Final amendments made to housing programme for forcibly displaced  Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians

ArmInfo.Reforms have been carried out in the state housing program for families forcibly  displaced from Artsakh, with final changes being made to the terms of the program.

As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Labor and Social  Affairs of Armenia, the changes concern, in particular, the amount of  assistance provided per person, as well as the list of settlements  with increased support. Instead of the previous 148 settlements, 443  in 39 communities are now included.

In addition, the limit on the living space of the purchased real  estate per family member has been reduced by 3 square meters and is  now 9 square meters.

"If the beneficiaries of the program choose to build an individual  residential building, then the area limitation does not apply to the  land plot intended for its construction and included in the cost of  the certificate. In this case, the support is set at up to 4 million  drams instead of 3 million," the ministry said in a statement.

The changes also affected the registration of housing: the right of  ownership of the purchased apartment, individual house or land plot  intended for construction will be registered in the name of all adult  members of the beneficiary's family, while the registration of minors  is no longer mandatory.

"The support component for repayment of the current mortgage loan can  also be used by persons with a mortgage loan issued after May 16,  2024 and up to and including December 31, 2024. In this case, the  support will amount to 3 million drams for each family member," the  Ministry of Social Labor continued.

The Ministry also presented the stages of the program's  implementation. At the first stage of the program, families of any  composition will be able to participate, who, in addition to the  certificate, will make an additional payment of at least 30% of the  value of the property or receive an additional mortgage loan under  any component of the program. Stages 2 (for families with two  children) and 3 (for families with one child) will begin on July 1,  2025 and July 1, 2026, instead of January 1, 2026 and 2027.

"If a child is born after the certificate has been received or used,  then the assistance from the account of this child can be used to pay  off the remaining principal amount of the additional mortgage loan  provided to the beneficiary under the program. In the absence of  such, it will be realized as a positive balance," the department  summarized.

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan, under the pretext of an  "anti-terrorist operation", committed another act of aggression  against Artsakh. This was preceded by a nearly 10-month blockade of  the unrecognized republic. Since the enemy aggression that began in  the fall of 2020, which in September 2023 ended with the complete  ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, over 150 thousand Artsakh residents have  lost their homeland and become refugees.

According to the Artsakh Union, as of early October 2024, only 30  families applied for participation in the program and received  certificates, which is only 0.12% of the total target group.

According to the union's statement, the current program does not take  into account the real situation with market prices for housing. "The  amount of assistance offered in Yerevan and other cities is  insufficient to ensure decent housing conditions. The criteria for  the construction of residential buildings in most cases do not meet  even the minimum requirements of the projects approved by the  authorized state body," the statement said.

At the same time, many beneficiaries face difficulties in obtaining  additional mortgage loans, especially if they have previously had  loan obligations and a bad credit history.

The organization also emphasized that some program requirements, such  as the need for Armenian citizenship at the time of application,  limit the participation of beneficiaries. In addition, a number of  provisions violate the rights of various groups of people and  sometimes contradict the country's Constitution.