How is an apartment seized, and in what cases can it be imposed?

iQ Review Independent journalism

05/23/2017 at 00:49 5 min. 2159

According to statistics, among the 146.5 million population of the Russian Federation, more than 10% (about 16 million) live below the poverty line. In fact, there are many more people who can barely make ends meet.

The low standard of living of a large number of citizens leads to the formation of debts among low-income families. One of the measures to influence debtors is to seize the apartment for debts. Below IQReview will figure out what it is.

What does seizure of an apartment mean?
For what reasons is it imposed?
Who has the right to impose it?
How to find out if an apartment has been seized?
How is the procedure performed? Share restrictions

Exceptions to the rules: in what cases cannot an arrest be made?

Can a home be seized if there is no money to pay the loan? (video)

When and how is the imposed restriction lifted?

General information about the seizure of real estate

Art. will help you figure out if an apartment is seized, what this means. 80 (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 229). As a general rule, arrest as an encumbrance on real estate is a prohibition on the disposal of property.

Administrative rights are the basis of property rights, allowing the owner to legally alienate real estate. Arrest is, first of all, a restriction of the owner’s administrative rights.

When an apartment is under arrest, it cannot be sold, donated, mortgaged, pledged or otherwise alienated. Seized real estate is “blocked” by entering information about the arrest into the Unified State Register of Real Estate, as a result of which, when trying to transfer rights to real estate to third parties, applicants receive a refusal from the registrar.

This measure makes it possible to ensure the obligations incurred by the owner and exclude the sale of real estate. Subsequently, if the obligation is not fulfilled or the debt is not repaid, the housing will be foreclosed on.

If there is a risk of loss or damage to property, a lien on a house may also include a ban on use through seizure of the property.

Such measures are exceptional and are applied only in cases where the property is inevitably foreclosed on - it is subject to inventory and sale at public auction.

Read more about the essence of a seizure and related encumbrances on real estate in the material “What is a seizure of real estate.”

The concept of property seizure

The meaning of property seizure, used in tax relations, is to carry out a set of actions by tax and other competent authorities that limit property rights to property owned by the debtor-taxpayer.

The concept of arrest is established by the provisions of Art. 77 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. One of the important points is the lack of authority of the tax office to seize the property of individuals. Clause 4 art. 77 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of seizing both the taxpayer’s property in its entirety and some part of it.

According to the provisions of paragraph 5 of this article, only the property that will ensure the fulfillment of the obligation related to the payment of taxes can be seized.

How to find out if there is an arrest

When an apartment is subject to arrest by bailiffs, information about this must be entered into the Unified State Register of Real Estate - otherwise the arrest simply will not take effect. At the same time, the owner is sent a decree/ruling on the seizure, from which he can learn about the restrictions imposed.

Other interested parties, for example, real estate buyers, can also obtain information about existing arrests. Since the Unified State Register is a public register, anyone can request information from it.

To receive an extract from the Unified State Register indicating information about arrests, the applicant can contact:

at place of residence;
to the local multipurpose center;
to the Rosreestr website via a special .

Depending on the type of extract and the form of its provision, the cost of the service ranges from 300 rubles.

Read more in the article “How to find out if an apartment has been seized.”

Resolution to cancel the arrest

If the seizure of property is lifted, the decision on this must be canceled by an authorized official of the tax or customs authority. This decision is based on the termination of a person’s obligation to pay taxes or fines.

The arrest is also canceled if an agreement on the pledge of property is concluded (the provision of Article 73 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The decision that the arrest is canceled must be drawn up in accordance with the form established by Appendix No. 11 to the order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 3, 2012.

The issued Resolution must be sent within 3 days to the prosecutor's office, which authorized the seizure of the property.

It is also the duty of the tax authority to notify the taxpayer about this within 5 working days after the relevant decision was made.

Who seizes real estate

It's time to list who can seize the apartment. Only courts and bailiffs have the power to seize real estate.

In accordance with , arrest is one of the measures to secure a claim. Interim measures are taken by the court at the request of interested parties, if there is reason to believe that failure to take such measures will complicate or prevent the execution of the proposed judicial act.

Thus, a court ruling to seize the defendant’s apartment can be made even before the case is considered. The issue is considered on the day the petition is received by the court, without the presence of the parties and their notification of the meeting.

These measures, as a rule, are taken in proportion to the value of the unfulfilled obligation and the real estate. However, this interim measure can be appealed and a petition to lift the arrest.

The court ruling is executed by the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP).

If the question arises of how to seize an apartment without a trial, you need to know that this is only possible at the stage of enforcement proceedings. After the decision is made, a writ of execution is issued and sent to the bailiffs. They, in turn, open enforcement proceedings and, in order to enforce the decision, can seize any property of the debtor.

Whether a bailiff can seize an apartment depends on the size of the debt and the cost of housing. Thus, in accordance with paragraph 41 of November 17, 2015, the arrest is disproportionate if the amount of the obligation under the writ of execution is significantly lower than the value of the property being seized. But if the debtor has not provided evidence of the presence of other property, the arrest can be considered legal and proportionate.

So, in order to understand whether bailiffs have the right to seize an apartment, it is important to know the amount of debt. Arrest is unacceptable if the amount of debt is below 3 thousand rubles. But even if it is significantly higher, the issue of proportionality must first be resolved.

The situation is aggravated by the statement of the claimant, who has the right to demand the seizure of real estate in order to preserve liquid property. However, if it is disproportionate, the bailiff may refuse.

When will the arrest be lifted?

If the buyer or seller learned about the seizure only during the execution of the contract, there is no need to immediately abandon the transaction. First, you need to understand the reasons for imposing the restriction (sometimes the process of lifting the ban will simply be delayed).

Often its cancellation does not pose any particular problems, but while the process of lifting the ban on real estate is underway, it is better to submit an application to the Federal Reserve System/MFC to suspend the registration. actions indicating the grounds and time for which they need to be suspended. Then you won’t have to re-collect documents that have a certain validity period.

The seizure will be lifted from the residential premises only after the grounds for its imposition are eliminated:

That is, if an apartment was seized for debts, then the entire debt must first be paid.
If, as determined by the court, then take measures to resolve the issue that caused the proceedings.
After eliminating the reasons, you need to contact the authority that initiated its imposition: if the apartment was seized by the court, then an application to cancel the seizure should be sent to the same court,
if she was arrested by bailiffs, then to the appropriate department of the FSSP.

Simultaneous arrest by both the court and the bailiff

There are cases when a bank collects a loan debt in court, while simultaneously filing a petition to seize the premises as security for the claim. The bailiff, who received the writ of execution for debt collection, seized the bank at the request of the bank. A situation arises when two prohibitions hang on one premises:

one imposed by the court
the other is a bailiff.

After the FSSP implementation procedure, the real estate is sold. The new owner, when registering the apartment as his own, immediately faces the problem of removing all restrictions. To do this, he needs to write an application to lift the ban to both the court and the bailiff. Only after confirmation of the removal of encumbrances from the apartment can you submit documents to the Federal Reserve System or the MFC to register the real estate for the new owner.

The court informs the Federal Reserve System about the lifting of the arrest on the day the ruling is made.
Bailiff - no later than three days after the decision is made.

It is extremely unpleasant to submit documents to purchase real estate, transfer part of the funds to the seller, and, mentally already being the owner of the apartment, to find out that the living space has been seized.

To avoid such situations, the buyer and seller should check whether the apartment is under arrest by requesting an extract from the Federal Reserve System (how to obtain it was discussed above), and the seller can also contact the bailiffs.

Grounds for seizure

Now let's figure out in what cases an apartment is seized. As we have already said, we are almost always talking about property and financial penalties arising from non-payment of debts, periodic or mandatory payments, and so on.

The range of forms and types of such obligations is huge: we can talk about debts for utilities, and debts for mortgages, alimony and even taxes. We invite you to discuss in more detail why your apartment may be seized.

Arrest and utility debt

The owner of a residential premises is obliged to bear the costs of its maintenance, in particular, to pay for utilities. Since utility costs do not seem so impressive, citizens often ignore their responsibility, which is why they accumulate debt amounting to tens of thousands of rubles. In the future, such residents will face seizure of their apartment for utility debts.

Delay in even minor monthly payments can lead to a restriction of administrative rights, because throughout the entire period of non-payment the amount of debt is added up.

In addition, according to paragraph 14 of Art. 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, starting from the second month of delay, a penalty is imposed on the amount of debt, the amount of which increases as the debt increases:

1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate for the 2nd and 3rd month of delay;
1/130 of the Central Bank refinancing rate, starting from the 4th month.

When the amount of debt reaches significant amounts, municipal institutions file a lawsuit to collect housing and communal services debts. In this case, the amount of legal costs will be added to the amount of debt and penalties.

After making a decision, the court will submit a writ of execution to the FSSP to collect the debt. If, when filing it, they simultaneously request the seizure of the debtor’s property, the apartment will be seized as a measure of enforcement.

If the debt accumulates, the debtor may be evicted from the apartment, and the apartment itself may be sold to pay off the debt.

Important: all residents of the apartment are collectively responsible for utility debts, and therefore their property may also be seized.

Alimony debts

Another reason for which an apartment can be seized is alimony debts. Seizure of property is probably the mildest measure to enforce alimony obligations: if payments are delayed by several months, the defaulter will be brought to administrative and then criminal liability. This is an extreme measure: usually, encumbering the property is enough to force repayment of the debt.

In order for an apartment to be seized for alimony, the following conditions must be met:

alimony must be collected under an alimony agreement, writ of execution or court order;
the writ of execution must be subject to compulsory execution in the FSSP division;
the amount of debt must exceed 3 thousand rubles;
the claimant filed a petition to encumber the real estate or all property of the debtor.

Arrest is not the only measure of forced collection of alimony. The debtor may also be prohibited from leaving the country, prohibited from using a driver’s and other special licenses, and so on.

Loan debts

For those who are wondering whether an apartment can be seized for non-payment of a loan, we answer: they can and, most likely, they will. Debts to financial organizations account for the lion's share of all enforcement proceedings. Any overdue loan can serve as the basis for the seizure of not only housing, but also all other property.

The dangers of debt to banks are:

The amount of debts giving the right to foreclosure.
Decisive actions of banks in debt collection.

As a rule, a lien on an apartment for non-payment of a loan is imposed at the stage of judicial review - banks require it as a measure to secure the claim and the courts do not refuse them.

Compensation for damage caused by a crime

A claim for compensation for damage caused by a crime is one of the forms of protecting the rights of victims and another case when an apartment is seized. Victims have the right to file such a claim if there is reason to believe that the harm was caused by this particular crime (Article 44 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation). We are talking about damage caused to the property of the victims or their health.

If the civil claim is satisfied and such financial liability is assigned, the plaintiff-victim will receive a writ of execution, which is sent to the territorial division of the FSSP at the place of residence / location of the property of the offender. In the process of executing the decision, the bailiffs will apply enforcement measures.

If the amount of compensation for damage turns out to be significant, the bailiffs may arrest and even seize the accused’s home for sale at public auction.

However, in such a situation, it is possible for the apartment to be seized by bailiffs on the basis of a court decision made in the framework of a criminal case.

In a criminal case

In accordance with Art. 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, the legislator allows the seizure of a suspect’s property, including real estate, as part of a criminal case. Such arrest is usually imposed for the following purposes:

ensuring the execution of the civil claim of the victim;
collection of a fine or other property penalties from the suspect, if they are provided for by the sanction of the charged article;
confiscation of property, if the measure is provided for by the sanction of the article.

The court makes such a decision based on a petition from an investigator or interrogating officer in order to guarantee the protection of the rights of victims and not allow the suspect to get rid of property in respect of which material claims may be made. The court must justify this decision with specific circumstances, indicating the extent of the restrictions imposed.

In addition, the law allows for the seizure of property owned by third parties if there is reason to believe that it was obtained as a result of the criminal actions of the accused.

In each case, a protocol is drawn up for the procedural registration of the arrest of the accused’s real estate. If necessary, seizure may include the seizure and transfer of items for storage to third parties.

Seizure and tax debts, fines and other obligations

The question of whether bailiffs can seize an apartment for debts on taxes, fees and other obligatory payments is also of considerable interest. Tax debts, penalties accrued on them, arrears and other penalties are also collected through claims and then enforcement proceedings. Therefore, the tax authority interested in collection has the right to make a demand to seize the property of the taxpayer-debtor:

as a measure to secure a claim;
as a measure of enforcement of a court decision.

We remind you that from the moment of seizure of the debtor’s property for taxes and fees, in accordance with clause 6, penalties for such debts cease to accrue.

If the property is subject to sale to pay off debts, tax and customs officials cannot participate in auctions and purchase such property.

Spouse's debts and share seizure

The above-described grounds for seizing an apartment are the most common, but this list cannot be called complete. A citizen’s home can be seized due to the spouse’s debts, because everything acquired during marriage is common property, regardless of who it is registered in the name of.

Lenders sometimes take advantage of this. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 45, if his personal property is not enough to repay a citizen’s debt, creditors have the right to demand the allocation of his share in the common marital property.

Thus, if the apartment is in common ownership, but is registered in the name of only one spouse, creditors may demand the transfer of half of the property to the debtor spouse for the purpose of its further arrest and foreclosure.

Rights of the debtor and claimant when property is seized by bailiffs

The collector can participate in on-site enforcement actions when inspecting the debtor’s belongings and objects. The bailiff must be informed about this in advance. If you disagree with the actions of the FSSP employee, the claimant can file a complaint. For example, if the bailiff did not include expensive jewelry in the inventory without justifying the reasons, you can appeal his actions.

The debtor can also defend his interests when drawing up an inventory and seizing:

you can indicate which things and objects should be included in the inventory in order to ensure the execution of a judicial act (the bailiff has the right, but is not obligated, to satisfy such a request);
it is possible to appeal against the seizure of the debtor's property through a higher bailiff or in court;
You can request the consent of a FSSP employee to sell property if the interests of the claimant are met (for example, if the money from the sale immediately goes to the FSSP deposit).

After drawing up the inventory, the debtor can contact the FSSP and ask to replace some items with others. If they are of equal value, the bailiff usually meets halfway and makes changes to the act.

How to find out and check whether there is an arrest

Information about property seizures is not posted in the Bank of Enforcement Proceedings on the FSSP website. You can get the following information:

at a personal appointment at the FSSP or upon written request;
according to an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, which can be requested from Rosreestr, through the MFC or the State Services website for all real estate encumbrances;
to the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate regarding the ban on registration of vehicles.

You can find out whether accounts and deposits have been frozen directly at the bank branch, through online banking systems.

Seizure procedure

As we learned, the procedure for seizing housing is possible through the court and through the FSSP. First, we will discuss how to seize an apartment through the court.

Since judicial seizure is permissible as a measure to secure a claim, it can be initiated simultaneously with the filing of an application for debt collection, justifying the request for seizure by the need to preserve the debtor’s liquid property.

It is important to prove the need for interim measures, since clause 2 of Art. 139 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows seizure of an apartment in order to secure a claim only when its absence will complicate or exclude the possibility of execution of the decision.

Such arrest is imposed in the following order:

The applicant-plaintiff, on the main claim, submits a request for seizure as an interim measure at the location of the debtor / his property, or at his place of residence.
The judge considers the petition on the day it is filed without notifying the parties.
If the court has seized the apartment on account of the claim, an appropriate ruling is issued, on the basis of which a writ of execution is issued for the FSSP. The defendant receives a copy of the ruling (Article 142 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Having received the writ of execution, the FSSP unit immediately carries it out: it opens enforcement proceedings, issues a decree on seizure, and sends it to the registration authorities.
If the claim on the main claim is satisfied, the arrest remains in effect until the decision is executed. If the claim is denied, the arrest is valid only until the decision comes into force (clause 3 of Article 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

The second option for seizure is within the framework of enforcement proceedings. Since the FSSP is authorized to conduct it, only bailiffs have the right to seize the property of debtors and issue a ban on registration actions with real estate. This is done in the following order:

The claimant sends to the FSSP at the place of residence/location of the debtor's property a writ of execution and an application to open proceedings. Application, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 30 Federal Law No. 229, may contain a request for seizure.
If such a request was not included in the application, it can be submitted at any time after opening. In addition, the bailiff can impose an arrest on his own initiative.
Having received the petition, the bailiff considers the feasibility of the seizure and its proportionality to the stated requirements. If the measure is appropriate and the value of the property is commensurate with the obligations, the bailiff issues a decision to seize the property. The resolution determines the type, scope and period of restriction of rights.
Copies of the resolution, in accordance with paragraph 7 of Art. 80 Federal Law No. 229, are sent to the parties to the proceedings and other interested parties no later than the next day.
Within three days, the resolution is sent electronically to Rosreestr.
From the moment the resolution is received by Rosreestr, the registrar has 3 days to enter information about the arrest into the Unified State Register of Real Estate (Clause 8, Clause 1, Article 16 of Federal Law No. 218 of July 13, 2015).

Appealing the seizure of real estate in the courts

Appealing against arrest is an inalienable right of the debtor (Part 1 of Article 441 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The bailiff is obliged to comply with the law and not violate the following points:

The presence of bailiffs is allowed only in housing owned by the debtor.
Inventory of housing and confiscation are permitted only with the written permission of a superior bailiff.
Enforcement actions are not permitted at night or on weekends.

Violation of the above points serves as a reason for appealing the actions of the perpetrators and illegal arrest on the basis of Art. 442 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Cases when seizure of real estate is impossible

As mentioned above, the law requires compliance with the principle of proportionality of the arrest to the obligations imposed on the debtor. Simply put, the bailiff cannot seize if:

the cost of the apartment is significantly higher than the amount of debt;
the debtor has other property that may be foreclosed on.

At the same time, such an arrest is permissible if there is no other liquid property and the debtor does not seek to fulfill the obligation (clause 41 of 11/17/15).

In addition, the seizure of an apartment for the purpose of foreclosure is unacceptable when the property is the only suitable housing for the debtor (Article 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure). If the arrest is imposed as an interim measure, it is quite possible (from 01/11/16).

Details are contained in the material “The Debtor’s Only Housing.”

How to check property for arrest?

Today, in the age of the developed Internet, any information can be found without leaving your own home. Information about the seizure of property is also quite easy to find out.

So, how can you find out if your property has been seized? There are several ways:

On the websites of district or magistrates' courts . They are required to post all decisions on pending cases on their official websites. In order to find out about the seizure of property, you only need to enter your full name, after which all cases and decisions on them will appear on the website for review.
Website of the Federal Bailiff Service . This is a unified database of open enforcement proceedings. To obtain information about the arrest, you will need to enter the debtor's information. The website will even indicate the specific bailiff who is involved in this enforcement proceeding.
Rosreestr website . If there is a question about the seizure of real estate, then for such information you need to go to the Rosreestr website. There you can order an extract online, which will indicate all arrests and transfers of ownership.
Traffic police website . If it is established that movable property - a car - has been seized, such information is issued by the traffic police. Their website also has an online service for providing this information.

Seizure of an apartment share

Due to the fact that real estate is sometimes in shared ownership, the question of whether the share in the apartment belonging to the debtor is subject to arrest is subject to arrest. If an apartment is donated/purchased/privatized for two owners, each of them owns half of the ownership rights to the housing. If, for example, a loan is not repaid, the debtor’s share may well be seized.

Whether bailiffs can seize a share in an apartment depends on the size of the debt. If it is commensurate with half (or another share) of the value of the property or the debtor has no other liquid property, the arrest seems completely legal.

In practice, even in this case, foreclosure on ½ or another share rarely produces results. If the share is put up for auction, there is unlikely to be a buyer for it, since such real estate, as a rule, is not in demand.

The arrest of a share in the debtor's apartment by bailiffs is carried out according to the same rules as the arrest of an entire object: a decree is drawn up and sent to Rosreestr within the established time frame.

Exceptions to the rules: in what cases cannot an arrest be made?

The law contains a list of conditions under which the debtor’s living space cannot be seized:

If this home is your only place of residence.
If the price of the object is much greater than the amount of debt (if the amount of debt is up to 100 thousand rubles).

Important clarification: these restrictions only apply to seizures carried out for the purpose of selling real estate. That is, the court does not have the right to seize and sell housing in the cases listed above. But it can prohibit the owner from performing any actions with it (selling, renting, and so on). Also, restrictions do not apply to the debtor’s property located in the apartment - it can be described and collected against the debt.

Can a home be seized if there is no money to pay the loan? (video)

Grounds for lifting arrest

Regardless of the grounds and procedure for the seizure, it must remain in effect until the obligation is fulfilled.

If the arrest was imposed by the court, then cancel it, in accordance with Art. 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure, can only be done by the court at the request of an interested person. If the encumbrance is imposed by a bailiff, it can be canceled either by the bailiff in the event of final fulfillment of the obligation, or by the court - if the actions of seizure are appealed.

The grounds for canceling or lifting the arrest can be considered:

full execution of the court decision and repayment of debt;
reversal of a court decision or refusal of a claim in relation to arrests imposed by the court as an interim measure;
appealing the bailiff's decision to seize as illegal.

More about this in the publication “How to remove a seizure from an apartment imposed by bailiffs.”

Reasons for seizing housing

A ban on the disposal of an apartment is used as a preventive measure against its alienation by the owner, when there are good reasons to believe that the housing will not be retained by the violating owner. Seizure is applied by government authorities if the owner of the property does not fulfill obligations to individuals or legal entities.

Let's consider situations in which reasons for seizure arise:

The owner's large debt on credit obligations may lead to the seizure of valuable property, including real estate, in the interests of banking institutions, to ensure future repayment of the debt.
If there are disputes between citizens regarding the division of an apartment , which is part of the inheritance estate, at the request of a notary, the apartment may become subject to a ban on alienation.
When mortgaging an apartment to a pawnshop, its safety can be guaranteed by seizure until the borrower pays off financial debts.
The court has the right to seize housing to secure a statement of claim when there are suspicions about the preservation of property rights of the current owner-defendant.
The bailiff service applies restrictions on apartments both on the basis of a judge’s writ of execution , and during the enforcement case independently to ensure payments for loans, alimony payments, fines, and compensation for damage caused.
Utility debt.
Compensation for material damage caused by the owner of housing to citizens or legal entities.
Overdue arrears when repaying tax payments.

An apartment may be seized only in strict accordance with the law and only with documentary evidence of the grounds for applying such a restrictive measure.

Documents for lifting arrest

If the arrest was imposed by the bailiffs, then they must independently remove it upon termination of enforcement proceedings (Article 44 of Federal Law No. 229) or upon its completion in connection with actual execution. But since this almost never happens, the interested party must independently initiate the procedure for lifting the arrest.

The debtor will need to provide:

a petition for the removal of encumbrances, a private complaint (if measures to secure a claim are being appealed) or a statement of claim (in the case of appealing a bailiff’s decision);
a copy of the identification document;
document confirming repayment of the debt: letter from the creditor/collector, payment receipt, other document;
a receipt for payment of the state duty if the arrest is lifted through the court.

Under what conditions can an arrest be lifted?

The FSSP officer in charge of the case is obliged to cancel the arrest and bans on registration actions himself if the debtor has fully paid off the debtor. A decision is made on this, which is sent to the parties to the proceedings within 1 day.

How to remove an arrest in other ways:

You can provide other replacement property if it is of equal value;
you can appeal the decision and act if they were drawn up with violations;
You can declare yourself bankrupt and write off your debts.

After initiating a bankruptcy case, the bailiff is obliged to remove the seizure from all objects, things and items of the debtor.

If they are subject to sale, the property manager will dispose of the property. He will evaluate and put the assets up for auction.

If the property is not subject to sale, it is not included by the manager in the inventory and will not be put up for auction. Since the seizure of these assets will be lifted, the debtor will be able to dispose of them at his own discretion.

Our lawyers will provide assistance in lifting the arrest, going through bankruptcy and writing off debts.

We will write off debts and remove the seizure of property with a guarantee

A lawyer will call you back in 1 minute and provide advice. It's free.

Difficulties of the arrest procedure

Since arrest is a restriction in the interests of third parties, its imposition is associated with various difficulties, including procedural ones, that arise for property owners who are not related to the debts of the former owner. So, they are interested in whether an apartment that was sold a long time ago can be seized if the seller has large debts. The answer is simple: they cannot, unless the object was acquired through criminal means.

In general cases, arrest is imposed only on the debtor’s property, unless it is a seizure in the framework of criminal proceedings. The fact is that clause 3 of Art. 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the court to seize the property of third parties if it was acquired by the accused/suspect as a result of criminal acts. Unsuspecting owners may lose their home due to the actions of the seller.

Another difficulty is associated with collecting debts from the debtor if the housing is still under construction, for example, under an equity participation agreement. Before the object is put into operation, the apartment is not considered real estate, so it is impossible to seize apartments in a building under construction.

If the debtor has no other property, there is nothing to foreclose on. And knowing about the lender’s intentions, the debtor can easily get rid of the apartment before it is put into operation.

Another difficulty is the sequential imposition of several arrests in the interests of several collectors at once. In this situation, the future acquirer will have problems removing multiple encumbrances, especially if they were imposed by both the court and the FSSP.

In addition, difficulties associated with the arrest may affect the rights of third parties who are co-owners of the seized property. They will have many difficulties with the sale of this property.

What is an apartment under arrest

The concept of seizure of an apartment is that a ban is imposed on transactions with it. The reason for this is the debt of the property owner for utility bills, bank loans, seizure of property as collateral or other violations.

The ban is imposed in order to limit the violator’s right to dispose of the apartment until debts are repaid or the issues that served as the basis for the arrest are resolved. The owner of seized square meters cannot perform legally significant actions to transfer ownership of them (Part 4 of Article 80 of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”).

For example, the restriction applies to transactions on:

exchange;
purchase and sale;
inclusion of property in the will;
using an apartment as collateral;
rental.

The arrest acts as a strict restriction for the owner of the apartment, but its imposition does not prevent further residence and use of the property.

Purchase and sale of seized housing

In practice, there are many debtors who wonder whether it is possible to sell a seized apartment. Even from a theoretical point of view, such a transaction is impossible: the arrest limits the administrative rights of the owner and prohibits him from conducting any transactions for the alienation of property. The presence of information about the arrest in the Unified State Register is the basis for refusal to register the transfer of rights, therefore the transaction will not be completed until the end.

If the debtor nevertheless figured out how to sell the apartment under the arrest of bailiffs, it is advisable for the buyer to refuse such a transaction. At the request of the person in whose interests the seizure is imposed, such a transaction will be easily declared invalid and cancelled.

The buyer will face not only the problem of getting his money back. Such actions are a real crime. In accordance with Art. 312 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, criminal liability is provided for illegal transactions with seized property. Before buying an apartment that is under arrest, you should seriously think about the consequences.

Petition to seize property to secure a claim

Such a petition can be filed either together with the claim itself, or at any other time during the consideration of the case in court. The main thing is to provide the court with strong evidence that the property needs to be seized immediately.

The application must include the following information:

The name of the court hearing your civil case;
Information about the plaintiff and defendant in the case;
Information on the claim;
Justification of the need to use arrest with evidence or at least fears of potential alienation of property;
Indication of a specific measure that, in your opinion, should be applied to the defendant’s property;
Date and signature.

Documents related to the claim and the claim for encumbrance must be attached.

Sample application

To the Krasnoselsky District Court of Volgograd
Plaintiff: Nedomechko Igor Ivanovich,
living in Volgograd, st. Solnechnaya, 16, apt. 83,
Tel. 89786675433
Defendant: Pronchenko Gennady Yurievich,
living at the address: Volgograd, st. Gorchakova, 34, apt. 12.
Tel. 89769090077
MOTION FOR SECURING THE CLAIM IN THE FORM OF ARREST
Since June 12, 2018, the Krasnoselsky District Court of Volgograd has been prosecuting a civil case, in which I am the plaintiff, to collect the amount of debt on a receipt from the defendant Pronchenko G.Yu. The amount of the claims is 348,000 rubles, where 330,000 rubles is the amount of the principal debt, 5,200 rubles is the state duty, 12,800 rubles are interest for the use of money in accordance with Art. 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
I have information that the defendant has a large amount of money in his account at OJSC EuroCreditBank. At the same time, he wants to repay the debt by deductions from official wages in installments.
I believe that the defendant intends to transfer a large sum from his bank account to the accounts of his relatives. In this regard, I will not be able to use this amount of money, since it will not belong to the debtor.
Guided by Art. Art. 139, 140 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation and based on everything stated above
ASK:
Seize the defendant's bank account at OJSC EuroCreditBank as a measure to secure the claim.
Prohibit the defendant from disposing of his other property.
Nedomechko I.I., 06/15/2018, signature