Since 2020, housing support for children is regulated by the new conditions of Article 86 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation (FC RF), which were introduced by Federal Law No. 10-FZ “On Amendments to Art. 86 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation" dated 02/06/2020. The corresponding bill No. 809049-7 was submitted by the Government of Russia for consideration to the State Duma back in October 2019, and on January 23, 2020 it was approved in the third reading - on February 6, 2020, the President signed the new law.
What has changed for mothers who are forced to raise children alone? In accordance with the amendments to the RF IC, mothers with children who were left homeless after a divorce and unable to pay rent for living quarters for themselves and their minor children received the right to additional child support for housing.
- New law on housing alimony
- Amount of housing support for children
- Problems in assigning housing alimony
Reasons for making the amendment
As Elena Mizulina, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, said earlier, parliamentarians receive a large number of requests from parents. They complain that the courts, in practice, order additional payments for the child (in addition to alimony) only for the purpose of reimbursing medical expenses. The new law, according to Mizulina, eliminates this injustice.
We are talking about federal law No. 10-FZ dated February 6, 2020 “On amending Article 86 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.” The Family Code previously stipulated the possibility of involving parents in paying additional expenses in addition to the amount of child support. Previously, however, only circumstances related to the health of the minor were taken into account.
Article 86 of the RF IC “Participation of parents in additional expenses for children” states:
In the absence of an agreement and in the presence of exceptional circumstances (serious illness, injury to minor children or disabled adult children in need, the need to pay for outside care and other circumstances), each of the parents may be brought by the court to participate in bearing additional expenses caused by these circumstances.
After the amendments were made, one more exception was added to the list of exceptional circumstances - “the absence of residential premises suitable for permanent residence.”
The need to introduce so-called housing alimony has been discussed for a long time, but a legislative norm has only now appeared. Mizulina does not deny that there are nuances here that can become grounds for abuse. Parliamentarians may have to finalize the law.
Liz Gregg/moodboard/Global Look Press
Problems in assigning housing alimony
Despite the fact that amendments to the Family Code of the Russian Federation have already been adopted by the State Duma and signed by the President, there is still no current mechanism for assigning housing support for children. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the country is in quarantine, including civil courts. Thus, neither an algorithm for assigning the amount of such alimony nor a separate procedure for their transfer has yet been formed, because it is important not just to transfer money from one parent to another, but to ensure that these housing alimony are spent in the intended way - on renting a home (or on paying a mortgage , For example). It is likely that the judicial practice of the next couple of years will form a unified approach of domestic courts to calculating the amount of alimony for housing and to the procedure for its payment by alimony payers.
Currently, the problems in assigning housing alimony are as follows:
- the lack of a unified approach to the standard area of suitable residential premises required for a child to live with one of the parents after a divorce;
- lack of rules and a unified methodology for determining the financial status of alimony payers (verification of declared income);
- lack of rules and a unified methodology for determining the financial status of alimony recipients (verification of declared income);
- lack of rules and a unified methodology for determining the availability of housing for alimony recipients;
- lack of approved limits on monthly rent for housing in certain regions/subjects of the Federation, necessary for the assignment of alimony.
In general, these problems will be affected by the already existing difficulties of collecting classic alimony from alimony payers, that is, concealing the level of income, evading payment, working without an employment contract and receiving wages in convertibles, etc.
When can you count on receiving “housing alimony”
Lawyer Narek Kostanyan warns: it will not happen that, for example, the court orders the father to pay alimony, and then the mother then goes to court so that the man also buys an apartment for the child. We are talking about those cases when, suppose, the mother lives in dilapidated housing (a collapsing dormitory or in a house intended for demolition or major renovation) and the state has not yet provided another place to live. Then the father, in addition to alimony, will have to pay half of the expenses for rented housing.
An apartment suitable for living in does not necessarily have to be owned by the parent with whom the child remains. If, for example, he and his mother are registered with their grandparents, then this also does not allow filing a claim: in this case there are still suitable conditions for living.
Additional expenses for child support workers
Now, in addition to alimony, the court may order the parent of a minor child to bear additional expenses for the needs of the child.
The procedure for incurring additional expenses and their amount are not limited in any way and are determined by the court independently.
Such payments will be assigned based on the claim of one of the parents who is raising a child and needs additional money.
The amount of additional payments can be determined by the court, based on the financial and marital status of the parents.
The amount of additional payments is established in a fixed amount of money, subject to monthly payment.
The court may oblige the parent paying child support to participate in both past and future expenses.
Subtle points of the new law
Kostanyan draws attention to the fact that it is not just the alimony provider who pays for providing normal living conditions for the child. The responsibility lies with both parents. It is not necessary to bring the matter to court: payments for rental housing can be agreed upon voluntarily; an agreement is concluded for this purpose. If it is not possible to come to him on your own, then by decision of the judges the additional financial burden is distributed proportionally, taking into account the financial situation of the parents.
Roman Ustinov believes that when implementing the new law, the service of mediators - intermediaries for pre-trial dispute resolution - should be more actively involved. At the same time, the lawyer does not exclude the emergence of various kinds of conflicts in the interpretation of the new document.
People don't read amendments to laws carefully. I admit that situations may arise when a person rents a house, for example, closer to work, and on this basis appeals to the court so that it obliges the ex-husband to pay the rent. But if the property has an apartment suitable for living, then there can be no talk of any “housing alimony”. There are registries of rights to registered real estate, and the courts work exclusively with documents.
Roman Ustinov
lawyer
The mortgage payment clause appears controversial in the eyes of lawyers. Some media outlets hastened to report that the court may oblige a parent living separately to partially participate in the repayment of mortgage payments. Ustinov doubts the legitimacy of such statements.
The option where the mother takes on the mortgage and makes 50% of the mortgage payments to her husband does not seem possible to me. When a mortgage agreement is drawn up, a person becomes the legal owner, but with a bank encumbrance: the apartment is pledged to the bank. However, the child is provided with housing ,” Ustinov believes.
Two more important points that experts pointed out. Firstly, the alimony payer must be able to work. Secondly: the party counting on additional alimony payments is obliged to prove in court that it cannot independently pay for rented housing.
Judith Thomandl/imageBROKER.com/Global Look Press
What additional payments can be collected for?
The list of additional payments to improve a child’s living conditions is not limited by law. Therefore, such payments may be collected for the following purposes:
- purchasing new housing (apartment, house, room);
- housing construction;
- repayment of mortgage debt;
- making regular payments for renting residential premises;
- renovation of an apartment or residential building and so on.
If a parent proves that they have incurred or will incur any of the above expenses, the court will order the other parent to pay the expenses.
To do this, judges will determine the amount of monthly payment for the parent, which he will have to pay from his earnings along with alimony.
Source:
BUKH.1S channel in Yandex.Zen.
Alimony legislation
According to Article 81 of the RF IC, a parent who does not live with the child is obliged to pay a certain amount of money monthly for his maintenance. The amount of alimony can be determined by the parents independently, by oral agreement, by notarial agreement or in court. If a child support case is considered by the court, the amount is set as a percentage of the total income of the parent who does not live with the child.
For one child the alimony rate is 25%, for two children - 33%, if there are three or more children, then 50% of the total income.
Also, according to Article 86 of the RF IC, parents living separately from their children are required to bear all additional expenses (if any) in the event that:
· The child has a serious illness that requires constant treatment and the use of medications;
· The child has an injury;
· If the child needs constant qualified care;
· If the child needs rehabilitation, sending to a sanatorium or medical institution, etc.
In general, if a child needs sanatorium treatment for health reasons, the father who does not live with the child can be forced to pay the cost through a court order. Unless, of course, he pays it voluntarily or on his own initiative.
What remains the same?
Even without legislative initiatives, the amount of alimony payments constantly changes from year to year: the minimum wage increases, and the corresponding amounts must be indexed. But what remains the same in 2018? Firstly, methods for collecting such funds:
- judicial procedure;
- voluntary conclusion of an alimony agreement.
It should be noted that one contradicts the other. So, if you have reached certain agreements and formalized them, and also certified them with a notary, then subsequently filing an application with the court will not be possible. And there is no need: such a contract has the force of an executive document.
And if the child’s parents nevertheless went to court to solve their problems, then after the corresponding decision has been made and it has entered into force, concluding agreements simply does not make sense from a legal point of view. Moreover, it can create additional problems.
Secondly, the shares that rely on each child remain the same. Let us remind you that for one child this is a quarter, for two – a third, and for three or more – half. In any case, it is prohibited by law to collect more than 50%. The only exceptions may be in relation to malicious debtors, who need not only to pay alimony, but also to deal with what has already accumulated. In the latter case, it is allowed to collect up to 70% of the salary.
Thirdly, the usual method of assigning payments remains: interest, a fixed amount or a combined option. Moreover, the latter may well also involve the provision of material assistance in kind (products, for example, if the defendant is engaged in farming).
Minimum amount of alimony in 2020
What will child support be like in 2020? Since a fixed amount has not been established, you still need to start from your salary. Let us remind you that, according to current legislation, they should not be less than the minimum wage (determined by the state). In 2020 we are talking about 9489 rubles.
Thus, at least 2,372 rubles per month should be allocated for one child, 3,163 for two, and 4,744 for three. Moreover, if there are several children, then each receives even less, since the corresponding amounts are divided equally between everyone.
Was it possible to collect housing support earlier?
Previously, the concept of “housing alimony” was absent in the Family Code, and an additional measure of support for the collection of alimony was established only by Article 31 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. It specifies the obligation of the owner of the living space to provide housing for former family members who need it.
This article of the law is relevant, for example, if the property was acquired by one of the spouses before marriage or was inherited by him, and only on the condition that there is no marriage contract that stipulates other provisions.
As a general rule, former spouses cannot use housing that is the sole property of the ex-husband (or wife). However, under certain conditions, the right to real estate is retained:
- The mother (after all, in most cases it is mothers who stay with the children) has no reason to obtain or use another living space: for example, there is no opportunity to live with the grandmother.
- The ex-wife does not have the funds to buy or rent another home.
Attention
In such a situation, you need to go to court, which for a certain period can reserve the right of the ex-wife and child to continue to use housing even after a divorce. In addition, the court may even oblige the alimony payer to provide his ex-wife and child with other housing.
However, in practice, situations often arose when the child and parent, although formally received the right to reside, were unable to use it due to unbearable conditions or other factors. The law on housing support is needed in order to fully protect the rights of children.
Housing alimony
The Ministry of Justice is preparing a bill regarding housing alimony. Its adoption is currently expected before 2025. Few details are known: this project concerns mainly the responsibility of the parent to provide the child with appropriate living conditions.
Legislation in the field of alimony payments is constantly evolving. New amendments, ideas and bills appear. Our lawyers monitor all changes in order to be able to immediately apply them correctly. Thanks to this, all our clients are aware of relevant news (if desired).
