Houses on the dump

There are plenty of such scenes in Tskhinval – wastelands that are ownerless, grassed and strewn with waste, or tumbledown houses, abandoned by the owners.

In 2010, the municipal authorities found a very businesslike solution, that would settle two problems at once: improvement of cityscape and provision of new housing. Moreover, the authorities managed to find a solution that would not require any budget expenditures.

The two problems were actually combined – abandoned wastelands were transferred free of charge to the families with dwelling problems, provided that they would build houses there within three years. Over 50 families were, in general, included in this municipal administration’s project.

Almost five years have passed. Wastelands have become solid and even more unsightly. ‘The municipal authorities certainly realize that building a house is not that easy – this process is related to time and money,’ – says Dzerassa Kozaeva, spokesperson for Tskhinval Mayor’s Office.

However, many owners did not even clear their land plots from ruins and debris. ‘We were sending requests, notifications, instructions – our approach was very human. And we gave additional two months to those seven families, who were almost facing court proceedings, to improve the situation ‘, – says Dzerassa Kozaeva.

Finally, in September 2015, the municipal administration submitted all those seven contracts to court and now intends to dispossess those families of the land plots. We have decided to try again. We are drawing up a new list of families, willing to get a land plot in a good district free, build a house there and thus gentrify the cityscape.

At present, the court has already made a ruling in favor of the municipal administration on one the cases. The decisions on the rest of the cases will be made by the end of this year.