| Military mortgages may supplant state housing certificates The State Duma ratified in the first reading the bill introduced by the government on the savings-mortgage system for providing military personnel with housing. It looks like the new bill will shake up the entire system of providing housing for people in uniform. The fact is that, in parallel with the savings-mortgage system, the old ones still remain - the distribution system and the State Housing Certificates (GHC) program. This will inevitably lead to a waste of funds. Therefore, instead of two housing programs for military personnel, there may be only one.
The essence of the “military mortgage” is simple. Military personnel open a personal savings account to which money from the federal budget will be credited. The size of the basic contribution for the next year will be set by the government (it is expected that it will be 37 thousand rubles), it is also obliged to index this contribution to the level of inflation. Income from investing funds will be credited to the same personal account. The serviceman will be able to use the funds accumulated over the years to purchase housing, obtain a targeted housing loan or pay off a mortgage loan.
A serving person will be able to use the right to use savings after 20 or more years of service. In case of dismissal due to so-called organizational and staffing measures, layoffs or illness, this period is reduced. The serviceman will be able to use the savings in the event of dismissal for family reasons. For what reasons, the bill does not specify: the decision in each case will be made by the command. The bill defines the procedure for state control over the formation and use of housing savings. According to calculations by experts of the budget committee of the lower house, in 17 years a serviceman will be able to accumulate 915 thousand rubles, with which he will buy an apartment with an area of 54 square meters. meters. If it lasts longer, it will give you the opportunity to purchase a more spacious apartment.
The first thing that catches your eye is the disappearance of an encouraging promise from the program: they say that the lieutenant will be able to buy an apartment in three years. Both Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Economic Development Minister German Gref spoke about this at a March meeting at the Ministry of Defense dedicated to the new system, in the presence of the president. And Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov even said that the lieutenant would be able to rent out this apartment and live on the proceeds. But the main thing is that the bill changes the principles of social protection of military personnel as defined by current laws. If only because it applies only to some people in uniform - only to those who entered into the first contract from January 1, 2005.
True, the government promises that it will fulfill all previous obligations both for the construction of housing and for the creation of office space. However, it has long been clear that traditional methods cannot solve the housing problem for military personnel due to limited funds, according to estimates of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, even in the next half century.
By the way, literally immediately after the adoption of the new bill by the State Duma, the Prosecutor General's Office loudly announced itself. The state supervisory authority suddenly discovered that the State Housing Certificates program is an excellent field for fraud. Two officers in the missile forces were caught who fraudulently obtained several civil housing contracts, cashed them out through a commercial bank and embezzled millions of rubles. There are, in the words of Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov, “a whole warehouse” of such cases. Certificates are being illegally issued left and right, living space is being “lost to the side,” and the damage amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars. Prosecutors believe that behind each illegally issued certificate is an organized group led by a unit commander. Dozens of criminal cases have been initiated. The Prosecutor General instructed his subordinates to immediately check how the GHS program is being implemented as a whole. Next year, as planned, the State Housing Construction Program will be inspected by the Accounts Chamber. Already, significantly fewer certificates are being issued in military districts than planned. Knowledgeable people say that this is the beginning of the end of the GHS program, although it was recently approved until 2010. It's simple - "Bolivar can't stand two." What kind of government certificates do you need if you need money for a military mortgage?
The new system did spark a ray of hope among many military and government officials. And the likely elimination of the “competing” GHS program may have a logical basis. However, it is hardly worth confining yourself to only a khaki mortgage. There are quite reasonable alternative projects. However, neither the government nor the State Duma pays attention to them. They may not be used as a basis, but individual elements will undoubtedly be useful. A symbiosis of several projects is probably also possible.
The Vremya Novostey newspaper is aware of at least two alternative proposals.
A group of scientists led by Doctor of Economic Sciences Viktor Rabinovich, with the support of the All-Russian Trade Union of Military Personnel, developed a unique algorithm “Technology of advanced financing of government programs.” Its essence is simple. Since the state cannot provide housing for military personnel (in the law “On the Status of Military Personnel” it obliged to do this within three months after dismissal), an officer and warrant officer have the right to turn to a private individual or bank with a request to finance the construction of a residential building. After the storekeepers move into the new housing, a “request from citizens to the treasury of the Russian Federation” to pay for construction costs is sent to the state authorities. The constructed house, the authors of the project note, is a gross domestic product, not planned by the budget, and the settlement of the state with the investor in the most simplified form can be made by issuing funds in the amount of the created GDP.
The author of the second project is the President of the National Urban Planning Society Alexander Krivov. He proposes to build low-rise residential buildings of the estate type. Those, in turn, form estate settlements close to utility lines within the suburban areas of cities. The cost per square meter of housing in such houses, according to expert calculations, is up to $300. When constructing such settlements, the author believes, it is possible to use the lands of the Ministry of Defense - former military camps. Moreover, half of the built cottages can be sold to non-military forces - at market value. A private developer is selected on a competitive basis, who will raise a loan secured by land. Of course, there is some romanticism in these projects, but it in no way detracts from the rational grain inherent in each of them. Moreover, according to German Gref, issues of housing construction for the military will gradually be removed from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.
In the meantime, the new project is awaiting some finishing touches. In particular, the national body that will work with military personnel and enter into agreements with organizations for the right to manage the housing savings of officers has not been determined. The extent of responsibility of these organizations has not yet been established. It is expected that these shortcomings will be eliminated by the government at subsequent readings of the law on “military mortgage”. Nikolay POROSKOV |
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