Utility Workers Asked Not to Transfer Riga Residents' Debts to Collectors 0 16

On Friday, the deputies discussed the practice of collecting debts from clients of the LLC "Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks" (RNP). The chairman of the RNP board, Maris Ozoliņš, reported that this year, to support clients during the high heating costs period from January to April, the accrual of penalty interest on all RNP services has been suspended. Even if the debt arose back in 2025, new interest for the first four months of the year is not being charged. This measure is applied automatically, without the need for separate requests from clients.

Ozoliņš emphasized that the number of overdue payments this year has only increased by 0.14% compared to the beginning of 2025. "There are people who find it difficult to pay, but the situation is not dramatic," he noted.

According to RNP, 85% of clients pay for services on time, and 99% do so within a year.

The head of RNP explained that the collection process begins only for debts older than three months and in the absence of cooperation from debtors. In the first three months after the debt arises, the company sends reminders and indicates the debt in the current account. A payment schedule is drawn up at the client's initiative; however, if there is no cooperation, after 90 days, extrajudicial collection or legal proceedings begin. The collection process can be halted if the client shows initiative to pay off the debt either immediately or in parts.

The chairwoman of the Housing and Environment Committee, Elina Treija, reported that, according to municipal data, the number of housing benefit recipients has increased this year, which has partially eased the payment of utility services for some residents.

At the end of the meeting, the committee decided to appeal to municipal enterprises with a call not to transfer accounts for services received since December 2025 to third parties for collection.