Selling an apartment with rent debt is also sometimes necessary. This procedure is more complex and time-consuming, and the execution of various pieces of paper should take more time. But if there is no other way out, you have to be content with the methods that are available at the moment. Rent debts are a problem, but not an obstacle to selling or buying such property. The buyer decides for himself whether he is ready to give honestly earned money for living space, which he still has to beat out from public utilities, because they will definitely demand to repay their debt.
The main thing that the owner of such an apartment should not do is to hide something from the person who wants to buy real estate. It is even fraught with criminal liability. But if the deal is transparent, then buying an apartment with debts utility bills will be quite safe for both parties. The main thing is to follow the letter of the law and make sure that the debts for the communal apartment are not higher than the cost of the property itself, and this will not please the new owner. In addition, there are many nuances and loopholes in the laws that allow you to easily figure out how to buy property with debt, and what to do with it.
Dear readers!
Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique. If you want to know how to solve your particular problem, please use the online consultant form on the right →
It's fast and free! Or give us a call (24/7):
According to paragraph 5 of part 2 of Art. 153 LC RF and paragraph 1 of Art. 131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the rightful owner, that is, the person who bought and registered real estate for himself, must pay off the debts that “hang” on it. Of course, there are exceptions, for example, if when transferring an apartment from one owner to another, a special clause was prescribed in the contract that the old owner should deal with his utility debts, and the new owner pays for current services.
By the way, these services include:
Art. 210 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation says that a person who just bought new apartment, is not responsible for the housing debts of the old owner. With regard to debts for major repairs, this type of debt can be covered by both old and new owners. In addition, there is a debt transfer procedure. In this case, all the debts of the previous owner of the property are transferred to the new owner by agreement of both parties. But then the person who bought the apartment, as a rule, receives a decent discount for the purchase as compensation for the inconvenience. In general, the procedure is not the easiest, but everyone can understand the nuances.
It is not always the case that a transaction related to the purchase of real estate goes like clockwork. For example, real estate may be full of debts left from the previous owner, and it is rather difficult to privatize such housing, since public utilities are unwilling to provide the necessary certificates for this. But after all, the new owner often does not even understand how the debt appeared, or knew about it, but hoped that the seller was conscientious and paid his debts.
If this has not been done, then a lot of problems appear, the solution of which not only takes a lot of time, but also takes a lot of nerves. Nevertheless, you need to prove your truth, because the new owner of the property must pay utilities from the moment the rights to housing passed into his hands.
Don't be afraid to stand up for your legal rights. To do this, the buyer must take the following steps:
As a rule, such issues are resolved in favor of the buyer, who was presented with other people's debts. He may not worry about them, unless, of course, a document was signed in advance on the transfer of debts from one person (seller) to another (buyer). In this case, as already mentioned, the issue of debt is decided by the new owner.
It is advisable to warn the old owner that claims have been made against him for the payment of debts. As a rule, if a person is conscientious, then you won’t have to do anything else, and he will deal with all issues. Utilities can demand repayment of the debt for three years. This is precisely the conflict of interest - one side wants to receive the funds due to it, and the second does not want to pay for services that it did not use. In general, the procedure for resolving this dispute is not pleasant.
There are a lot of deals on the secondary market at a bargain price that suggest that something in this deal is not clean. As a rule, the matter is in municipal debts. Of course, in such cases, when a privatized apartment is sold with utility debts, certain requirements must be met. In particular, they concern such nuances:
These simple manipulations will avoid a lot of problems with the law for the former owner, and not the person trying to buy an apartment, because he is directly responsible for obsolete debts.
As for how the transaction itself is carried out, there are several rules for this, which are regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. For example, here is what is said about the components of such a transaction:
Any transaction related to real estate is not complete without documents. The standard package is already known to everyone, but if there is a debt from housing and communal services, the procedure for collecting it becomes a little more complicated, especially if the seller does not yet have the opportunity to take care of the payment. However, the documents for the property must be in perfect order, and it is imperative to keep among them the papers confirming the debt, so that the buyer familiarizes himself with them and decides whether he is worth the risk.
There are many types of apartments on the real estate market. When you need to buy a house cheaper, the question arises, how to buy an apartment with rent debt. The complexity of the transaction lies in the preparation of documentation for the purchase of real estate.
The legal instruction "33 Jurista.ru" will tell you how to draw up documents for a transaction, how to buy an apartment with debts on utility bills.
Be warned that the deal is risky. When applying, you need to be extremely careful not to fall for the tricks of scammers.
To purchase a home, a preliminary agreement is signed. It indicates that the acquirer makes an advance payment. The property owner uses the advance to cover utility bills.
The obligation to repay the debt remains with the first owner. Duties are not transferred to the new owner (Article 210 of the Civil Code).
An exception is the obligation to pay for capital repairs. If the old owner did not pay for the overhaul, then the new owner will have to pay.
Important! Debts are transferred to the new owner if a debt transfer agreement has been signed. If such a document was not signed, then the debts remain with the old owner.
If you do not want to take over the debt, make a note in the act of acceptance of the property that the previous owner is obliged to make payments.
A new homeowner may be faced with the unpleasant fact that the buyer did not pay utility bills. The question arises: they bought an apartment with debts, who should pay.
You can defend your interests if you take several actions.
Buying a home with debts will not work if a court decision has seized the property.
The lack of due diligence during the transaction leads to the fact that an apartment is bought with outstanding utility bills. The situation is extremely unpleasant for the new owner. You can try to challenge the agreement in court.
If you find out that you have received debts along with real estate, do an analysis of the size of the debt.
According to civil law, debts are not transferred to the acquirer. But there is one exception. The parties have the right to determine other conditions in the contract.
Advice. Read the agreement carefully. Pay attention to the presence of a clause on who is assigned the obligation to repay the debt.
If the contract says that the obligation to pay the bills is transferred to the acquirer, then the Criminal Code will have the legal right to demand payment. The condition on the transfer of debt complies with the law (Article 391 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Important! Extortion of someone else's debt is punishable by article 163 of the Criminal Code.
If you decide to purchase an apartment with unpaid utility bills, you need to draw up an agreement correctly.
The parties indicate the amount of the discount. It is important for the buyer that the amount of the discount pays off the amount of the debt.
Advice. Specify the amount of the discount as a separate clause of the agreement.
The wording will allow the acquirer to recover its costs in the event that the agreement is contested.
Another option can be envisaged: the parties sign an interim agreement. It indicates that the acquirer makes an advance payment. The seller repays this advance debt on utility bills.
The parties can enter into the contract any conditions on which they can agree. The main thing is that they do not contradict the law.
For example, to prescribe in the agreement that the obligation to pay utility bills remains with the seller of real estate.
The parties collect a package of documents for registration of the agreement.
Let's take an example. Kuznetsov Nikolai Stepanovich bought a house in Moscow through a real estate agency. But the apartment turned out to be a "secret". Nikolai Stepanovich regularly received receipts from the management company, which indicated the debt of the previous owner.
In this case, a man can be advised to contact the Criminal Code. The purpose of the appeal: to open a new personal account in his name. The house management company has no right to ignore such a statement. The Criminal Code cannot demand payment of debts, as it would violate the Criminal Code. And Kuznetsov Nikolai Stepanovich is not responsible for the dishonesty of the former owner and realtors.
The deal is risky. It is necessary to provide for every detail and document in order for the purchase to be successful. When preparing documents, you can not do without the support of professionals. Professional legal advice can be obtained on the 33 Jurista.ru website. Lawyers will warn about pitfalls during the transaction. Experts will tell you how to properly complete the documentation so that there are no problems with the law.
The question of how to buy an apartment with debts on utility bills will cease to be a problem if you entrust the support of the transaction to the professionals of the 33 Jurista.ru website.
When concluding a sale and purchase transaction, the owner of an apartment will not always say that there is a rather large debt for utility bills.
Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to solve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:
APPLICATIONS AND CALLS ARE ACCEPTED 24/7 and 7 days a week.
It's fast and IS FREE!
Such information is hidden in the hope that the buyer will not find out anything and the debt will pass to him. All this is easy to check.
Arm yourself with the knowledge that will allow you to avoid unpleasant situations and defend your rights in case of claims for repayment of amounts when buying an apartment with utility bills in 2018.
The list of utilities for which the population must pay a fee was approved by Order of Rosstat dated July 23, 2009 No. 147 (paragraph 35).
We list housing and communal services (part 2) that are provided to citizens and must be paid to government agencies:
Once a citizen acquires ownership of residential real estate, he is obliged to pay both for the premises and for housing and communal services (paragraph 5 of part 2, paragraph 1 of Russia).
According to the law, a citizen must make payment on time and in full.
The obligation to pay utility bills may arise:
According to the Housing Code, before the object is occupied, the costs of its maintenance and the transfer of amounts for utilities are carried out by state authorities and local self-government or an authorized person on their behalf.
The contract for the purchase of real estate does not stipulate that the transfer of ownership is the basis for changing relations with a third party.
That is, the obligation to pay for utilities for the purchased premises arises after the conclusion of the contract and registration of property rights.
This means that if the new owner is required to pay off the debt of the previous owner, they will be illegal.
Exceptions include a contribution to major repairs. If the ownership of the residential facility passes to the new tenant, then the obligation to pay for the repair costs also passes (clause 3).
can be transferred to the buyer only in the event of a transaction on the transfer of debts.
The new owner must himself express such a desire, otherwise the transaction cannot be carried out (paragraphs 1 - 2 of Article 391 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
The buyer may also not understand normative documents and take on the burden of paying someone else's debt, which he will regret in the future.
Regardless of the situation (a home is being bought or has already been bought, the debt is being paid by the buyer or the seller), the method of repaying the amounts will be the same.
What should be done?
When selling your home, the seller must provide a certificate stating that all services have been paid for.
The buyer needs to pay special attention to:
First, find out the amount of debt for utilities. If you have not yet bought a property, then ask the seller to prepare such information.
If you get a refusal, then go yourself for a certificate of debt. It will be issued in the HOA, in the management company or housing cooperative at your request.
If such authorities began to manage the house after the seller registered the property rights, then a certificate is taken from the companies that were responsible for the provision of utilities.
If there is no debt, the representative of the instance will issue an appropriate document confirming this.
If you do not want to go for help to the Housing Office, you can contact banking institution, in which debts for housing and communal services are repaid. You need to tell the operator the address of the apartment, after which you will receive the necessary information.
The next step is to notify the HOA or LCD about the change of ownership of the property. It must be in writing.
An application is written to the management of the enterprise. It is worth entering a request to open a new account to pay for utilities.
Such a document is transmitted in one of three ways:
If services are provided different companies, payment is also made to different accounts - an application must be submitted to each instance. For example, water is paid to Vodokanal, electricity to Energosbyt, etc.
Within a month (or less) you will receive an answer to your application. If it is positive, then you should take an extract from your personal account and a certificate stating that there are no debts from the accountant.
If you are refused, you can contact the housing inspectorate by submitting a package of collected documentation.
To confirm that the housing has been transferred to a third party, you must attach a photocopy of:
But there is no need to rush into this. Before going to the residential complex, warn the previous owner that you will pay the amount of the debt if there is a desire to resolve the issue on your own. It happens that the seller still repays the accrued amounts himself.
Often people, due to their inattention and lack of knowledge in legal matters buy housing from the secondary market with a huge debt on utility bills.
Then, gritting their teeth, they pay off other people's debts. So that you do not suffer such a fate, it is worth understanding the legislative acts.
Try not to buy an apartment with utility bills. But even if it happened, and the object is acquired, know that no one has the right to oblige you to pay the debt.
Purchasing an apartment with utility bills can have both advantages and disadvantages. The price of such real estate is a priori lower when compared with other options - without debts.
It is realistic to buy housing, the former owner of which owes housing and communal services, but the registration process is more laborious. Everything goes smoothly if the information about the debts is true. Otherwise, the negligent owner can be held liable under the law.
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 131 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and paragraph 5 of part 2 of Art. 153 LC RF the person who acquired real estate must pay off utility bills. However, in the contract of sale, it can be stated that this obligation is assigned to the former owner, if the parties have agreed on this.
Debts may include the following expense items:
According to Art. 210 of the Civil Code, the acquirer is not liable for the debt obligations of the former owner of the apartment. Debts can be partially repaid, that is, the burden can be divided equally. The transfer of debt implies the transfer of this obligation to the new owner, which is usually done by mutual agreement.
As Art. 210 of the Civil Code, the obligation to pay off debts is assigned to each owner, that is, both the former and the present. But there is one exception - this is a major overhaul in an apartment building. According to part 3 of Art. 158 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the new owner is obliged to pay off the debt, if any, on the contributions of the previous one.
Have a question or need legal help? Take advantage of a free consultation:
As for the rest of the debts, it should be indicated in the act of acceptance and transfer of the item that the obligations to repay utility debts lie with the previous owner of the apartment. In this act, all current meter readings should also be recorded, which guarantees the payment for the consumed services until the transfer of the right to the object has occurred according to the law. After that, the UK will be responsible for renegotiating contracts with energy suppliers.
In the interval between the submission of documents to Rosreestr and the registration of the right, but strictly before the transfer of the object, the buyer needs to come to the management company in order to draw up his own personal account. Thus, the old debts of the former owner will be registered with him.
When dealing with real estate, it is difficult to foresee everything. It happens that the buyer of the apartment relied on the good faith of the seller and did not check whether all the debts were paid. Or the notice came after the purchase, and the new owner does not know how the debt appeared at all. The new owner begins to pay utility bills from the moment the right to the premises is transferred.
Steps to assert your legal rights:
Step 1. The previous owner should ask for a certificate of debt. However, honesty cannot be relied upon alone. You can get this document in other ways:
Step 2 Draw up an application with the application on utility payments of the applicant. To this document the title document is attached.
As practice shows, the new owner has priority in resolving disputes, because he is not obliged to pay debts for the previous owner. But if an agreement has been reached, then the new owner deals with the debt. This is justified if a decent discount is made on the price of the apartment. If an agreement is not reached, and the old owner "forgot" about the debts, the public utilities have the right to demand their payment within three years. Thus, for the new owner, the procedure becomes lengthy and unpleasant.
Found on the market profitable offer objects received into ownership by privatization. However, such apartments are subject to special requirements regarding debts:
These measures are more helpful in avoiding problems. former owner, and not to the buyer, because it is he who, according to the law, must repay the debts.
The Civil Code clearly spells out how real estate with debt should be registered. The rules are as follows:
The apartment owner prepares the following package: passport, title deed, technical certificate object, an extract from Rosreestr.
In case of privatization, the seller must additionally submit:
These documents serve as confirmation that the landlord is able to pay the debt. However, this can be done after the purchase of housing.
Buying an apartment with debt has the advantage that the final cost is significantly lower than when buying a home without debt. But in order not to get into trouble with debts, you need to take care of the correct execution of the purchase and sale transaction, which is especially true privatized apartment. Otherwise, a conflict of interest may arise: the management company, the old owner and the bona fide purchaser. It is better to check each clause of the contract together with a qualified lawyer who can take into account all the legal subtleties.
Attention! In connection with latest changes law, the information in this article may be out of date. However, each situation is individual.
To resolve your issue, fill out the following form or call the numbers listed on the site, and our lawyers will advise you for free!
