Estonian attorney: some debts can legally be refused, yet thousands still pay them
Estonian attorney Kaire Sepper, a former bailiff's office employee, argues that time-barred enforcement claims, time-barred collection debts and loans taken out by scammers need not be repaid. Debtors must act themselves to assert their rights.
Thousands of people in Estonia keep repaying debts that they could legally refuse to pay. This is the argument of attorney Kaire Sepper in an opinion piece for the news outlet ERR News. She has spent years working in debt collection, first in a bailiff's office and now as an attorney advising clients, and says not every debt must be repaid.
The topic is also current nationally. This summer, Estonia's Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs circulated a proposal to amend the Code of Enforcement Procedure so that debtors could keep more of their wages, with the aim of reducing envelope wages. In January, the Supreme Court clarified the rules on publishing time-barred debts. Estonians also lost €21 million to scammers in the first nine months of this year.
Time-barred claims in enforcement proceedings
If enforcement of a claim has become time-barred, the debtor may refuse to pay. The debt technically still exists, but a bailiff can no longer collect it by compulsory enforcement. Enforcement of a claim arising from a court judgment generally becomes time-barred after 10 years.
Estonia has 75,000 debtors subject to more than 400,000 ongoing enforcement proceedings. Many proceedings begun before 2016 involve time-barred claims, and those launched in 2016 are reaching the limitation period now. These are private claims, such as apartment association and lender debts. Fines and tax debts expire under different, generally shorter rules. Exceptions exist, such as child support or suspended proceedings.
Debtors must submit an application asserting that the claim is time-barred; enforcement does not stop automatically. When second-pillar pension withdrawals were allowed in 2021, an estimated €70 million went toward debt repayment, and many debtors unknowingly repaid time-barred claims. Creditors are advised to review their enforcement proceedings, since the principle of "first come, first served" applies.
Time-barred debts pursued by collection agencies
The second category is debts pursued by collection agencies that are already time-barred. Often the agency's only leverage is the threat of adding a person to a payment default register. In a January 30, 2026 ruling, the Supreme Court said that publishing a time-barred debt in such a register is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. If a person challenges the listing, the registry operator must show a compelling reason that outweighs the debtor's interests.
Loans taken out by scammers
In some fraud cases, scammers have also taken out loans in victims' names. Several Estonian court rulings have found that lenders have no right to recover such loans from victims. Victims should preserve all evidence, notify the police, their bank and the lender, and then contact a legal adviser.
Sepper concludes that the law does not help passive parties, whether creditor or debtor.
