Blocking of accounts due to utility debts: Who is in danger?

In Ukraine, bank accounts are blocked for utility debts. Any debtor may be at risk. And there are more than 627 thousand such people in the register

They have no right to cut off utilities for debts during martial law. Also, utilities will not be forcibly collected from displaced persons in settlements where military operations are ongoing. However, this does not mean that you don’t have to pay for utilities. Firstly, no one will write off the old debt and sooner or later it will have to be paid. Secondly, in addition to shutting off utilities, there are other methods of influencing the debtor.

But they can sue debtors. The register of debtors includes 627.1 thousand Ukrainians who lost in court cases regarding utility debts. The trial follows a simplified procedure. For example, as stated in the materials of case No. 643/5130/23, in June of this year, Kharkov Heating Networks filed a lawsuit against the owners of an apartment that does not pay for heating. And already in August, two months later, the court ordered the debtors to pay more than 89 thousand UAH. This is debt that accumulated from 2016 to February 2022.

What utility debts can lead to:

• the executor of the judgment may seize the debtor's property;
• according to the executor’s letter, all bank accounts must be frozen;
• if information about debts is transferred to the Credit History Bureau, this may prevent you from obtaining a loan in the future;
• the executor can take away the debtor's property (up to and including the teapot).

Pensions are also seized. By law, they can take away up to 50% of the pension payment. For example, if a pensioner receives a monthly payment of 4,800 UAH, then due to utility debt, 2,400 UAH may be written off from him. At the same time, the cost of living for a pensioner is UAH 2,093. The Constitutional Court decided by its decision that it is impossible to cut the pension so that its size is less than the subsistence minimum.