MINSK, 21 September (BelTA) – There are plans to additionally incentivize housing construction in rural areas in Belarus. The corresponding draft decree “On measures to provide state support” that was discussed at the meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 21 September will be adjusted following the discussion, Architecture and Construction Minister Ruslan Parkhamovich told reporters, BelTA has learned.
“There was a heated debate. Representatives of the central government and local authorities spoke out. Not all of our proposals were accepted. The draft decree will be adjusted,” the minister said.
According to him, the relevant norms will be revisited; after that the document will be fine-tuned and forwarded to the head of state for consideration.
Ruslan Parkhamovich noted that the new document has two main objectives: to stimulate housing construction in rural areas, as well as to adjust the terms and procedures for providing state support taking into account the relevant experience.
The minister spoke about the norms that will definitely remain in place in the revised version of the draft decree. The first one seeks to stimulate housing construction in rural areas. People who were put on the waiting list for better housing in Minsk and oblast capitals will have the right to build housing with government support in small settlements in a fast-track manner.
The document also plans to limit access to government subsidies for people who want to have a new home outside the community where they were put on the waiting list for better housing. Thus, they will be entitled to such subsidies only if they build a home in a smaller settlement. “If one lives in the oblast capital, he/she can claim subsidies for a new home only in the district capital. If one lives in the district capital, then subsidies will be available for a new home only in a small settlement. This measure will curb the outflow of the rural population and will discourage the influx of people into urban communities,” Ruslan Parkhamovich explained.
In addition, the draft decree contains provisions of a more specific and narrow nature. For example, the procedure for providing the remaining part of a loan to family members of a borrower who died and could not fully exercise his/her right for a loan. The document will also specify the lending procedure in the event of divorce of borrowers.
