The rent is regularly unpaid, because it’s the easiest way!
According to the InfoMonitor Economic Information Bureau, which runs the Debtors Register, the value of Poles’ rent debts has increased by over PLN 28 million over the last six months. For comparison, it is worth adding that in the same period of last year, the debt increase amounted to approximately PLN 3.5 million. In the above register, there are currently over PLN 172 million in rent arrears, of which over 162 million are consumer debt, and only 10 million are debts of entrepreneurs.
The record holder in terms of rent arrears is a 68-year-old resident of Lower Silesia, who has to return almost PLN 544,000. In the category of entrepreneurs, the first place belongs to a person from the Lubuskie voivodeship, whose debt is almost 707,000.
BIG InfoMonitor also conducted a study on financial behavior during the pandemic. The study clearly shows that after the spring quarantine, as many as one in six citizens felt a social consent to not paying their current receivables, and when problems with financial liquidity appeared – even 1 out of 4 people did not pay any of the bills already due.
Reading this study also leads to the conclusion that the receivables for rent and rental of real estate are among the most willingly chosen by debtors payments, the payment of which may be delayed. Next to them, the top three liabilities most frequently paid late are also telephone and utility bills.
The reason for this is the fact that in the absence of sufficient money, unpaid rent does not bring the debtor any unpleasant consequences that he might feel, unlike other media. The service provider will easily be able to cut off access to electricity, gas, Internet or television, while no one will immediately close the debtor’s house just because he is late with paying the rent.
However, the consequences of this line of thinking are distressing and often painful. The amount due for unpaid rent usually increases to a level that is very difficult to deal with later – especially since there are still other obligations to pay.
Property owners and administrators are unable to recover debts.
The Economic Information Bureau reports that the average consumer debt due to unpaid rent is now PLN 19,868. This means that it is over five times greater than the average unpaid telephone bill (approximately – PLN 3,700).
This is mainly because property owners and their administrators use the services of professional attorneys who could effectively help them legally fight an unreliable debtor than companies offering mass services.
It should be pointed out that they practically do not use, for example, pre-litigation notices for payment, the characteristic feature of which is quite significant effectiveness. The debtor – having received such a summons – will immediately see what legal consequences await him if he does not settle his debt. Probably he will not be evicted immediately (it is even more difficult during a pandemic), but information about a possible lawsuit or judicial security of the receivables due to the creditor usually has a good effect on the mobilization of debtors to repay the creditor.
Who is the typical debtor? He’s a middle-aged man.
As many as 1 in 8 respondents admitted that they did not pay (or did not pay) rent. Due to rent, men were more often debtors (13% compared to 10% women) and people aged 25-34 (20%).
Currently, the number of rental debtors is 8,661 and has increased by 284 people since March.
Among the respondents, 27% declared that they were sometimes late with the payment of receivables due to the situation caused by the Coronavirus. They were also afraid of losing financial liquidity and falling into a further, uncontrolled spiral of debt.
It is also worth noting that during the pandemic, arrears for unpaid bills, loans and borrowings increased in almost all age groups (except one). Only people between 18 and 24 have reduced their debt (looking at the last 6 months). However, this is not related to the change in the way money is managed or the repayment of existing debts, and the minimization of own expenses and the shift (in part) to the maintenance of parents or guardians. Young people also put aside their dreams of setting off on their own for the “big world” for later.
Is it possible to effectively recover debts from rent or tenancy?
Experience shows that the amount due for administrative rent or rental is rather high compared to other accounts. Certainly, however, the fact that it is not regulated by the Debtor should not be underestimated. In addition, the most appropriate behavior will be to remind the Debtor of his obligation immediately after failure to meet the payment deadline.
However, life writes various scenarios, including those in which friendly solutions are ineffective. Then it is worth using the services of a professional attorney with extensive experience in the field of debt recovery. The attorney will contact the unreliable debtor on behalf of the creditor, and will send a properly formulated request for payment. Subsequently, it may also take other – appropriate to the circumstances of a given case – steps, for example, directing a claim to a competent court.
Requests for payment and contact with the debtor, made by a professional attorney, are most effective against new, recently incurred debts. Sometimes these actions already lead to the complete repayment of the debt.
Everything indicates that it is not worth postponing the recovery of rent debts and recovering a large amount of money in advance, especially taking into account the current instability.
