RA Ministry of Defense expanding subsidized housing purchase options  for graduates of military academies

ArmInfo. The Armenian Ministry of Defense is proposing to expand subsidized housing purchase options for graduates of military academies. The corresponding decision was  made at a government meeting on February 5. Thus, service members who  transfer to the Ministry of Defense or the NSS Border Troops after  graduating from a military academy will be issued a housing  certificate fully covering their mortgage with interest up to 35  million drams (just over $91,000). 

According to Deputy Defense Minister Hrachya Sargsyan, the targeted  mortgage lending program for military officers who enrolled in the  2022-23 academic year, who have signed a contract for training and  postgraduate military service at a military academy, who have  graduated from a military academy, and who are appointed to an  officer position in the Ministry of Defense or the National Security  Service of the Border Troops, within the framework of the housing  provision provided by law, will allow these military officers to  purchase an apartment or a residential building with ownership  rights, fully financed from the state budget. The loan, down payment,  principal, and interest will be fully repaid from the state budget.  To ensure the aforementioned process, the RA Government's decree of  October 27, 2022, establishing the procedure for allocating  apartments, stipulated that the specified service members would be  provided with three-room, ready-to-use service apartments with a  total area of 75-80 square meters in Yerevan, with the right to free  use, by drawing lots. The acquisition of these apartments would be  carried out by the RA Ministry of Defense in accordance with the  requirements of RA procurement legislation.

However, developments in the housing market in recent years, as well  as discussions with construction companies, have clearly revealed  numerous issues related to both supply and demand, as well as the  prices of ready-to-use apartments, making it virtually impossible and  economically impractical to implement the process according to the  established procedure. Furthermore, a more in-depth study revealed  that certain problems would also arise in the distribution of  apartments acquired in different districts of Yerevan, even if this  were done by drawing lots. In this regard, the Ministry of Defense is  expanding the program, giving citizens the opportunity to choose both  their apartment and its location (both in Yerevan and in the regions,  on the primary or secondary market).

"Ownership rights will be granted, but they must have served at least  20 years (including their studies). The available value of the  certificate is 35 million drams," the deputy minister explained.