Procedure and costs of rewriting a public utility
Rewriting a public utility can be a long and therefore costly process: those who hate bureaucracy can easily start delaying the announcement of the change, and if they miss the set deadline, they can expect to be punished.
I have collected the most important things about public utility transcription.
When is it necessary to rewrite utilities?
The most common case of rewriting a public utility is a change of ownership. After moving, you have to deal with a lot of paperwork: paying the property acquisition tax, updating the address card, editing the land registry title page and transcribing the utilities, so that the invoices are already addressed to the new buyer.
The rewriting clarifies the liability: i.e., if the service provider experiences irregular operation or intervention in any case, the public utility knows with certainty which side can be held responsible for the given damage by the rewriting deadline.
Because of this, it is recommended for both sides to organize the rewriting of the utilities as soon as possible.
Transcription of meter hours upon change of ownership
A change of ownership can result from the successful sale of a property, an inheritance, a gift, or a favor within the family.
Various utility bills belong to several service providers:
- the gas,
- the water,
- the current
- the district heat,
- garbage collection,
- the Internet,
- the television,
- and the phone often has to be arranged with another service provider.
While, for example, according to the law, we have barely 3 days to report a change of address, we have 15 days to rewrite utilities (with the exception of water), while we have 30 days to notify the water supplier of a change in the person of the owner.
Transfer of utility bills in case of death
In the event of death, utility bills are rewritten within a maximum of 6 months, so we have 180 days to announce the change.
Public utility transcription process
It is important to point out that the above deadlines are not only valid for moving or changing owners, but also for the construction of a new apartment. According to my experience, it is increasingly common in the case of renting that the owner insists that the hours be transferred to the name of the tenant: so if a debt arises, it will not be claimed from him, but from the tenant.
But what is the transcription process?
- Any party can initiate the rewriting of utilities (the best case, however, is if the parties announce the change together).
- Submission of necessary documents online or offline: identity documents, recent sales contract and title deed. In some cases, the rental agreement or the death certificate may also be required.
- Property transfer protocol.
- Filling out the form of the utility provider (documents required for transcription)
- The service provider then issues a final invoice to the previous owner.
- Settlement of debts if necessary.
- Conclusion of new utility contracts with the changed data.
Utility transfer costs
The costs of the public utility transfer do not only depend on the administration fees of the service providers: but also on how many hours/days we miss at work during the measures.
Transcription costs are not that high, all in all you can count on 5-10 thousand forints. But if we calculate that even missing a working day costs at least this much, then all in all the transcription can cost up to HUF 30-40 thousand.
Transcription of utilities online or with a service provider
Due to the 5-8 different service providers, personal administration can take a lot of time, along with waiting in line and administration time. Based on calculations, together with travel and administration, we can spend up to 2-3 full days rewriting the utilities.
What are the consequences of not reporting changes or not rewriting?
It is not worth delaying the transfer of utilities, especially from the seller's side, it is necessary to make the announcement as soon as possible, since if the change of owner is not announced, the bills may still be charged to the previous owner.
The service providers can charge a fee in the event of a late transfer, which can be HUF 6,000 gross in the case of a notification exceeding 180 days, and HUF 12,000 in the case of a delay exceeding one year.
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