It is known that residents of apartment buildings are required to pay utility bills and services. These include electricity, hot and cold water, heating, garbage collection, cleaning and other services.
And if a debt has accumulated, then the resource supply services apply to the court, which issues a court order to collect the debt for utilities. You can challenge it by preparing an application to cancel the court order for housing and communal services.
Its writing and presentation must be subject to certain procedural rules. Failure to comply with them will lead to the fact that the bailiffs, having received the writ of execution, will begin to collect utility debts forcibly.
Grounds for canceling a court order to collect debts for housing and communal services
A feature of writ proceedings is that the tenant may not even suspect that he has been sued for “utilities”.
He will be confronted with the relevant fact only when he receives a notice from the court about debt collection, or the bailiffs forcibly write off the debt from the bank card.
And then there is very little time left to cancel the court order to collect the debt for housing and communal services - only 10 days.
On what grounds can this act be challenged? The first of these is disagreement with the amount collected (including the accrual of penalties). Then you should make your own calculations, referring to bills and receipts.
Save your receipts and keep a record of your utility payments for 3 or more years. This will make it much easier to defend your position if the conflict goes into the courtroom.
The next reason for questioning the writ of execution may be the collection of part of the debts beyond the limitation period. After all, it also applies to payments for housing and communal services.
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Vladimir Roslyakov
Lawyer. More than 12 years of experience.
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You can challenge a court order to collect a debt for housing and communal services due to the fact that it does not meet the requirements established by law. To do this, you should read Art. 124 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
Features of consideration
Now you can pay attention to some features of considering objections and making a decision. What should you always remember?
The point is that an objection to a court order for the collection of funds or any other court decision is considered without the participation of the parties. That is why the public has the right to appeal.
From the moment the objection is received until the next decision, no more than 3 days pass. This amount is allocated by law for consideration of the submitted petition.
One more nuance - if a decision is made to cancel a court decision through the objection of one of the parties, this action is not subject to appeal. Such an order is considered the only correct one for a given situation. Accordingly, if a decision is confirmed, it is also not subject to revision.
All samples of objections to a court order, like the originals, are documents that do not require payment of a state fee. This means that when filing a complaint with the court, there is no need to pay money for the operation.
How to appeal a court order for utility debts
How to cancel a court order from a magistrate to collect rent arrears? The first and most important rule is meeting deadlines. The owner has 10 calendar days to submit a response to collect the debt for housing and communal services. And this period is calculated from the next day after which the notification from the court was received.
When the specified period is missed, it can be extended. However, practice shows that there must be compelling and documented reasons for this.
There is also a second point. An application to cancel a court order to collect debts on utility bills is submitted to the magistrate’s court that issued it. In this case, the appeal will be considered by the judge who made this decision.
Challenging writ proceedings should not be confused with an appeal. It is submitted specifically to the court decision to a higher authority. And besides, unlike this method of appeal, you will need to pay a state fee.
When challenging a court order for utilities, you need to make sure that there is clear evidence that the application was received by the court office or sent by mail. Then you can know the likely date for consideration of the debtor’s objections.
Consequences of the entry into force of a court decision
The management company must also provide justification for issuing the document.
However, it is easier for the creditor to do this, since a statement is sufficient, which indicates:
- name of the court;
- information about the organization;
- debtor data;
- history of the debt and its relevance - attached documents;
- an agreement with a housing and communal services company, which allows you to demand payment.
If doubts arise regarding the license to operate a management company, the court may return the application, in accordance with Art. 125 Code of Civil Procedure of Russia.
If all the necessary papers are available, then a fairly small number of receipts for the latest billing periods. The court order is issued in 2 copies. The first is handed over to the plaintiff, a copy is sent to the debtor in the form of a notice. The second one is certified by the official seal and sent to the local bailiff department.
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Execution of measures involves full collection of debt. A court order alone, if it is not challenged in a timely manner, is enough to authorize bailiffs to carry out a list of restrictive actions.
Note: if you miss the 10-day deadline, even the situation of a low-income parent or a parent with many children will not help.
Court orders for the collection of housing and utility payments in questions and answers
This type of solution has its own characteristics. It is published in a matter of days without inviting the creditor and the debtor into the courtroom.
The Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation contains an exhaustive list of grounds under which it is possible for a magistrate to carry out writ proceedings. Possible reasons include the presence of utility debts.
At the same time, both payers for consumed services and utility services periodically have questions related to the issuance, review and execution of the will of the court. Here are just a few examples of advice provided by lawyers.
Is it possible to cancel a court order for utilities in a municipal apartment?
I have a place of permanent registration in an apartment that was provided to my mother under a social tenancy agreement. I myself currently live with my common-law wife in another home.
Three days ago I was given a copy of the court order to collect my part of the utility debts for municipal housing. What should I do, because I don’t live in a living space for a long time, I don’t use water, heat or light.
Anatoly, Vnukovo.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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According to the current version of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the very fact of registration in the premises gives rise to the obligation to make utility payments. Therefore, municipal services are right to initiate writ proceedings for debt collection. It is allowed to challenge it due to disagreement with the amount of debt, but this will only gain time. After all, a statement of claim may follow, and the amount accrued by that time will still have to be paid.
Is it possible to appeal the court order of the magistrate regarding utility payments if 10 days have passed
The other day I received documents from a magistrate, according to which a debt in the amount of 25 thousand rubles was collected by court order for non-payment of hot water and heating.
It was not possible to file an objection within ten days because she was in the hospital. Tell me what to do legally correctly in this case? Thank you in advance.
Victoria, Moscow.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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There is only one way out of the described situation - to file objections regarding the further execution of the court order. Attached to it is a petition in order to restore the deadline for reviewing this form of decision with the attachment of documents confirming the presence of treatment. True, there is one problem. Chapter 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation does not directly provide for the possibility of renewing the time for filing objections. Therefore, it is possible that the utility service may have time to contact the bailiffs.
Then the only way out will be to repay the accumulated debt voluntarily. 7 days are allotted for this from the date of receipt of the resolution notifying the start of enforcement proceedings.
If you receive a pre-trial notice of non-payment for major repairs
I live in an apartment building that is already 20 years old. Now I have received a letter from the regional operator about the need to make a contribution for major repairs for the previous year. Otherwise, the Criminal Code threatens to sue.
Tell me what is the best thing to do in such a situation? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Valentina, Lyubertsy.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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First of all, it is necessary to resolve all disagreements with the organization. It is necessary to find out how the amount is calculated and whether the square meters of the apartment are indicated correctly. In order not to bring the case to court, it is allowed to agree in writing on the provision of installment plans. The worst case scenario would be a court order. It is submitted without summoning the parties to the office of the magistrate. And if it is not canceled in time, employees of the FSSP department will begin to collect the debt.
How to appeal a court order for utility payments if the debts have been paid
Yesterday I received from the postman a document from the court, issued in order to collect the debt for consumed electricity. It states that the debt was generated in the second half of 2021.
However, all receipts for payment of electricity for this time period are available. What is the sequence of actions in this situation?
Dmitry, Balashikha.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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Here you need to focus on deadlines. If 10 days have not yet passed since the receipt of the letter, objections are submitted to the magistrate. Copies of receipts for all payments are attached to them. But most often there is another option, in which the order has already been transferred to the bailiffs for execution. Then a statement is written to suspend enforcement proceedings. Attached to it is a copy of the response to the order for housing and communal services with the number of the incoming magistrate’s court, as well as receipts for payments made.
Response to a court order to collect debts for utilities
An application has been submitted to collect from one of the residents of an apartment building serviced by the company arrears in rent and garbage collection. The magistrate issued a court order, but subsequently canceled it.
What steps should be taken next in this situation? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Manager, Moscow.
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Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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There is only one way out of this situation - filing a statement of claim to collect debts for payments. When preparing it, you should take into account the limitation periods. In addition, it is necessary to provide a detailed breakdown of the existing debt by period - by month, quarter, half year, and other segments.
In addition, a state fee is paid. The required amount is calculated according to the scale given in paragraph 1 of Art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - from the price of the claim.
Grounds for appeal
It is desirable that the factors for appealing the court order really exist, otherwise it will be problematic to meet the deadline. Usually one or more possible options are selected.
Disagreement with the amount
The most popular solution. Sometimes the Criminal Code mistakenly indicates the amount to be paid. In some situations, it is unlawful to charge fines and penalties. If the funds specified in the order do not coincide with one’s own vision of the state of the personal account, the decision must be challenged.
To do this, you must have receipts on hand. Experts recommend putting them in a separate folder from the very beginning so that you can present data for several years at once. The more information you can collect, the more justified your position.
This is important to know: Deadlines for payment of utility bills according to the housing code
Postponement
Sometimes it is not possible to repay the debt within the deadlines established by the management company, and then by the court, for good reasons. They may be the lack of registration in the region, serious illness or other unforeseen factors.
It is better to check with a lawyer about the possibility of a deferment for each case. A legal specialist will tell you what documents need to be prepared for a response to the court.
Limitation of actions
Usually, an attempt to collect old debt is a tool of unscrupulous management companies and homeowners associations. Often such lawsuits are filed to close holes in an organization's budget. A characteristic feature is that before contacting a higher authority, employees of the management company for a long time, in a persistent and aggressive manner, convince the citizen that he is obliged to pay all the arrears, threaten to turn off public services, and so on.
However, no one has canceled the limits of the claim period. When receiving a court verdict regarding old debts, you can safely appeal to this concept. According to clause 1 of Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the period is three years.
Usually, as a result of consideration of an appeal from a consumer utility, the debt is frozen. They will not be able to collect it, but only until the first violation of the payment procedure. The next time you miss it, the amount will be added to the amount of the new debt. Therefore, it is better to solve the problem of the unpaid balance, request a recalculation or gradually pay off.
Order form
The executive act is drawn up in the form specified in Art. No. 124 Code of Civil Procedure of Russia. If the received copy does not correspond to them, then the decision can be successfully challenged. Most likely, this will only work once, because a simple mistake in drawing up an order will not help the debtor.
The creditor has the right to appeal again to a higher authority. At the same time, the likelihood that the verdict will again be drawn up incorrectly is minimal.
What actions should be taken next?
The Code of Civil Procedure does not speak about the procedure for considering an application to cancel a court order. However, this appeal is considered immediately upon receipt by the magistrates' court.
If enforcement proceedings have already been initiated, care should be taken to suspend the case. It is better to do this on the day of filing objections, by contacting the bailiff with a request to suspend enforcement proceedings. This can be done in the form of a petition.
When a court cancels a court order for utility services, this does not mean that the conflict is settled. Next, the resource supplying organization or management company can file a claim to collect the debt from the owner of the residential premises. And then all your arguments need to be confirmed in objections to it.
Naturally, documentary evidence will also be needed regarding the actual amount of the amounts, the expiration of the statute of limitations, and errors in calculations.
