VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
"Investment in various housing programmes will amount to 440 billion roubles in 2009, the money coming from federal, regional and local sources, the Housing Mortgage Crediting Agency, and the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund. If we take capital repair allocations into account, the funding will make record-setting 500 billion roubles."
"Active housing construction belongs to top national priorities. The financial crisis should not make the population bury their plans and aspirations in this sensitive sphere. That is what we proceed from. Those who have intended to buy a flat or build a private house should retain the opportunity."
"We will make sure that the regions follow the demands of those laws that have been introduced: a faster transformation of the housing sector, co-financing from the regional and local budgets, and focussed and effective use of the resources allocated. We will focus on resource and energy saving, which implies the installation of water, gas and heat meters in houses and flats, because the people must pay only for what they really use, not for what the bills say. Only by doing this will we develop civilised relations between producers and consumers in the housing and utilities sector, raise the quality of service and ensure an affordable level of the tariffs in the sector."
"In medical terms, this problem can be described as a chronic disease of the economy and social sphere. I am referring to the housing and utilities sector. It would seem that these problems are better left as they are, because the people's complaints are legitimate, and the sector has improved, but not much, at first sight. On the other hand, unless we address these problems and discuss them publicly, we will never solve them. We should act in accordance with the Russian proverb, "What the eyes fear, the hands do." We must keep working on these problems, and the more complicated a problem, the more publicly we should discuss ways to solve it."
"Much has been done in the past few years to transfer the sector's enterprises to new operating conditions and introduce modern mechanisms of managing the housing stock and providing social assistance to the people. <...> As many as 79 regions are taking part in the programmes of the Fund for the Housing and Utilities Reform, with 7 million people to improve their housing conditions within these programmes. As of now, 120,000 people have received or will soon receive new flats. By doing this, we will quickly advance toward implementing the goal stipulated in the guidelines for the Government's operation until 2012, when we are to liquidate dilapidated housing."
"Of course these resources, the total value of which is half a trillion roubles, does not only go to supporting construction, but also towards facilitating the resolution of people's housing problems."
"The President promised that all veterans of the Great Patriotic War would have [befitting] housing by May 1, 2010. I can assure you that we will definitely fulfil this task. By May 1, 2010, all veterans of the Great Patriotic War will have [befitting] housing. We will fulfil this task."
"In 2009 the unprecedented sum of 440 billion roubles will be spent through the federal and regional budgets, the housing agency funds, and the mortgage credit agency in order to stimulate construction and other housing programmes. In 2008 this figure stood at 249."
"As for housing, we have decided to exclude some payments from the property contribution. People or families investing 2 million roubles in housing will not pay taxes for this sum, which should support the housing demand"
“As regards the housing policy, we must finalise a system of regulatory documents promoting competition in the construction industry. We have approved modern technical regulations making it possible to build top-quality and much cheaper housing than it is today. We must also involve additional land resources now being misused by numerous federal agencies in the economic process. The relevant Housing Construction Promotion Fund has been established. We are expecting tangible results from its work.”
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the existence of the gold and currency reserves, the Government's reserve funds, enables us to address these problems - and I would like to stress it - with due regard for the interests of the population. Unlike in the former crises, we are not acting on impulse, we are not making abrupt decisions like other countries have to do in order to cope with the negative phenomena. We consciously use the sovereign wealth fund, the Government's reserve fund, so that people may decide without undue haste what to do with their savings, so that they do not wake up tomorrow to discover that all their savings have been devalued. We act thus so that people understand the development trend and can independently decide what to do. We will always show this sort of responsible attitude to the country's citizens.”
"The use of maternity capital to pay mortgages. This norm should become effective in January 2009. We'd like everything to start working in the first half of January."
"The Government approved decisions on additional assistance to the citizens with mortgages. The idea is that we need a system of state guarantees to be provided through the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending, so that the people who bought housing with a mortgage but have lost their jobs because of the economic crisis, or lost a considerable part of their income due to decline in the operation of their companies, will be freed in 2009 from payment of mortgage loan interest, or payment of the principal debt due in 2009."
"To support liquidity, the Central Bank will give other banks an opportunity to refinance mortgage obligations guaranteed by the Housing Mortgage Agency, which boils down to government guarantees, as I said yesterday. That will enhance economic liquidity. More than that, the Housing Mortgage Agency will extend its practice of redeeming standard mortgage credits in direct support of banks active in mortgage loaning. That means private creditors will receive support, as well."
"Even at the start of next year, private persons will be able to use maternity capital for interest and mortgage payments. This requires legal and budgetary amendments - a measure that takes time but shall be urgently implemented. The population needs it no later than January 2009."
"We ask banks to reschedule private clients' mortgage payments for next year. This is all the more practicable as bankers know what their clients can afford. In compensation, bankers should be entitled to rescheduled payment guarantees from the Housing Mortgage Agency."
"As for the banks' demands of early clearance of mortgage loans, it is basically a civil law issue. If your loan agreement contains a recapture clause stating that, if the collateral value drops, the bank has the right to require additional collateral amount, then the bank's demand is formally legitimate. Usually banks ask their clients to repay part of the principal loan. However, banks really shouldn't be doing this, because they end up with the same problem as their borrowers: property as collateral. The bank won't be able to liquidate an apartment easily now."
"I think the Government could issue state guarantees to banks through the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending. The banks could use these guarantees to solve their financial problems rather than "terrorise" their customers. I think it would be the best solution for all."
“In addition to this, we are ready to purchase more than 40,000 standard flats which are either completed or about to be finished. We will earmark nearly 83 billion roubles for this purpose. By doing so we will help more than just our construction companies, but this particular sector of our economy. First, flats will be given to army service personnel and citizens residing in hazardous dwellings. Second, we will create a guarantee that the buildings which are under construction will be completed. This means that the people who invested in the construction will receive their flats.”
“We will continue making housing more affordable and helping people as much as we can. In this context, I suggest doubling to two million roubles the tax deduction for citizens who are buying or building flats. Let me explain. In this case, a family will save up to 260,000 roubles in taxes rather than up to 130,000 roubles. By way of exception, I consider it possible to make this measure retroactive because of its importance. Let us introduce it from January 1 of this year. This means that the income taxes for those who bought or built housing after this date should be recalculated and they should be reimbursed for the difference from the budget.”
