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- Outside the zone of approach: collectors were forbidden to collect debts on housing and communal services
Outside the zone of approach: collectors were forbidden to collect debts on housing and communal services
Organizations working in the field of public utilities cannot transfer the functions of debt repayment for housing and communal services to collectors or third parties, said Sergey Kolunov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services. Why the current legislation prohibits the involvement of collectors to collect debts on housing and communal services, as well as what additional measures to protect debtors and bona fide payers could be introduced at the legislative level — in the material of Izvestia.
Legality of claims
To increase payment discipline and reduce consumer accounts receivable for housing and communal services, the Russian Ministry of Construction has launched an experiment on online debt collection for housing and communal services, the press service of the department told Izvestia.
Federal Law No. 214-FZ, adopted on July 26, 2019, adjusted the provisions of Articles 155 and 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, as well as amended Article 1 of the law regulating the protection of citizens' rights when dealing with overdue debts, and at the same time clarified the norms concerning the activities of microfinance organizations, Peter Shcherbachenko, Associate Professor, reminded Izvestia. Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. The rules explicitly state that management companies, homeowners' associations, resource supply structures, and regional municipal solid waste disposal operators are not allowed to transfer to third parties — be they banks or collection agencies — the right to collect debts for housing and utilities. Any transaction involving such an assignment is automatically declared invalid.
— The right of claim can be transferred only to professional participants of the housing and communal services market. The law requires mandatory written notification of the owner and the employer of such an assignment within 10 working days from the date of conclusion of the contract," the expert explained.
The introduction of a ban on the participation of collection agencies in the process of repayment of debts for housing and communal services is due to a number of reasons, Stanislav Guzhov, project manager of the Presidential Academy's Development Directorate, told Izvestia. One of them is the need to protect the most vulnerable categories of citizens, because utility bills belong to the category of vital expenses, and the use of harsh methods of pressure can harm both the physical condition and the emotional stability of debtors. Another important factor is considered to be the desire of the state to reduce the level of social tension and avoid aggravation of conflicts between residents and management structures, focusing on more peaceful and civilized forms of resolving problems with non-payments.
— Thirdly, housing and communal services arrears, as a rule, do not arise out of malice, but because of objective life circumstances, such as job loss, illness or force majeure, therefore managers and resource supply organizations should work with debtors in a dialogue, observing legal procedures and respecting the rights of citizens, - the expert noted. — As a result, the current legislation is aimed at protecting the interests of citizens, ensuring social stability and fair resolution of financial issues related to housing and communal services.
Protection of rights
Now it is necessary to introduce additional tools that could strengthen the protection of both debtors and those who regularly fulfill their obligations, Stanislav Guzhov believes. As a priority, it is proposed to improve the practice of debt restructuring for housing and communal services: we are talking about the possible consolidation of "communal holidays" at the legislative level and the creation of personal payment schedules for people who face difficulties. This approach, in his opinion, will help to curb the growth of debt and maintain the trust of disciplined taxpayers.
— Additionally, it is advisable to create independent mediation centers and the institution of the Housing and Communal Services Ombudsman so that citizens can peacefully resolve disputes with management organizations without going to court, which will increase trust and reduce the level of conflict in this area, — the expert emphasized. — In addition, targeted state support for the most vulnerable categories of the population is needed through subsidies, benefits and temporary debt compensation for single pensioners, disabled people and large families.
Restrictions on the work of collectors in the housing and communal services were introduced for several reasons, Pavel Sklyanchuk, an expert at the Popular Front, confirmed to Izvestia. Analytics". First of all, it was necessary to stop the practice of illegal pressure on debtors, when collectors resorted to methods such as inscriptions in the entrances mentioning specific apartments. In addition, the difference between public utilities and banks is emphasized: the former do not provide loans, but build long-term relationships with tenants. Based on this, management companies should be interested in a constructive dialogue with owners, building trust and finding solutions, and rejecting the services of collectors should encourage them to take a more customer-oriented approach.
— While this goal has not been fully achieved, debts continue to remain extremely high. There are figures from the Russian Ministry of Construction — more than a trillion rubles. Of these, 800 billion are in the population," the expert said. — Organizations in the housing and communal services sector do not know what to do about it, while the staff, which means that the tariffs of these organizations do not include expenses for conducting claims activities. So far, no solutions have been introduced related to the accrual of subsidies for housing and communal services, regardless of the debt, although this idea has also been voiced for a long time, as well as the possibility of directly transferring payments of subsidies for housing and communal services not to recipients, but to those to whom they are intended. That is, directly to public utilities.
In his opinion, it is also necessary to introduce a system of flexible discounts, for example, for timely payment for housing and communal services, opening a deposit account with a target payment for housing and communal services.
In general, in order to prevent the formation of debts for housing and communal services, it is important to build a responsible approach to managing your expenses. First of all, it is necessary to carefully monitor the deadlines for making mandatory payments, since it is the regularity that ensures that there are no delays. In particular, it is useful to use automatic tools such as enabling autopayments through a bank or a mobile application, where you can set the date for debiting funds in advance.
Accrual control plays a significant role. It is worth regularly checking the correctness of receipts and, if errors are found, promptly contact the management company for recalculation.
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