Vitaly Leontyevich, how were the parameters of the program determined, according to which it is planned to build ten thousand rental apartments?
Vitaly Mutko: At the Eastern Economic Forum in 2022, the President of Russia ordered to build ten thousand rental apartments for specialists in demand in the Far Eastern Federal District, including students.
Earlier, the Russian government considered 11 strategic initiatives for the accelerated development of the Far East, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin highlighting rental housing construction as key.
So DOM.RF, as the Unified Institute for Development in the Housing Sector, began to collect requests from subjects about the needs of rental apartments. They arrived until July 28. On this day, at a meeting of the Government Commission under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia – Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, the boundaries of apartments were finally distributed in 11 Far Eastern regions.
The need to attract specialists from other regions of the country, the relationship between the number of rental apartments and the number of citizens in the regions, the readiness of construction companies to create a housing stock and the launch of new ones were taken into account. investment projects. account.
Will all rental houses be built from scratch? Are there options to acquire apartments in houses already under construction or in the secondary market?
Vitaliy Mutko: After the distribution of the caps by regions, we collected applications from them, which indicated in which projects the subjects would like to sell rental apartments.
The comprehensive registry was approved by the interdepartmental working group. It has 51 projects, of which 24 already have a building permit, construction and installation work is underway. The 27th, the design is underway, an examination is underway or the design work is just beginning.
It is the objects under construction and designed that are considered under the program “Affordable rental housing in the Far Eastern Federal District.” Therefore, these are primary market apartments only.
From what sources is the program financed?
Vitaly Mutko – 87 billion rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for construction. DOM.RF, as the holder of the balance of all apartments, will finance the construction of rental housing under federal law 214.
When DOM.RF receives ready-made apartments from the developer, with finishing, all the necessary equipment and furniture, it will transfer them to regional operators at a certain rental rate.
Taking into account budget subsidies, for the first five years, a citizen will pay about 25 percent of the market rental rate that has developed in the city.
Additionally, each entity will finance one-third of the rental fee from the regional budget for the entire program period, and the federal budget will finance one-third of the fee for the first five years. Over the next five years, the federal subsidy will gradually decrease to zero.
Yuri Trutnev instructed to work out the possibility of increasing the federal subsidy in such a way that during the ten years of operation of the program it would be a third of the rental rate.
DOM.RF provided funds from the federal budget on the terms of repayment and a certain profitability. The regions pay only the rent, and DOM.RF is responsible to the Ministry of Finance.
Who is the operator of the program in the regions?
Vitaly Mutko: In each of the 11 regions, a regional operator will be determined – a legal entity, the sole founder of which is the subject of the Far Eastern Federal District.
This operator will rent all the apartments and then sublet them to the citizens. He will also collect rent from tenants, accumulate federal and regional subsidies, and transfer the full rent to the balance holder, that is, DOM.RF.
Operators have been designated in almost all regions. Some even have multiple companies that meet the criteria. Now the themes are determined with an election.
How will the rental rate be calculated and how often will it be reviewed?
Vitaliy Mutko: A formula for calculating the rental fee has been defined, according to which the payment is directly proportional to the amount of investment in a particular project: the cheaper we buy an object, the lower the rental fee.
On average, it will be about three quarters of the market rental rate in the subject, that is, it itself will already be preferential in relation to the market. And taking into account subsidies from the regional and federal budgets, for the first five years, a citizen will pay about a quarter of the market rental rate.
The rental rate will be indexed annually according to the inflation rate, but not more than 10 percent.
Infographic “RG” / Rafael Zaripov
The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug has already reported that it plans to move into a 40-apartment rental house in Anadyr by December 15 this year. Where and when will the first rental houses be introduced under the programme?
Vitaly Mutko: In the Primorsky Territory, by the end of the year, it is possible to move to 42 apartments in the Aivazovsky residential complex. This is the first project that was implemented in the auction “for one share” DOM.RF. The house has already been put into operation, the apartments are completely finished, it remains only to complete them with furniture and household appliances.
Several other regions announced projects that could be ready before the end of the year. This is the Kamchatka Territory, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). DOM.RF will keep an eye on them, because we really want to not only quickly finance the construction, but first of all, populate the first houses as soon as possible.
Was the experience of the Sakhalin Oblast in the construction of rental housing taken into account when preparing the program?
Vitaly Mutko: The Sakhalin region has extensive experience in the construction of rental housing. In 2022, we launched a project in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – a rental building with 148 apartments, which will be occupied within a year. DOM.RF will rent all the apartments to the regional operator, who will rent them to citizens at rates that will depend on the category of citizens. Housing in this house will be provided on both prime and market terms.
Of course, the documentation and approaches used for that project formed the basis of the Affordable Rental Housing program in the Far Eastern Federal District. In addition, we have a preferential project in the Voronezh region in the Sovremennik residential complex, in which the region and DOM.RF subsidize rent in equal parts, and tenants pay only 20 percent. This experience has allowed us, together with federal ministries and regional authorities, to take into account the interests of all parties, build a balance and develop a program in a way that is optimal.
What effect do you expect from implementing this program?
Vitaly Mutko: Our goal is to create a more attractive environment for living and working in the Far East. The program will help retain highly qualified specialists in this macro-region, attract new personnel, including talented young people.
Indeed, in addition to preferential mortgages in the Far East, another important tool to support people is now appearing – preferential rent. In addition, at a very low price and on the principle of “call and live”, since all the apartments have already been renovated and equipped. And this saves a lot of time, nerves and money.
Rental housing is in high demand today. According to the results of a study we conducted with VTsIOM, now eight to nine percent of families live in rented apartments and houses, that is, almost one in ten Russian families. And the volume of such housing is estimated at 229 million square meters. This is six percent of the total housing stock in Russia. At the same time, apartments are often rented without signing a contract, and the terms of the lease are extremely unfavorable for those who rent housing.
We have tried to make preferential rental in the Far East convenient and attractive in terms of conditions. I really hope that this new tool will help thousands of people to solve their housing problem at least temporarily, find a roof over their heads and focus on other goals: self-realization, interesting work, starting a family and having children.
