Is it possible to evict neighbors from a communal apartment for rent arrears?

Many believe that a situation where you can find yourself on the street without your own home will never affect them. But in fact, under certain circumstances, this can happen to almost every citizen. This is a rather unpleasant and scary situation, but, unfortunately, it occurs quite often.

  • Evict your ex-husband or wife from the apartment
  • Eviction from a non-privatized apartment
  • Eviction of tenants after purchasing an apartment
  • Eviction of tenants from a rented apartment
  • Eviction from an apartment for debts to the bank
  • Eviction from an apartment for debts on utility bills
  • How to evict neighbors

If we delve deeper into the legislation of the Russian Federation, and more specifically, into the Housing Code, then there may be several options for developing a legal eviction scenario. Much also depends on who exactly will be deprived of housing space (owner, tenant, age indicators). Therefore, each situation has its own characteristics and solutions. Let's consider possible options for eviction from an apartment provided by law.

Eviction upon divorce

Of course, with any divorce there is a question of eviction, but very often in our practice legal cases arise when a husband evicts his ex-wife from an apartment and vice versa. This is the most common cause of conflict in eviction cases. The situation in legal practice, when after a divorce a husband or wife remains homeless, may have several main reasons:

  • the housing meters belonged to one of the spouses before the official marriage;
  • The apartment is not privatized.

The first situation is considered the easiest. But here, too, several possible outcomes are possible. In fact, if one of the spouses had their own apartment before the official registration of marriage, then the other half has no legal rights to it . And after the court’s decision on divorce, the law will be on the side of the homeowner and the decision to evict is inevitable. But it can also have several options. Basically, these decisions consist of delaying the time of eviction of registered tenants. The court, when considering a case, takes into account many factors, and it is they that influence the final verdict. For example, it is very important how long the spouses lived together before the divorce, the presence of minor children, and the health status of the former other half.

The financial support of the evicted spouse may also be an important factor for deferment.

If at a given time his (her) finances do not allow him to rent housing, and he does not have his own square meters, then the execution of the decision to evict may be delayed for a period of one to three years.

It is quite difficult to say about the specific result of the court hearing on this issue. Since each situation has its own nuances that may affect the court’s decision. But in any case, the outcome is the same - the eviction of the ex-husband or ex-wife. Moreover, this decision applies to all possible relatives from the other side assigned to this living space. There are situations when the court obliges to find and pay rent to an ex-wife or husband. But usually this may apply to cases where there are alimony obligations and financial security allows this step to be taken.

If we are talking about expelling a tenant from a non-privatized apartment, then resolving the issue will be a little more complicated. In such a situation, each spouse has the same rights to living space. Since a non-privatized apartment implies that all residents registered in it bear equal responsibility for paying utility bills and maintaining the housing in order.

The court may decide to evict one of the former spouses from a non-privatized apartment in the following cases:

  • if payment for housing and communal services is not made;
  • actual non-residence on the territory.

But to prove this, it is necessary to provide the court with very strong arguments. Only after collecting the necessary documents and evidence can you file a lawsuit for the forced eviction of one of your former spouses.

It is very important to note one of the factors - the presence of minor children . This moment may make its own adjustments. The basic principle is:

If children under 14 years of age are registered in the living space, they cannot be forcibly evicted.

How are eviction cases handled by the courts?

When considering cases “On recognition as having lost the right to living space and eviction,” the legality of the actions of service providers in making payments, as well as the validity of the reasons for late payment on the part of the tenants, is of primary importance. Most often, an employer or tenant loses the right to use an apartment in the following cases:

  • the debt arose for unjustified reasons;
  • non-payment is systematic;
  • despite constant warnings, the debt is growing;
  • the period of non-payment exceeds all reasonable limits.

It is almost impossible to evict an owner for failure to pay housing and communal services in court.

An example is the consideration of a claim by the housing committee for the loss of the right to use a 3-room municipal apartment of a family with a debt of almost 175,000 rubles. The court found that the residents have not paid for housing and communal services for almost 10 years, lead an asocial lifestyle and have no valid reasons for violating payment deadlines.

By a court decision, the defaulters were evicted from this apartment to a hostel with recovery of the full amount of the debt, because the loss of the right to use housing does not exempt them from paying the debt.

As judicial practice shows regarding evictions for non-payment of utilities, when satisfying claims, the court in the operative part indicates the specific residential premises into which the citizen is being evicted. There is no talk of an equivalent exchange; only the following is checked:

  • its suitability for habitation;
  • being in the same locality;
  • standard 6 m2 per person.

In some cases, rent arrears are caused by the tenant's prolonged absence from the apartment and the inability to contact him. If the homeowner or the municipality cannot find out the reasons for the absence and voluntarily discharge the debtor from the apartment, they will have to go to court.

Non-privatized housing. Is eviction possible?

In situations where there is a need to evict from a non-privatized apartment, it is important to find a convincing reason why such a procedure is possible and collect the necessary package of documents and witness testimony.
The main reason for such an eviction may be the death of a person, long-term residence abroad, etc. You can describe your specific situation to our lawyer online, who will answer your questions free of charge regarding the eviction of a tenant from a non-privatized apartment.

How to evict from a privatized apartment through the court?

Relatives are not always able to find a common language and come to an agreement in a controversial situation. If there are significant grounds for eviction from a privatized apartment (for non-payment of housing maintenance bills, for example), the owner of the premises or several co-owners can apply to the court to resolve the conflict.

The forced eviction procedure is the following process:

  1. collection by the plaintiff of evidence of the validity of the extract;
  2. drawing up a statement of claim;
  3. transferring documentation to the district court and awaiting the conclusion of the judicial authority;
  4. submitting the received resolution to the registration authority.

Evidence may include the testimony of witnesses who can confirm damage to residential premises, the absence of a person at a given address for a long time, or disturbing the peace of neighbors at the time established by law. In the latter case, confirmation will also be a certificate of calling law enforcement agencies.

In addition, depending on the grounds for eviction of a person from the premises, the evidence includes a divorce certificate and a privatization agreement (if the apartment was purchased by one of the spouses before the marriage was registered), as well as receipts for payment of utility bills and contributions for major repairs (if the citizen evades from payment of housing maintenance costs).

Interesting article : Registration of ownership of an apartment.

Eviction of tenants after purchasing a home

Sometimes the joyful event of buying a new apartment can burden the presence of residents registered in it. This happens when there is an illiterate approach to the purchase and sale process. But this issue is resolved quite easily, since the Civil Code of the Russian Federation clearly regulates that:

Registration of purchase and sale automatically terminates the rights to use the housing of previous family members.

Therefore, feel free to go to court with an application for the forced eviction of the remaining tenants. But even here, protracted court cases are possible if these are minor children. Therefore, in order not to end up in a heap of lawsuits after purchasing an apartment, you should make sure for yourself that there are no registered tenants.

Roma Zhukov's wife and six children are being evicted from their apartment due to mortgage debts

Elena and Roman Zhukov
Elena and Roman Zhukov

Now Zhukova lives on pins and needles: the bank where the mortgage was issued is threatening to take away her two-room apartment due to late payments. Elena has just started to settle in here: she started renovations. “Roma told me through the children not to try, since we wouldn’t live here anyway. He promised to cover housing payments, the amount of which is 100 thousand rubles per month, but he does not do this,” Elena noted.

If a woman is evicted, she will have to live with her heirs in a one-room apartment. She doesn't understand why Roman is taking revenge on her.

“At first I thought he was joking, because I decided to stop communicating with him, as it had a negative impact on my well-being. With his light hand, I constantly get calls from the school, child welfare services, and check the conditions in which we live. This is not life! Roma closely follows my page on Instagram and does PR for himself based on this. Recently I went on vacation with my children to a sanatorium, and he said that I hid them from him,” she complained.

Elena does everything to provide the heirs with a decent life
Elena does everything to provide the heirs with a decent life

Zhukova is also outraged by the actions of the artist’s new passion, Olga. She stated that Elena beat her. “Nobody laid a hand on her. Those around Olga told me that she, being drunk, fell down the stairs. Roman contacted an incomprehensible person who is ready to do anything for the sake of PR, even slander me,” added Elena.

Roma Zhukov's mistress accused the singer's wife of severe beating

Elena’s lawyer commented on the difficult situation in the Zhukov family.

“Judging by the way Roman behaves, he doesn’t need children. All his accusations against Elena were created for PR. He comes to the show, comes up with tall tales, says that he will not pay her money, saying that she spends it exclusively on herself. In this case, he can open an account for the heirs. Speaking about alimony, the singer is in no hurry to announce his income. But he has concerts, his business is a hotel-restaurant. Children need not only finances, but also attention from their father, and he turns them against their mother. Moreover, he himself is not going to educate them,” emphasized Gennady Melnikov.

Elena had to contact a lawyer
Elena had to contact a lawyer

Now Roma Zhukova’s wife is doing everything to provide her children with a decent life. “Since I was 17 years old, I have been working in the field of show business, collaborating with many companies, making money from advertising, PR, as well as my favorite hobby - sewing and altering clothes, participating in organizing concerts, holidays and other events,” Elena shared.

In the summer of 2012, the couple’s five-year-old daughter, Elizaveta-Victoria, passed away
In the summer of 2012, the couple’s five-year-old daughter, Elizaveta-Victoria, passed away

Despite all her efforts, the singer remains adamant. “Papa Roma is always afraid to give me an extra penny, he gives money to the children, but this cannot be done, since they are still small and do not understand how to properly spend it. I don’t know how much money dad transfers to the older children, this is entirely his initiative, and the fact that he shows everyone the receipts is a shame,” laments the woman, who has not lost hope of reconciling with her husband and peacefully resolving with him the issue of maintaining the heirs.

Let us remind you that the Zhukovs got married in 2005. Seven years ago, a terrible tragedy occurred in the family - their daughter Elizabeth-Victoria passed away - a five-year-old girl was playing in the yard and fell under a swing. The baby received a head injury incompatible with life. Unfortunately, the common grief did not unite the couple. According to Elena, her husband only began to move away from her.

Photo: Legion-Media, personal archive

Rented housing: real reasons for eviction of tenants

If for some reason the tenant refuses to check out of the rented apartment, then you can file a lawsuit in court to force him to evict him.

There may be several possible reasons for eviction. And the decision of many of them depends on whether the apartment rental document was officially drawn up, and what points were taken into account in it.

If the agreement concluded between you is legally correct, then it is quite easy to expel the tenants from the apartment ahead of time if they violate the terms of the lease. For example, the reason for eviction may be late payment, inappropriate behavior of tenants, poor attitude towards property, drunkenness, etc. But it is important that the reason for which the owner intends to expel the guest is specified in the contract. This course of the case allows us to speak of an almost 100% positive resolution of the issue in favor of the landlord.

If you are planning to sell a living space whose lease period has not yet expired, then you should amicably discuss the issue of possible discharge of tenants ahead of schedule. The legislation of the Russian Federation (Article 675 of the Civil Code) says that a change in the owner of housing is not the reason for termination of the rental agreement .

Use of housing for other purposes and (or) its destruction

If the apartment is not used for its intended purpose, for example, a brothel, warehouse, gambling club, etc. is organized in it, and also if the person living in it destroys it, litters it or creates a threat to the residence of other persons, the court may also deprive the owner of his property.

But before that, he will still make a remark to the negligent owner demanding that the violations be eliminated and repairs carried out. If this is not done, the apartment will also be removed from the auction.

Alcoholic neighbor

Credit debt in the bank as a factor in eviction

Can they be evicted from an apartment for debts to the bank? Yes, they can, but only in some cases.

Typically, eviction due to credit debt occurs if the property was purchased with a mortgage . At the same time, the payment arrears should grow to quite large amounts. Banking institutions usually do not rush through the procedure of eviction from an apartment, since they are not interested in the living space itself as such. Why? Banks live off the interest on the loan, so it is in their interests to get the borrower to pay his debts. But if numerous reminders about the need to repay the debt do not bring any positive results, then the bank may decide to evict the defaulter from the collateral property through the court.

According to the law, the bank must notify the debtor one month before the eviction procedure, giving a chance to pay off the debts. But the owner still has a chance to return the property even after he evicts . This is possible if the loan is repaid before the public auction and the appointment of a new owner.

It should be remembered that according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, an evicted tenant may be given temporary housing, subject to eviction from the apartment for which the loan was taken. For these purposes, there is a specially created reserve housing stock.

If you have debts on a bank loan

In a situation with a bank loan, there is a certain danger for the owner. This is manifested in the fact that a mortgage taken from a bank is issued against the security of an apartment purchased in the future. That is, if the amount of debt is large enough that it can be compared with the cost of the apartment, then the bank may require the apartment to be provided as compensation as payment for the debt. Again, such actions will be lawful if they are committed on the basis of Russian legislation, that is, by a court decision.

However, the owner of the apartment, who is also the borrower, can put forward valid reasons as a defense for which the sentence may be commuted. These include a sudden serious illness, the death of a loved one or relative, as well as the loss of a job and the inability to find a new place to earn money. As a rule, the judge makes a fair decision based on the requirement put forward by the bank.

The procedure for eviction of tenants due to debts on a bank loan is as follows:

  • The owner of the apartment, secured by a mortgage, does not make timely payments to the bank.
  • The bank files a statement of claim with the court, in which it asks to recover from the unscrupulous client the amount that the bank ordered to issue to him in the form of a mortgage loan.
  • If the court makes a positive decision against the bank, it is necessary to establish how the property will be sold. In the event that it is currently not possible to sell this residential premises, the bank is obliged to register ownership of this property.

Debt for non-payment of utility bills

Can they be evicted from an apartment for debts on utility bills? Of course, but there are many subtle points here too.

Eviction on this occasion becomes possible only under a social tenancy agreement, but this does not mean a specific eviction, here we are talking about a reduction in living space. That is, such guests are evicted from this home and given a much smaller apartment outside the square and possibly in another area of ​​the city. This is described in the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (Article 90).

If the apartment is privatized and the owner does not have other private housing property, then failure to pay and the presence of debts for utilities is not a reason for his forced eviction , according to the legislation of the Russian Federation. The maximum that can threaten a willful defaulter is a shutdown of utilities and seizure of property by a court decision.

If the owner’s property includes other housing, then the privatized apartment for which payments have not been made may be seized by bailiffs, and the owner is forcibly relocated to his other living space.

The eviction procedure does not entail repayment of debt or penalties on the resulting debt.

It is worth noting that if the delay in payment for housing and communal services is due to non-payment of wages or other payments, then this reason will be considered valid and may affect the decision to evict.

The most difficult situation is when, in addition to utility debt, the resulting mortgage debt is also added. The situation here may turn out in such a way that the owner will simply be put out on the street without even being given a room. This harsh regulation slightly reduced the risks of credit institutions.

FAQ

When disputes arise regarding eviction, citizens are often faced with questions about whether they can be evicted in a particular case.

Can a child be evicted for debt?

In this case, everything depends on the legal regime of the property. If the apartment is personally owned and is the only one, a family with a child cannot be evicted. If the apartment is not the only one, then the apartment for which there are debts can be sold at auction by court decision.

If your financial situation is quite difficult, you can contact the Housing Office to obtain a deferment or ask to draw up a debt repayment schedule.

Can they evict someone for housing and communal services debt of 70,000 rubles?

In this case, the amount of debt is not important; there is a period of no payment for utilities. If the apartment is in communal or municipal ownership, you may be evicted, but provided with other housing.

If the apartment is personal property, you cannot be evicted even if the amount of debt is 70 thousand rubles.

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