Application for seizure of the debtor's property

• Application for seizure of the debtor’s property: the essence of the document
• Features of a petition to seize the debtor's property
• Seizure of the debtor's property: in what cases is it not imposed?
• The procedure for signing an application for seizure of the debtor’s property

If there are no guarantees about the debtor’s reliability or there is confidence that he does not have the funds to repay the debt, his property is seized. Filling out an application for seizure of the debtor’s property, first of all, aims to ensure the safety of the debtor’s property that is subject to recovery in favor of the applicant or its sale.

As an interim measure

Interim measures are restrictions on transactions with property or other actions of the debtor, which may be applied while the case is being considered in court. Seizure of property is a popular interim measure in cases where the dispute is about this property or about the payment of money by the defendant.

Seizure means the inability to dispose of property (sell, donate it, etc.). Therefore, the property remains with the debtor. After a court decision is made, a penalty may be brought against him. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this may be a transfer of property to the plaintiff or a sale of the property (in which case the proceeds from the sale are transferred to the plaintiff).

The decision to apply certain interim measures is made by the court at the request of the plaintiff. The ruling on the imposition of interim measures may indicate the seizure of directly transferred property, or of the property as a whole, within the limits of the total value of the claim. In this case, the specific composition of the property and the types of restrictions in relation to it will be determined by the bailiff, who will execute this ruling of the court (Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated November 17, 2015 No. 50 “On the application of legislation by courts when considering certain issues arising during enforcement proceedings” , paragraph 40).

Read more about the rules for applying interim measures here.

What requests and demands can be made to the bailiff?

There are various reasons for filing a petition:

• securing a claim in court (requires interim actions on the part of the bailiff)
• requesting information from organizations and third parties about the availability of the debtor’s property or information about its location
• a request for a visit to the debtor to draw up an inventory of property;
• seizure of bank accounts
• prohibition to carry out certain registration actions (for example, with real estate and movable property, entering information into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities for a legal entity in connection with a change)
• petition for a ban on the debtor’s travel outside the Russian Federation
• petition to prohibit the debtor from driving a vehicle in connection with the debt under the writ of execution
• request to reduce the amount of deductions for enforcement proceedings
• petition for renewal, termination, suspension of enforcement proceedings
• other petitions and requests to the bailiff

Applying order

The procedure for seizing the debtor’s property is regulated by Federal Law of October 2, 2007 No. 229-FZ “On Enforcement Proceedings” (Article 80). To seize property, the bailiff issues a resolution.

The claimant of the property, the plaintiff in a won court case, may request seizure. It makes sense for the applicant to demand the seizure of the debtor’s property simultaneously with the application to initiate enforcement proceedings. But, even if this was not done immediately, the claimant has the right to file a separate petition to apply restrictions in the form of arrest to the debtor’s property. Sample statements for both of these situations are provided below.

Expert opinion

Lawyer Alexander Vasiliev comments

The bailiff can seize any property of the debtor about which there is information. The subject of seizure will not necessarily be the property specified in the court decision. The court may decide to collect funds from the debtor without specifying any other property at all. Arrest based on such a decision may be applied.

Seizure of property upon a demand for collection of funds is not permitted if the amount to be recovered is less than 3,000 rubles (Clause 1.1 of Article 80 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings). According to such requirements, you can only arrest:

• funds in bank accounts,
• pledged property that will be recovered in favor of the pledgee;
• property under a writ of execution containing a request for seizure.

An arrest may be imposed:

• on property that is owned by the debtor himself;
• to the property that belongs to the debtor but is owned by third parties.

Acts of courts and bailiffs are binding on everyone. Therefore, even persons not involved in the proceedings between the debtor and the collector are obliged to comply with the restrictions established in the executive documents.

If another person who has the property believes that the ownership actually belongs to him, the seizure order must be appealed. Read more about how to do this here.

The procedure for seizing depends on what kind of property the restriction is imposed on.

• Arrest by the registration authority

Ownership of certain types of property is subject to state registration. First of all, this concerns the most common cases of seizure of real estate or shares in the authorized capital of an LLC. Such arrest is imposed by making entries in the registers where the rights to the disputed property are recorded (USRN, Unified State Register of Legal Entities).

To execute the seizure, the bailiff sends to the required government body (Rosreestr, Federal Tax Service) a resolution to seize the property. Based on this, an arrest record will be entered into the appropriate register.

• Seizure of securities

Shares, bonds and other issue-grade securities are accounted for in specialized organizations - registrars or depositories. The procedure for seizing them is similar to that indicated above. Having received the order of the bailiff, the registrar makes an entry about the arrest in the register of securities owners. From this moment on, disposal of the security becomes impossible until the arrest is terminated.

• Seizure of funds in accounts

If it is known in which bank the debtor keeps his savings, in order to seize the money in a bank deposit or account, the bailiff sends to this bank a resolution to seize the funds and precious metals. Having received the order, the bank executes it.

In this case, the bank independently calculates the amounts that the debtor can withdraw from the account (if, for example, part of the funds is not subject to seizure - more on this below).

If the collector and the bailiff do not know in which bank the debtor has accounts, the bailiff sends a resolution to various banks to search for the debtor’s accounts. According to this decree, the banks that received it must check whether they hold the debtor’s funds and inform the bailiff about this.

• Seizure of other property

The seizure of other types of property of the debtor is established by the adoption by the bailiff of an act of seizure.

Simultaneously with the act, an inventory of the property is drawn up. This document states:

• Full name and position of the bailiff;
• Full names of persons present during the seizure of property;
• Name and description of the property seized, including its distinctive features.
• Preliminary assessment of the property as a whole and each item,
• Type and scope of restrictions imposed;
• The period for which the arrest was applied;
• If property is seized from the debtor - an indication of this, the name and address of the person to whom this property was transferred for protection or storage, as well as a note warning this person about liability for embezzlement, alienation or illegal transactions with the transferred property.

All persons present during its preparation must be familiar with the act. As a sign of familiarization, they sign the document. They have the right to express comments on the contents of the act and make statements. If any of them refuses to sign an act of seizure of property, the bailiff makes a corresponding note in the document.

Seizure can be imposed not only on material things, but also on property rights belonging to the debtor. This must also be reflected in the seizure document.

Procedural procedure for drawing up an act of seizure (inventory of property)

According to Article 33 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings, enforcement actions (including seizure of property) can be carried out:

• at the place of residence or stay of the debtor - citizen or the location of the debtor - organization (its branch); or
• at the location of the debtor's property.

In this case, the main enforcement proceedings can be opened at the place of residence of the debtor, and the inventory and seizure of property can be carried out at its location by another bailiff. To carry out enforcement actions outside of his/her territory of work, the bailiff can issue an assignment to a colleague who is assigned the required territory. The order is formalized by issuing a resolution.

Expert opinion

Lawyer Alexander Vasiliev comments

If the debtor has changed his place of residence during enforcement proceedings, his case will be transferred to the bailiff at the new location. When transferring the case, the previously applied arrest and other restrictions are not lifted (Article 33 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings).

The established procedure for issuing an act with the involvement of witnesses is designed to ensure compliance with the rights of the debtor. The absence of witnesses is a serious mistake and provides grounds for challenging the act of seizure of property.

Unlike attesting witnesses, the law does not require the obligatory participation of the debtor in drawing up the act. Therefore, the seizure of property carried out without the participation of the debtor is legal. An exception would be situations where the debtor wanted to take part in this process, but for some reason was deprived of this opportunity without proper grounds. In this case, he can appeal the applied seizure of property.

The debtor must in any case be notified of the commencement of enforcement proceedings and the implementation of enforcement actions against him.

Property valuation

The assessment of property in the act of arrest is carried out preliminary, based on the bailiff’s own knowledge. Moreover, within 1 month after the discovery of the property, the bailiff is obliged to evaluate it with the involvement of a professional appraiser. This requirement applies to the property listed in Article 85 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings:

• Real estate;
• Securities that are not traded on organized trading, except for shares. For exchange-traded securities, their value is determined based on the results of trading on the exchange, for shares - according to the data of the management company of the mutual investment fund;
• Property rights. Accounts receivable (funds to be collected from creditors) that are not sold at auction are not subject to assessment;
• Precious metals and stones in all types (except for impersonal metal accounts in banks - where the value is also known without evaluation);
• Collectible coins;
• Antiques, works of art, other items of historical or cultural value,
• Any things the cost of which, according to preliminary estimates, exceeds 30 thousand rubles;
• Any things with which the debtor or the claimant does not agree with the preliminary assessment (the costs of the assessment are borne by the party that did not agree with the preliminary figure).

If an item does not fall into the above list, or clearly costs less than 30 thousand rubles, its re-evaluation is not necessary.

To evaluate this or that property, the bailiff issues a resolution stating:

• Basis for assessment;
• List of property subject to it;
• The name of the appraiser from among those selected in accordance with the procedure established by law.

If the debtor or claimant does not agree with the assessment made by the bailiff, they have the right to challenge it within 10 days after they are notified of the assessment results. Read more about challenging a grade here.

Sequence

In accordance with Art. 80 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings, the bailiff has the right not to apply the rules of priority when seizing the debtor’s property. This means that property can be seized in the order in which it was discovered, and not in the order that will be applied when it is sold.

How can a bailiff punish a child support provider?

The bailiff, on the basis of his powers, can punish the arrears of alimony in the following ways:

1. Collect the debt in full from the alimony provider.
2. In addition, the plaintiff can apply to collect a penalty from the alimony provider, the amount of which is equal to 0.5% of the amount of alimony debt for each day of delay. To do this, you need to file a claim with the court for the accrual of a penalty. Also, the plaintiff has the right to file a claim for compensation for losses incurred that were caused due to delays in payments (for example, when taking out a loan for family needs, including for food and child support, and due to late receipt of alimony, the plaintiff does not was able to repay it on time). This circumstance is regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation (Article 115).
3. An undisciplined child support provider may be deprived of parental rights. At the same time, he will still have to pay child support until the child reaches 18 years of age. Under such circumstances, neither the plaintiff nor the child loses anything, but the greedy alimony provider, deprived of parental rights, loses the right to inherit after his child (unlike a baby, who does not lose such a right) and the right to receive maintenance from him in old age (Article 69 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation).
4. Property can be confiscated to pay off alimony arrears. If the alimony owner owns any valuable property, it is necessary to inform the bailiff about this in order to seize the savings, based on the Family Code of the Russian Federation (Article 112). Also, we must not forget that malicious evasion of alimony payments can lead to criminal liability of the debtor, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 157).
5. In addition to everything, the bailiff, for failure to comply with his requirements, as well as for providing false information about his right to property, for concealing information about dismissal from one institution and placement in a new enterprise, for hiding income or providing an incorrect address of residence, may , according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, issue a fine in the amount of 1000 to 2500 rubles (Articles 17.14, 17.15 of Law No. 195-FZ of December 30, 2001).

Deadlines

An arrest in enforcement proceedings is valid until:

• cancellation of the arrest due to its recognition as illegal or at the request of the claimant; or
• until the execution of the court decision is completed - that is, until the property is sold at auction or the claims of the claimant are repaid in another way.

An arrest can be applied immediately after a court decision is made - that is, during the time that the debtor has for voluntary execution of the court decision (Clause 1 of Article 80 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings).

The procedure for considering a petition by a bailiff

The procedure for considering applications by the bailiff is regulated by the provisions of Art. 64.1 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings and is as follows:

• after the application is received by the bailiff department, it is submitted to a specific bailiff for consideration within 3 days
• The bailiff, having received a petition, the consideration of which falls within his competence, within 10 days makes a decision to satisfy the petition or to refuse to satisfy it
• a copy of the resolution on the results of consideration of the petition no later than the next day is sent to the participants in the enforcement proceedings

Despite the fact that the procedure for considering applications is regulated by law, it is most often not observed, i.e. bailiffs do not consider the application in a timely manner; they may prepare a decision retroactively and not send it to the applicant.

If the applicant wants all deadlines for consideration of his application to be met and to receive a bailiff’s decision, he must constantly remind the bailiff of his petition and ask him to hand over the decision to you. There are responsible bailiffs who do everything as expected and send a response by Russian post.

Application (petition) for seizure of the debtor’s property at the beginning of enforcement proceedings

In ХХХХ management of the FSSP of Russia for ХХХХ

From the claimant: full name, address, phone number, email address

Application (petition) to initiate enforcement proceedings

and seizure of the debtor's property

Based on the decision of the XXX federal court in case No. XXXX, XX.XX.20XX, a writ of execution No. XXXX was issued to collect funds from the full name (debtor) in favor of the full name (collector).

I request that the collected funds be transferred to the account of the claimant, which has the details specified in the appendix to this application.

As far as the claimant knows, the debtor has the following property: XXXX (indicate if the claimant has this information).

According to paragraphs. 1 – 2 tbsp. 30 of Federal Law No. 229-FZ of October 2, 2007 “On Enforcement Proceedings”

ASK:

1. Initiate enforcement proceedings against the full name and recover an amount in the amount of XXXX rubles;
2. Seize the debtor's property.

Application:

1. A copy of the representative's power of attorney (if necessary).
2. Performance list.
3. Bank account details of the claimant.
4. Documents containing information about the debtor, his debtor's property, and other information that may help in the execution of the court decision.

Date, signature of the applicant.

Application (petition) for seizure of the debtor’s property in already initiated enforcement proceedings

In ХХХХ management of the FSSP of Russia for ХХХХ

From the claimant: full name, address, phone number, email address

Petition to seize the debtor's property

The bailiff - executor XXXX is in the process of enforcement proceedings No. XXXX on the basis of the writ of execution No. XXXX for the collection in favor of the full name (collector) of funds from the full name (debtor).

As the claimant became aware, the debtor has the following property: XXXX (indicate if the claimant has this information).

According to paragraphs. 1 – 2 tbsp. 30 of Federal Law No. 229-FZ of October 2, 2007 “On Enforcement Proceedings”

ASK:

1. Seize the debtor's property.

Application:

1. A copy of the representative's power of attorney (if necessary).
2. Documents containing information about the debtor, his debtor's property, and other information that may help in the execution of the court decision.

Date, signature of the applicant.

Author of the document

• Email

In __________ district court of ____________

_______________________________________

from _____________________________________

residing at:

________________________________________

How to remove

The grounds for lifting the arrest may be:

• repayment of debt by the debtor. In this case, enforcement proceedings are terminated and all restrictions must be lifted;
• claimant's petition. Typically, such a request may follow if the parties have reached an amicable agreement. But before receiving payment under the court decision, the claimant should not file such a petition;
• declaring the arrest illegal based on the results of consideration of the debtor’s complaint to a higher bailiff - the executor or to the court.

If illegal

Violation of the debtor's rights at the stage of enforcement proceedings can be appealed:

1. Administratively by filing a complaint with a higher-ranking bailiff (the head of the relevant department of the FSSP); or
2. To court.

An administrative appeal to a superior manager may precede going to court, but this is not necessary. The debtor has the right to choose the method of appeal.

Read more about appealing an illegal seizure of property here.

How to file a motion to secure a claim

The text of the document must include the following information:

• what facts and information served as the basis for applying to the court to secure the claim;
• what measures, in the applicant’s opinion, should be taken by the court.

A petition to secure a claim is submitted through the court office (it is also allowed during the court hearing directly to the judge).

The advisability of applying security measures for a claim depends solely on the opinion of the judge. The court does not notify the persons involved in the case about the receipt of a request to secure the claim. The result of the consideration is formalized by a court ruling on taking measures to secure the claim. It is executed immediately by issuing a writ of execution to the plaintiff. Subsequently, the plaintiff has the right to file an additional petition to secure the claim to replace one security measure with another, and the defendant can cancel the measures by filing a corresponding application with the court.

Various cases of arrest

Seizure of money in bank accounts

You can seize money that:

• are already in the bank accounts and deposits of the debtor;
• who will come there in the future (salaries, other income).

In case of arrest, funds are credited to the client’s account, but they cannot be written off. The arrest is imposed within the amount determined in the court decision. All receipts above this amount are free from any restrictions.

Expert opinion

Lawyer Alexander Vasiliev comments

Seizure of escrow accounts opened by the debtor is not allowed (clause 3.2 of Article 80 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings). It is believed that the money has already been deposited in fulfillment of obligations to other persons. Therefore, you cannot take them back.

It is impossible to seize all money coming into accounts. The debtor has the right to retain the funds necessary for life. Their maximum size is limited by Articles 99 and 101 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings:

• the debtor has the right to retain 50% of the salary (after taxes);
• for some types of claims (injury to health, harm caused by a crime, damage in connection with the death of the breadwinner and some others), the debtor retains only 30% of the salary after taxes.

Read more about the seizure of wages by a bailiff in another material on our website.

It is impossible to foreclose on certain types of cash receipts specified in Article 101 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings: payments in connection with compensation for harm to health, death of the breadwinner, payments and benefits for children of various kinds. Seizure of these amounts is possible only if the legality of their receipt is challenged. Read more about this in a separate article on our website.

Seizure of real estate

Seizure of the debtor's real estate is the second most common measure after seizure of funds. The fact is that when receiving a mortgage, the purchased apartment will be pledged to secure claims against the bank. If mortgage payments are late, the bank has the right to foreclose on the apartment. Usually, despite the record of the mortgage, bank lawyers additionally ask to seize the property in order to ensure the execution of the court decision.

Expert opinion

Lawyer Alexander Vasiliev comments

The seizure of real estate is reflected in the records of the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRN) by making a separate entry. After making such an entry, the disposal of real estate becomes impossible.

The debtor, as a rule, can use the property until it is sold at auction. But at the request of the claimant, this possibility will be limited by the court in the decision made, or by the bailiff in enforcement proceedings.

For alimony

In accordance with Art. 99 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings, a special collection procedure applies to alimony.

Seizure of the debtor's wages and other income can be imposed in the amount of up to 70% of the proceeds if alimony is collected from him. This amount of recovery is applied until the debtor pays in full.

If the debtor himself receives alimony, such payments are exempt from collection on the basis of Article 101 of the Law on Enforcement Proceedings.

Debtor's spouses

Property acquired during marriage is by default the common joint property of the spouses. If one of the spouses turns out to be a debtor in enforcement proceedings, the second spouse has the right to demand that his share be allocated from the property that will be foreclosed on.

Expert opinion

Lawyer Alexander Vasiliev comments

Seizure of joint property is possible even before the allocation of the spouse’s share. This was indicated by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in Resolution of the Plenum of November 17, 2015 No. 50 “On the application of legislation by courts when considering certain issues arising in the course of enforcement proceedings.”

After determining the size of the share of the debtor spouse and its division, the seizure of the rest of the property is lifted.

Other relatives of the debtor

The property of spouses in a registered marriage can be joint (that is, existing without the allocation of shares). Property is usually shared with other relatives.

If the debtor's property is in common ownership with other relatives, arrest can only be imposed on the share belonging to the debtor.

However, the remaining share owners will also suffer from such arrest. Property whose share has been seized can no longer be sold as a whole object. Therefore, its value is rapidly falling.

Seizure of property will ensure the enforcement of a court decision in the future. But in order for it to be applied in a timely and correct manner, it is important to submit a timely application to the court or the bailiff - the executor.

What property is not subject to seizure by bailiffs

In accordance with the rules of Art. 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the bailiff does not have the right to seize:

• a plot of land, if there is a building on it that falls under the term “the only suitable housing” for the debtor and his family (an exception is when the land is also the subject of a mortgage and it is on this obligation that enforcement proceedings have been initiated).
• items of ordinary furnishings - chairs, table, dishes, etc. Such “untouchable” property does not include luxury furniture or antiques.
• personal belongings - clothes, shoes, with the exception of jewelry, items made of gold and other precious metals.
• fruits, plants from the garden, pets, as well as buildings specially designed for their maintenance, if all this is not related to entrepreneurial activity and profit-making.
• property that the debtor needs in connection with his professional activities, if the cost of the item does not exceed 10,000 rubles. You need to know that the type of your professional activity in such cases will have to be proven - for example, a photographer, in order not to have his camera seized, must provide information about the nature of his work (service agreement, work book, etc.). Unofficial earnings may not be taken into account by bailiffs.
• seeds for sowing (not for sale).
• food products (any).
• funds up to an amount equal to the minimum subsistence level at the time of the arrest procedure. For example, in 2022, a living wage for pensioners is set at 8,726 rubles. This means that it will be impossible to seize money in the home or account in an amount not exceeding this value.
• fuel if it is intended for heating in winter or for cooking. It is clear that these circumstances are typical for residents of towns and villages.
• property that is necessary for a disabled debtor - for example, a wheelchair; a car converted taking into account the physical condition of a person, etc. Of course, you will need to prove that the debtor has the appropriate status.
• all kinds of awards - medals, cups, figurines awarded to the debtor in connection with achievements in the field of sports, art, etc.

In addition, certain provisions of the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings of the Russian Federation” prohibit the seizure of funds of the following categories:

• amounts that the debtor receives in compensation for damage to health, in connection with the loss of a breadwinner, payments in connection with an occupational disease or injury, etc.
• compensation payments from the state (social);
• child support;
• amounts paid by the employer in connection with the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, etc.

In order to prevent a ban on the disposal of transferred money, their origin should be confirmed with bank statements, accrual orders, etc.

Appealing the decision of bailiffs to refuse a petition

Decisions and resolutions within the framework of enforcement proceedings, adopted at the request of bailiffs, can be appealed legally. For this purpose, existing legislation in the country allocates 10 days. The main reasons for appeal are considered to be unmotivated conclusions or violation of the rights of the claimant or debtor.

Applications are submitted to the courts or to the management of the performing party. The second method allows you to resolve emerging issues much faster. In addition, there is no provision for payment of state duty during an administrative appeal. Litigation is considered more efficient.

Our lawyer for enforcement proceedings always advises to do all the actions within the framework of the execution of the court decision, to exercise all the rights of the claimant, if you want to receive the award, about this VIDEO on the topic, watch and write your question in the comments of the video: