Criminal Code
To privatize an apartment (with or without debts), they provide a personal account and an extract on family composition. To obtain these documents, the responsible tenant contacts the office of the management company.
If the responsible employee refuses to issue certificates, you should refer to a gross violation of the following Federal Laws (both dated July 27, 2006):
- 149 (art. 8);
- 152 (vv. 14, 20).
In some situations, negotiations with the head of the relevant organization will ensure a positive result. If a “peaceful” solution to the problem is impossible, they contact the prosecutor’s office (housing inspectorate) on the basis of the rules of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Article 19.1 - arbitrariness).
For your information! Sometimes you can complain about the Criminal Code online - through the website of the housing inspectorate or the prosecutor's office.
Administration is denied
You can appeal the decision of local executive bodies in the courts. The statement of claim must be filed no later than three months from the date of receipt of the relevant refusal. Officials make a refusal to privatize an apartment with debts in accordance with current regulations in writing, with the obligatory indication of the reasons.
Having studied this data, they make an appeal to the court. If debts are noted as the reason, a positive decision in favor of the plaintiff can be obtained within 1-2 months. It, along with the necessary accompanying documents, is transferred to the Rosreestr branch for re-registration of ownership to a private owner.
The consideration of the case may take 5-6 months or more. It is possible that counterclaims will arise with demands for payment of debts. To eliminate unnecessary risks, you must carefully prepare convincing evidence that you are right. In difficult situations, you can only privatize an apartment with a debt with the help of an experienced lawyer.
Attention! Download the court claim form.
They threaten to terminate the social rent agreement
Termination of a social tenancy agreement with relocation and other compulsory actions is permissible only by court decision. During the proceedings, the following are taken into account:
- loss of employment, other objective reasons for temporary deterioration in financial situation;
- compliance of the apartment proposed for relocation with current housing standards;
- presence of dependents and minor children in the family.
The municipality has the right to claim only debts for the last three years. Additionally, court costs, fines and penalties may be charged.
Conclusion! If employees threaten to terminate the employment contract “as early as tomorrow,” you need to remember that if there is a large debt, this is only possible through the court.
Privatization in the presence of debt on utility bills
Under the terms of social rent, citizens are required to pay housing and communal services on time. The existence of debt for housing and communal services does not deprive the tenant of the right to register ownership of the premises.
Russian legislation does not directly prohibit the transfer of municipal property due to debt. Privatization of an apartment with rent arrears begins with the preparation of documents.
You may also be interested in how to cancel your utilities.
List of papers for registration
The basic list of documents that are required when registering housing ownership includes many different certificates and certificates.
The following must be attached to the privatization application:
- a copy of the main tenant's passport;
- social tenancy agreement or order;
- a certificate from the passport office about persons officially registered in the apartment;
- copies of identification cards of all residents (including those temporarily absent for any reason);
- a certificate from the BTI containing the characteristics of the premises;
- an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate (F.3) for each participant in the transaction regarding the presence (absence) of other real estate;
- a certificate stating that the right to privatization has not been used previously;
- an extract from the personal account indicating the amount of debt for utility bills.
The list of documents for registration of living space is the same for all categories of citizens. Rosreestr issues cadastral extracts subject to payment of state fees. When ordering certificates from the BTI and the passport office, people who have debts for housing and communal services often have problems.
Refusal to process documents due to debts
Privatization of an apartment with any debts on utility bills is carried out on the basis of an application. In the absence of the necessary documents, the authorities refuse to transfer the property to the applicant free of charge.
A certificate of family composition (form 9) is required in the list of annexes to the application. Before issuing a document, employees of the management company or passport office require payment of utility debts.
Legality of refusal
Article 67 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (clause 5) obliges the tenant to pay fees for maintenance of residential premises on time.
Formally, debt to pay for utilities is not considered an obstacle to the transfer of municipal housing into private ownership. The reason for refusal is the lack of required documents.
In many cases, issuing a certificate in exchange for debt repayment is the only way to obtain payment for housing and communal services. The legislation regards refusal of a request for information as arbitrariness (Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
If the applicant is denied a document, a written justification for the refusal must be required. An official response is necessary to further protect the employer's right to privatization.
Ways to solve the problem
There are several ways to obtain ownership of an apartment with debts. The choice of option largely depends on the accumulated amount.
The practice of registering privatization through the MFC (as opposed to self-preparation) shows that in most cases no problems arise. Employees of the multifunctional center, at the request of citizens, send requests for information. The management company is obliged to send a response to the official request, regardless of the presence of utility debts of the residents.
Debt repayment
The fastest and easiest way is to pay off debts before starting the privatization procedure. If the amount is too large, you can contact the management company with a request for installment payments.
In most cases, service organizations meet debtors halfway by offering to sign a debt restructuring agreement. The document indicates the payment period and the amount that the applicant undertakes to pay.
After concluding the agreement, the citizen receives a certificate and a copy of the agreement to present to the housing department.
One option to pay off the debt may be to sell the apartment. To do this, the debtor agrees with the buyer on the delivery of a deposit, which is used for utility payments. After privatization is completed, the purchase and sale transaction is registered in the territorial division of Rosreestr. The debtor can spend the remaining funds on purchasing a smaller apartment.
Complaint to the prosecutor's office
An effective way to protect violated rights is to contact the prosecutor's office. In case of refusal to issue certificates or to accept an application for privatization, a complaint about arbitrariness should be filed.
A complaint form is available.
The appeal to the prosecutor's office contains:
- name of the body;
- applicant details;
- information about violations;
- please sort out the problem.
The arguments of the complaint are supported by the written response of the officials. Within 30 days, employees of the prosecutor's office conduct an investigation into the application. If the fact of arbitrariness is confirmed, the guilty person will be brought to administrative responsibility (Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
The law allows you to appeal the behavior of the management company only once. If the prosecutor's office does not find any violations in the actions of the employees, the citizen should solve the problem of registering privatization in court.
Challenging a refusal in court
After receiving a response from the prosecutor's office, the debtor has the right to apply to the court to protect his interests. An appeal to the judicial authorities is formalized in accordance with the requirements of civil legislation (Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
The sample claim statement contains:
- Name and address of the court.
- Personal data of the plaintiff (last name, first name, patronymic, address, contact information).
- Data of the defendant (information about a legal entity or official).
- Brief statement of the problem.
- Links to regulations (law “On privatization of housing stock”).
- Requirement to transfer ownership of the apartment.
A claim form for recognition of the right to privatize residential premises is available.
Along with the claim, documents confirming the applicant’s arguments are submitted to the court.
The complaint is considered in the district court at the plaintiff’s place of residence. The total duration of the proceedings is 2 months. When filing a claim, you must pay a state fee (300 rubles).
After receiving a court order forcing the transfer of the apartment, you can continue with the registration. However, privatization does not solve the problem of debt repayment. After registering ownership, the owner is obliged to pay utility bills.
The debt is large, but there is nothing to pay
How to privatize an apartment in a difficult financial situation is decided after carefully checking several important factors. They start by clarifying the size of the debt. The maximum period for filing a claim for debt repayment is 3 years - the management company will not be able to collect older debts even through the court.
If there is still a risk of debt collection through the court, and the amount is significant, you can achieve through negotiations with the management company:
- deferred payment;
- distribution of payments in small amounts over a long period of time;
- writing off part of the debt;
- settlement after the sale of privatized housing.
Agreements are made in writing. If necessary, with notarization. After reaching a consensus, you can privatize the apartment with debts according to the standard scheme. Of course, we should not forget about fulfilling the agreed obligations.
Large debt can be paid off with consumer lending. It should be understood that such programs have higher interest rates. In this situation, it will not be possible to register real estate as collateral as security for the repayment of the loan received. It is necessary to evaluate objectively other types of guarantees:
- level of regular income;
- use of guarantors;
- attracting co-borrowers.
Attention! It is not recommended to contact microfinance organizations - there is a risk of multiplying the debt due to the high interest rate. It is better to get a loan from a bank.
The procedure for privatizing an apartment with debts
You can privatize an apartment using the standard algorithm:
- clarify the opinions of other owners on the implementation of privatization, formalize consents/refusals;
- receive O&P permission if there are minor children registered at this address;
- collect supporting documents;
- contact the relevant department of the local administration;
- after a positive decision, a privatization agreement is signed;
- if they refuse, they act according to the methods discussed above (they go to court, the prosecutor’s office);
- complete the procedure by registering property rights in Rosreestr.
List of required documents
To carry out privatization you need to prepare:
- participants' passports;
- refusals of other residents;
- consent of the OiP (if the child refuses);
- technical passport (extract from Rosreestr) with data on the technical parameters of the property;
- order, social rental agreement;
- confirmation of the absence of debts;
- information about registered residents.
Important! Download the privatization application form.
Contacting the administration
In order to privatize an apartment with debts without unnecessary problems, they check the composition and condition of the accompanying documentation in advance. If necessary, old originals are restored using archival data. It is preferable for all interested persons with identification documents to be present in person at the time of application.
For your information! When privatizing an apartment, we must not forget about temporarily absent residents. They have the right to a corresponding share of the real estate.
According to current regulations, the administration must give a positive (negative) answer no later than 60 days after completing the application for privatization.
Registration in the Unified State Register of Real Estate
The received positive decision of the municipality is the basis for concluding an agreement on the transfer of state property to private owners. The signed agreement along with the application is sent to the MFC office. The state duty is the same in any case - 2,000 rubles. Registration speed (working days, maximum):
- 7 – “Rosreestr”;
- 10 – MFC;
- 3 – through a notary.
An application for registration will be filled out by an employee at the reception at the MFC. There is no need to fill out anything in advance.
