Armenia`s government plans to implement housing programme for  forcibly displaced people in next 10-12 years

ArmInfo.In the next 10-12 years, the Armenian authorities will spend about 700-800 billion drams to implement a program to support the provision of housing to families forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. The details of the program were presented by the coordinator of individual functions of the structural divisions of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Gayane Karagyozyan.

According to her, the program consists of three components. One  component is the acquisition of an apartment or private house through  the issuance of a certificate, the second is the issuance of a  certificate for the construction of a private house, the third is the  repayment of a mortgage loan.

The amount of financial assistance does not depend on the component  and is determined by the locality chosen by the program beneficiary  where he plans to purchase/build housing. Thus, in the case of the  acquisition/construction of housing in any of the 242 settlements  approved by the government (Goris in Syunik, Berd in Tavush, etc.),  the amount of assistance for each family member, including a minor,  will be 5 million drams, and if chosen places of residence from the  list of 148 settlements (Vardenis, Noyemberan, Kapan, Kajaran, etc.)  funding will amount to 4 million drams. In all settlements, including  Yerevan (with the exception of the first and second zones), the  amount of assistance will be 3 million drams. The area of the  purchased apartment must not be less than 12 square meters per family  member, and the price of the apartment cannot exceed 55 million  drams.

If a person has an existing mortgage loan, the government will  provide support in the amount of 2 million drams for each family  member. Mortgages in the first and second price zones of Yerevan are  also not considered here.

When choosing the second component (issuing a certificate for the  construction of a private house), the family can use 3 million drams  from the provided financial assistance to purchase a land plot. In  this case, the area of the acquired land should not be less than 400  sq.m.

If, as a result of issuing a certificate, a positive balance is  formed, then the opportunity will be created to send them in the  following three directions. The first is the purchase of a rural plot  of land worth up to 5 million drams. Secondly, if the purchased  property requires repairs, it can be repaired for up to 3 million  drams, in addition, it is possible to purchase furniture and  household appliances for up to 2 million drams.

To build a house, the beneficiary must choose one of the approved  standard projects, and only a construction organization licensed in  Armenia can build. If the beneficiary does not have a land plot for  the construction of a private house, then the authorities will give  the opportunity to use up to 3 million drams from the support amount  to purchase a land plot, the area of which should not be less than  400 square meters.

The beneficiaries of the program are families forcibly displaced from  Nagorno-Karabakh after September 27, 2020, if all family members,  including minors, have Armenian citizenship. The program will not  affect families from Kashatagh (Lachin), as well as families where at  least one person owns residential property in Armenia at the time of  application. The program is terminated if two of the adult family  members are under 55 years of age or one of the minors is outside  Armenia for more than 183 days during one calendar year (except for  cases of studying in a number of educational institutions). In this  case, ownership of the property is transferred to the state.

The project will be financed by partner banks, the amount of support  and interest on it will be paid by the Government. Funds in the  established amounts will be provided to beneficiaries free of charge.

The procedure arising from the program will be approved by June 15.  From this moment on, the apartment purchase component will be in  effect, from July 15 - the private house construction component, and  from August 1 - the mortgage loan repayment component.

The project will be implemented in three stages. At the first stage,  families with 3 or more minor children will be included; in the case  of building a house, families with 2 minor children. At the second  stage, families with two minors will be included, and in the case of  building a house - families with one minor.  The program starts no  later than January 1, 2026. At the third stage, families of any  composition will be included. The program starts no later than  January 1, 2027.

Earlier at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Deputy Prime  Minister of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan said that up to 25 thousand  families could become beneficiaries of this program, and the cost of  construction/purchase of housing alone would amount to about 500  billion drams. "According to the most conservative estimates, the  program's expenses over the next 10-12 years will exceed 700-800  billion drams," he noted.