“A home in a border village”: Armenian government introduces new housing program
Housing program in border villages
The Armenian government has decided to support families who intend to build houses in the border villages. Within 10 years, they will be provided with monthly assistance from the state budget to help them repay the principal amount of the mortgage loan and interest rates. Up to 20,660,000 drams (approximately $50,000) will be provided to each family for the entire period of lending.
There are no age restrictions for participation in the program, and the presence of a child in the family is also not a prerequisite. Not only residents of border villages can apply for the construction of their own housing. It can be any family that plans to move and settle in settlements on the border of the country.
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The first housing program for residents of near-border settlements
There are 79 border villages in Armenia. They are located in 5 regions: Ararat, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, Syunik and Tavush.
Before the second Karabakh war, there were 36 border villages in independent Armenia. After the war, their number doubled as the border got longer. 37 villages in the Syunik region and 6 in the Gegharkunik region became borderline.
Certain social guarantees and state assistance programs are provided for residents of border villages, but this is the first project to improve their living conditions.
Moreover, it is announced that the goal of the program is not only to improve the living conditions of families living in the border area but also to promote the development of rural settlements throughout the country.
“Practically no prerequisites”
In order to become a beneficiary of the state support program, families must meet the following requirements:
- spouses must be registered in the state population register,
- at least one of them must be a citizen of Armenia.
“There are no age restrictions for participation in the program, the presence of a child is also not necessary. The purpose of the program is to assist young families. They will be able to build their own house, thanks to state support”, said Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan.
According to him, families applying for participation in the program are not required to register or obtain a residence permit in a border village. He emphasizes that these may be families who now live in Yerevan or another city, but want to move to the border, and have their own home here.
Beneficiaries are only required to obtain a mortgage loan from a partner bank of the program or a lending institution for a period of at least 10 years.
Each family can take advantage of this opportunity only once.
State costs and the possibility of restarting the program
On a monthly basis, to repay the principal amount of the loan, the beneficiaries of the project will be provided with an amount
- to repay the principal amount of the loan – up to 12 million drams ($ 29,000) in total and
- an interest rate of up to 12% – in total up to 8,660,000 drams ($21,000).
That is, during all 10 years of servicing a mortgage loan, each family will be provided with up to 20,660,000 drams ($50,000).
Within the framework of the program, it is planned to support 240 families in 2022, 400 in 2023, and 560 in 2024. This year alone, the project will require about 137.7 million drams ($333,000).
The preparatory phase of the program will be completed by August 15, 2022. The project completion date is the end of 2024. If appropriate, the government does not the continuation of the the program in 2025.
