the Collection of payments for housing and communal services among the Russians has decreased by almost a third. Only as of March consumer debt has reached 1.3 trillion roubles. This sum includes the debts of the population — 810 billion, and their volume continues to grow. This was announced by the Ministry of construction. The question arises, why does the government not act? According to experts, industries that need help — lots, and money for housing simply does not.
All the initiatives taken by the state to ease the load for the payment of “communal” for the citizens either don’t work or die before they were born. “The government refused to expand the number of beneficiaries, not considering the possibility of refusal from the tariff increase from 1 July, while incomes continue to fall. All this means that the housing sector will collapse,” — says the first Vice-President of “OPORA Russia” Paul Segal.
According to the Director of ANO “Organizing people’s control” Natalia Chernysheva, to the period of the pandemic and isolation the figure of the debt of individuals for utility services fluctuated around 500-600 billion. Moreover, as the expert emphasizes, the collection of utility payments among citizens has always been high at 90-95%, and the total number of malicious defaulters the trial was only about 30 thousand people. That’s quite a bit across the country.
However, now the situation is literally in the face of dramatically changing for the worse. The supplier and the company predict the fall collection by 70%. But even if they exaggerate, in any case, the size of the total country payment for utilities may be reduced at least twice, and the cash gap in wages could be up to half of the monthly amount, predict industry experts.
“Many of those people who previously regularly paid bills for utilities, now, unfortunately, in a situation when they have lost a significant portion of their income, and they simply did not even have enough to eat, says Chernyshev. — As a result, they can accumulate huge debt by January 2021, when may be returned to the penalties and disconnection for nonpayment.” Recall that in the early period of the pandemic the authorities decided not to collect from citizens penalties and interest for nonpayment or late payment of a communal flat, but these amounts will not be charged, but only transferred to the next year.
the General Director of PJSC “City Innovative Technologies” Sergey Minko believes that it is not necessary so to dramatize the situation. “Yes, a certain reduction of payments, but the reason for this is clear to everyone — the situation facing our country and the world in General. Soon residents will be able to pay, and eventually repay the debt, he says. — Malicious non-payers not pay for years. Yes many responsible taxpayers pay only once a quarter or six months — they are so comfortable, in spite of interest”.
Expert of the Academy of management Finance and investments Aleksey Krichevskiy for its part believes that it would be better if power were given to the needy targeted subsidies to pay for housing than has canceled the fines and penalties to the end of the year. From his point of view, “the discontent of the population grows, because even though a moratorium on the accrual of penalties and a ban on forced recovery of debts easier, but this is not all the same, these debts then have to pay.”
it is Already clear that the government in any case will have to provide compensation to resources providing organizations, in order to prevent the collapse of the housing industry, says Natalia Chernysheva. “Good help would be the introduction of massive subsidies for all taxpayers, at least 50% of each account, which would greatly enhance the overall collection rate,” — said the expert.
