MINSK, 10 January (BelTA) – Some 12,000 apartments for families with many children will be commissioned in Belarus in 2019, up 1.7 times over the previous year, the housing department of the Architecture and Construction Ministry told BelTA commenting on Council of Ministers' Resolution No. 987 as of 29 December 2018, which was officially published on the National Legal Internet Portal on 9 January.
The bulk of new homes for big families is to be built in Brest Oblast and Minsk Oblast – 2,500 and 2,100 apartments respectively. Nearly 1,900 families with three or more children will get new housing in Minsk. The construction sector is given two years to speed up housing construction for families with many children, so that such families will be able to move into new homes within one year after being put on the housing list. The priority will be given to families with four and more children, and since recently to big families raising children with disabilities.
All in all, the construction of 12,000 apartments will cost Br948.76 million, of which Br238.88 million will be paid by buyers and Br709.28 million will be paid by bank loans (the bulk of the loans - Br639.8 million - will be provided by banks in line with Decree No. 240 on targeted housing subsidies). Government subsidies will be used to pay off part of the interest rate on housing loans provided by any commercial banks, while big families and young families, as well as orphans will be offered such subsidies to pay off part of the principal. In line with Decree No. 13 “On some aspects of providing subsidies for construction (renovation) or purchase of housing”, banks will provide Br70 million in such loans.
Apart from that, more rental apartments will be built. In line with the recent data, in January-September 2018, some 99,600 square meters of rental apartments were commissioned, while the target for the entire 2018 stood at 90,000 square meters. There are plans to commission over 135,000 square meters of rental apartments in 2019. In 2018 the construction was financed mostly using local budgets, however this year companies will be more actively involving in financing.
In line with the resolution, all-round support will be provided to people seeking to build detached houses. In 2019, some 1.75 million square meters of detached houses will be commissioned.
All in all, 4 million square meters of housing is to be built in Belarus in 2019. As far as subsidized loans are concerned, 1 square meter of housing for low income households will cost the same as in 2018. Thus, in line with Decree No. 13 “On some aspects of providing subsidies for construction (renovation) or purchase of housing” and Decree No. 240 “On subsidies for construction (renovation) of housing”, this amount will not exceed Br718. In line with Decree No. 346 as of 2 September 1996 “On some measures to promote housing construction in rural communities”, the threshold amount for providing housing loans stands at Br940.
