The State program to provide housing for orphans: a new approach is needed

15 million rubles will be allocated next year from the republican budget to buy housing for orphans instead of 6 million previously planned for 2024 in the corresponding state target program “Providing residential premises (apartments) or residential buildings for orphans, children without parental care, persons from among orphans and children without parental care, period 2018-2027". The Government proposed to make amendments provided for in the draft republican budget for the next financial year to the program passport.

Deputies had questions about the effectiveness of the state program as a whole during the discussion of the law-in-draft of the Government. It was planned when developing and approving the state program, which is designed for 9 years, that the state would purchase 60 apartments every year, while allocating about 6 million rubles annually from the state budget. It has never been possible however to execute the program 100% since then, despite the fact that funding for the state program increased annually. For example, only 48 were purchased instead of 60 apartments in 2020.

The authors drew attention in the explanatory note to the law-in-draft to the permanent increase in real estate prices in the republic. Prices increased by almost 30% in 2023. That is why it is impossible to purchase the planned number of apartments within the previously established limits.

Other problems arose in the process of implementing the state program. The Supreme Council, reviewing reports on the implementation of the state program for the next year, draws attention to the increase in the number of people on the waiting list every year. 1231 orphans are on the waiting list for comfortable housing, according to official data as of January 1, 2023. There were 1188 of them at the beginning of 2022, and 1045 at the beginning of 2021. Ninety five graduates of boarding schools and orphanages joined the queue to receive their own housing in 2022. The state acquired 39 apartments and houses, spending more than 9 million rubles from the republican budget for these purposes during the same year, an average of 14 thousand dollars per residential premises.

The law-in-draft on amendments to the state program for providing housing for orphans was adopted in the first reading at the plenary meeting. Work on the law-in-draft will continue. All comments and suggestions made during the plenary session will be taken into account when preparing the law-in-draft for consideration in the second reading.