Aleksandr Lukashenko signs Housing Code

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko signed the Housing Code on 28 August.

The Housing Code is expected to consolidate and systematize all the relevant regulations because the Housing Code that is in effect now was adopted in 1999 and has not been updated since then. This sphere has been regulated by Belarus president decrees issued to address individual issues.

As usual, the Housing Code regulates the main housing relations that citizens take part in. Those are the relations involved in moving into and out of homes, payment for utilities, management of the housing fund, housing privatization, housing remodeling and other things.

The Housing Code has stipulated several norms, which are vital for further improvement of housing relations. In particular, the authority of the owner of residential accommodation has been expanded. They no longer have to get an approval of anyone to allow a spouse, parents and children to move in or own the accommodation. A written approval of family members, former family members, who still live together with the premises owner and have the right to a share of the residential accommodation, will be required to allow other relatives to move in or own the said residential accommodation.

The Housing Code specifies procedures to alienate residential accommodation if the owner fails to follow housing usage regulations, fails to maintain residential accommodation and auxiliary premises in proper order or fails to pay for utilities.

The Housing Code specifies procedures to convert living premises into non-living ones. The possibility has not been legislated up till now.

The structure of utility bills has been streamlined. The maintenance fee will be detached into an independent part of the current repairs fee. The latter will have to be paid to reimburse the money spent on preventing intensive wear and tear, restoring the operability and fixing damage to components and engineering systems of residential premises. Utilities providers will have to specify tariffs, volumes, and the list of utility services provided in a tenement house in household bills.

The Housing Code comes into force six months after the official publication date.