Admissibility of the over-indebtedness dossier

Verified 29 November 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

After the submission or dispatch of an over-indebtedness file, an over-indebtedness commission examines the applicant's situation. The commission can decide whether the file is admissible or rejected. In the two cases, it is possible to challenge the commission's decision.

After the submission of the over-indebtedness file, the over-indebtedness commission examines the situation of the person who submitted the over-indebtedness file.

The examination shall cover the following points:

  • Extent of over-indebtedness
  • Character of debts (certain debts, including professional debtsare excluded from this procedure)
  • Good faith of the applicant (the information in the file must be accurate, it must not have deliberately made itself insolvent)

During the examination of the file, the commission may ask the over-indebted party for any other information it considers useful. It can do so either by telephone or by mail. If the commission cannot get that information, it can close the file. But the board will give the applicant advance notice of the need to provide that information for the review of their file.

FYI  

The over-indebtedness commission cannot reject the file on the ground that the applicant owns his principal residence, even if the value of this property would allow all or part of the debts to be paid off.

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Admissibility of the file

Information on the decision of admissibility

If the Debt Relief Commission considers the request for debt relief to be admissible, it shall inform the following persons by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt:

  • Claimant
  • Creditors
  • Institutions managing the applicant's accounts (bank...)

If necessary, the decision of admissibility shall also be notified to the Caf: titleContent or to the MSA: titleContent.

Immediate effects of the admissibility of the case

The Debt Relief Commission examines the file in order to direct it towards the most appropriate procedure for dealing with debt distress (conventional recovery plan, imposed measures or personal recovery).

The decision of admissibility shall have the following effects:

  • Certain execution procedures (entries...) are automatically suspended until the processing procedure is in place, and for a maximum of 2 years.
  • Banks are prohibited from unbridled overdraft repayments, charges on over-indebted accounts when direct debits are rejected, and debt overhangs are not allowed to be paid
  • For all the debts taken into account by the over-indebtedness commission, the decision on the admissibility of the file shall set the interest and penalties for late payment
  • If the over-indebted person is a beneficiary of housing aid (APL: titleContent, ALF: titleContent, SLA: titleContent), their payment is reinstated. However, the LPA is paid directly to the owner (lessor).
Actions that may be taken as soon as the case is admissible
  • The over-indebted person may ask the over-indebtedness commission to be received.
    He will be summoned by simple letter at least 15 days before the meeting. To do so, he must make his request by post, to be handed over to the secretariat of the committee, or to send by simple letter to the following address:
    Who shall I contact
  • Over-indebted persons can request early termination of their Internet or telephone subscription contract (fixed or mobile), without having to pay compensation, even if the contract contains a commitment period.
    The only condition: the over-indebted must have subscribed at least 3 months before the date of its attestation of submission of a file of over-indebtedness.
    In order to obtain the cancelation, the over-indebted party must send its request for cancelation and a copy of the decision of admissibility of its over-indebtedness file to the access provider, by email or by post. It is recommended that you also provide a copy of your ID card and a copy of your debt distress report, as the ISP can request these documents.
    The ISP has 10 days to terminate the subscription, after receiving all of these documents.

Inadmissibility of the file

If the Debt Relief Commission declares the application inadmissible, it shall inform only the person who has lodged the debt relief file.

The notification state the reasons for that decision. It is sent to the person who filed the debt distress report by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

Reminder

The over-indebtedness commission cannot reject the file on the ground that the applicant owns his principal residence, even if the value of this property would allow all or part of the debts to be paid off.

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Challenge the decision of admissibility

FYI  

The effects of the decision of admissibility shall not be suspended, even in the event of an appeal against that decision.

The decision of admissibility may be challenged within 15 days who follow his notification.

To do that, you have to make a statement signed, and include the following information:

  • Name, forenames and address of the person challenging the decision
  • Admissibility decision concerned
  • Grounds for the challenge

The signed declaration must be submitted to the secretariat of the Debt Relief Commission or sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the following address:

Who shall I contact

The court hearing the dispute for the protection of the place where the over-indebted person resides shall decide definitively on the application for the over-indebted person.

  • If it declares it admissible, the debt relief commission will continue to examine the debt relief dossier.
  • If he declares it inadmissible, the procedure ends.

Challenge the decision rejecting the application

The rejection decision may be challenged within 15 days who follow his notification.

To do so, a signed declaration must be submitted, indicating the following:

  • Name, forenames and address of the person challenging the decision
  • Admissibility decision concerned
  • Grounds for the challenge

You can use the following document template:

Letter to appeal against rejection of a debt distress case

The declaration must be submitted to the secretariat of the Debt Relief Commission or sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the following address:

Who shall I contact

The judge, of the court of justice of the place where the over-indebted person lives, shall give a final decision on the application for the over-indebted person:

  • If it declares it admissible, the Debt Overhang Committee shall re-examine the debt overhang case.
  • If he declares it inadmissible, the procedure ends.

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