Code part

Opposition deputies failed to present their housing initiative to the State Duma

The United Russia Duma did not provide representatives of opposition factions with the opportunity to show off to voters during the discussion of amendments to the Housing Code. The first reading of the bill, prepared at the suggestion of Yabloko member Galina Khovanskaya and Rodinets Oleg Shein, scheduled for last Friday, did not take place. But the lower house accepted the so-called “dacha amnesty”, which the party in power was preparing in pursuance of the president’s instructions. As part of the amnesty, at the same time, serious amendments were made to the law “On the implementation of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation”, and, in particular, the end of the free privatization of apartments received under social rent was postponed to January 1, 2010. After the bill is approved by the Federation Council and signed by the President, Russians will have an additional two-plus years to decide in what status they intend to continue to exist on their square meters: a property owner or a responsible tenant.

It is noteworthy that amendments to the law “On the entry into force of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation” were adopted literally the next day after the Constitutional Court pointed out the injustice of some of the provisions of this document. The Duma initiative does not directly implement the letter of the Constitutional Court verdict announced on June 15, but it corresponds to the spirit of the decision of the judges, who hinted that the completion of free privatization of housing should not be a one-time thing. The amendments of Ms. Khovanskaya were more consistent with the letter of the Constitutional Court’s verdict, who believes that restrictions on the privatization of apartments should only apply to those who registered for housing after March 1, 2005 (the date the new housing code came into force), and who proposed not to deprive this right residents of dormitories and departmental houses. Galina Khovanskaya, a member of the State Duma Committee on Civil, Criminal, Arbitration and Procedural Legislation, very much hoped that, having secured the support of the decision of the Constitutional Court, she would be able to convince the majority of United Russia members of the need to adjust the Housing Code according to her scenario. But her bill, which has regularly appeared on the agenda of plenary sessions of the lower house over the past two months, was again not considered.

At the same time, the procedural formalities that made it possible to withdraw the bill from consideration were observed impeccably. The fact is that the amendments by Galina Khovanskaya and Oleg Shein should have been considered as a “package” together with proposals for adjusting the Housing Code received from the Council of People's Deputies of the Kemerovo Region. United Russia deputy Sergei Neverov, who was tasked with presenting the bill to his Kemerovo colleagues, was not in the meeting room at the time indicated on the agenda. Despite the fact that the bills of the State Duma and Kemerovo Regional Council deputies are not alternative, the lower house did not consider them separately. The presiding vice-speaker, Artur Chilingarov, promised that the housing initiative of the oppositionists would certainly be considered at one of the upcoming plenary sessions. However, the fate of the long-suffering bill, introduced back in March last year, shows that the implementation of the verdict of the Constitutional Court may be delayed. Or it will take place as an initiative of the party in power.

Fedor SEREBRYANSKY