President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has instructed to consider the possibility of military personnel purchasing rental housing. The Head of State made the relevant statement at a meeting on housing provision for military personnel and persons equated to them, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
Currently, over 33,000 uniformed personnel are on the waiting list for housing improvement. As the President noted, the government proposes rental housing as a primary solution. "The availability of such service apartments not only encourages contract renewals but also allows for personnel rotation," believes the Head of State. "Military personnel often relocate due to new service assignments. The rent for such apartments is already set with a reduced coefficient. This should continue. It is correct. But people need to be given firm assurance for the future."
The Head of State instructed to consider, at the legislative level, the possibility of purchasing rental housing, clearly defining the conditions for this. "If you serve, you live there; after serving the required number of years, say, the stipulated 25 years, the state must state in advance: after 25 years (when they leave service, are discharged to the reserve, or for other objective reasons), we will give this person the apartment or housing for free, or they should pay 3%, or at residual value? I think we need to take a radical approach to this," stated the Belarusian leader.
He drew attention to the fact that military service can involve risks to life, therefore, a person choosing such a profession must be confident that in case of anything, their children, spouse, family, and parents will remain in the apartment or house, having a roof over their heads. "It is disgraceful when a military person dedicates themselves to the country, and it is unknown what will happen to them tomorrow, they wander around the city or the country in search of a place to live," warned the President. "Military personnel must be confident that they will be provided with housing after completing their service." At the same time, when resolving housing issues at the expense of the budget, one must proceed from the economic capabilities of the state, Alexander Lukashenko reminded.