April 9, Minsk /BELTA/. The Concept of the State Housing Policy of the Republic of Belarus until 2016 has been approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of April 5, 2013. This was reported to BELTA by the press service of the Belarusian government.
The Resolution provides for the Ministry of Architecture and Construction, jointly with republican bodies of state administration, to develop and submit to the Council of Ministers a plan of measures for the implementation of this concept within two months.
The aim of the state housing policy until 2016 is to create conditions for citizens to meet their need for affordable and comfortable housing in accordance with their individual requests and financial capabilities, and to form a fully-fledged housing market. The objectives of the state housing policy are to provide every citizen with a wide choice of ways to solve housing issues, including the construction of new housing, its purchase on the secondary market, and the rental of residential premises from state and private housing stock. State support will be provided to citizens who cannot improve their housing conditions on their own, as well as to other categories of citizens, based on the specifics of their activities. The number of financing mechanisms for housing construction will be expanded, with the maximum involvement of extra-budgetary sources, including citizens' own funds and organizations' funds, being planned. A fund of residential premises for commercial use is being formed and developed. The share of individual housing construction should be increased to at least 40% of the total volume of housing commissioned.
The Concept defines the criteria for registration and provision of state support to citizens in need of improved housing conditions. In 2013-2015, the condition for housing provision will be the ownership and (or) use of a total area of residential premises of at least 15 sq.m per person (in Minsk - at least 10 sq.m).
To practically implement the restriction on registering citizens who have previously benefited from state support in construction, including reconstruction, or acquisition of housing, a unified database (at the national level) of such citizens and their family members will be created. The list of categories of citizens eligible for registration as in need may be refined in the process of implementing state housing policy. Improvement of housing stock accounting and changes in its structure and characteristics are planned to be carried out by maintaining a unified national electronic system for housing stock accounting. By 2015, local executive bodies will maintain automated accounting of citizens in need of improved housing conditions.
Mortgage lending for housing will be developed. Amendments to the Law of June 20, 2008 "On Mortgage" will be introduced, the country's economy will be strengthened, the refinancing rate of the National Bank and the interest rates on mortgage lending will be reduced, and other measures aimed at forming a stable mortgage market will be adopted, which will increase the attractiveness of mortgage loans for housing construction.
Citizens will be given the opportunity for targeted savings for housing within the housing construction savings system after the adoption of the Law "On the Housing Construction Savings System". This will allow citizens, after accumulating 25-50% of the amount required for construction, reconstruction, or acquisition of housing, to obtain a loan for the remaining part of the housing cost under conditions defined by the housing construction savings system, at lower interest rates than other loans issued by banks for housing construction. The housing construction savings system will be formed using approaches that ensure its development as a banking and financial instrument.
The system of using housing bonds by the population for improving housing conditions will be developed, and the practice of using housing bonds with collateral for the fulfillment of their issuers' obligations will be expanded. Conditions will be created for the active involvement of organizations and trade unions in the implementation of state housing policy, involving the inclusion of direct support measures for employees in improving their housing conditions in the social package.
With the aim of rational resource utilization and improvement of the payment system for certain types of housing and communal services, the concept provides for the future introduction of differentiated charges for heating services depending on the area of the occupied residential premises. It also envisages a phased increase in the level of cost recovery by the population for the provision of housing and communal services to 60% by 2015, bringing it for individual services to the cost price level (water supply, removal, disposal and processing of solid municipal waste, electricity and gas supply). At the same time, achieving the specified level of cost recovery by the population will be carried out taking into account the growth of population incomes and will be accompanied by measures for its social protection.
In 2013-2015, the volume of housing commissioning for the republic as a whole will amount to 24.5 million sq.m, including 9 million sq.m for preferential categories of citizens. In 2015, housing construction volumes will reach 9.5 million sq.m. During the period of the concept's validity, at least 1 million sq.m of commercial housing will be built. The level of housing provision per resident will increase to 27-28 sq.m by 2015.
As a result of the implementation of the state housing policy, conditions will be created for providing citizens with quality, environmentally friendly and affordable housing based on the transition to economically balanced financing of housing construction through an optimal combination of state support for socially vulnerable population groups with new financing mechanisms and support for housing construction for the general population.
The implementation of the concept will be carried out in accordance with the action plan for its implementation under the control of the Council of Ministers, taking into account the results of public opinion monitoring.-0-