Lukashenko signed decrees that change the procedure for construction and housing financing
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, signed decrees on March 6 aimed at improving the approaches to the order of housing construction and financing. This was reported by BELTA in the press service of the Belarusian leader.
Decree No. 95 "On state support for housing construction" was adopted to create a unified regulatory document for providing citizens with state support in improving housing conditions. It consolidates all existing forms of such support in the country.
The amounts of state support are set at the current level. The categories of persons entitled to it (all civilians and military) and the procedure and conditions for its provision remain unchanged.
The decree provides for three forms of state support for housing construction or acquisition:
preferential loans for the construction of single-family homes, apartments in blocked residential buildings, as well as for the acquisition of single-family homes, apartments in multi-family or blocked residential buildings built under state order (21 categories of citizens);
one-time subsidies for the construction or acquisition of housing (17 categories of citizens);
financial assistance from the state in repaying debts on preferential loans (for large families and young families, upon the birth of children).
Certain categories of citizens may be entitled to all forms of state support.
Among the main innovations of the decree is the exclusion of citizens from participation in the process of shared construction and the provision of preferential loans only for the purchase of apartments in multi-family residential buildings built under state order (while for individual residential houses, financing for construction and purchase remains). In addition, subsidies for repaying debts and interest on commercial loans for housing construction are replaced by preferential loans.
In populated areas with a population of up to 20,000 people, preferential loans will be provided for the purchase of housing both on the primary market (built under state order) and on the secondary market.
Decree No. 94 in a new edition rephrases Decree No. 215 of May 8, 2013, which introduced the mechanism of state order for housing construction.
The essence of the state order is that the construction of residential buildings is carried out by state customers (UCS and other state organizations) without involving citizens at the construction stage. A preferential loan for the construction of a residential building is provided to the ordering organization. After the building is put into operation and contracts of sale are concluded with citizens, the debt on preferential loans is reissued to the citizens.
The decree provides for the possibility of constructing part of the apartments in a multi-family residential building under state order and part of the apartments at the expense of the budget to provide citizens as rental and social housing.
Among the innovations is also the sale of housing built under state order to all citizens registered as needing improved housing conditions (currently - only those entitled to state support).
All changes come into effect on June 1, 2025. State support for residential buildings, the construction of which began before this date, will be provided on previous terms.