A deputy announced a ban on debt collectors collecting housing and communal services debts.

Utility companies are not allowed to engage debt collectors or any other third parties to collect utility debts from citizens, Sergei Kolunov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities, told TASS.

The parliamentarian stated that utility companies are completely prohibited from engaging so-called collection agencies or any other third parties to collect utility debts. He emphasized that citizens' utility debts can only be collected through court proceedings, without threats or pressure of any kind.

Kolunov explained that the law prohibiting the transfer of such debts to debt collectors was passed back in 2019, but in practice, management companies and utility providers began engaging them as "authorized representatives." To close this loophole, he said, a new law was passed in 2024.

The deputy added that the Housing Code currently explicitly prohibits the transfer of the right to collect utility debts to any third party. He noted that this provided additional protection for citizens from violations, and any attempt to sell utility debts to debt collectors would be deemed a null and void transaction.

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