In accordance with current Russian legislation, military personnel have the right to receive service housing within a period of no more than three months after signing the contract, if they do not have a permanent place of residence. This right can be exercised by military personnel with their families when signing the first contract, graduates of military higher educational institutions with an officer rank, and military personnel with their families living in a military camp.
In addition, there are special social programs, thanks to which contract employees have the right to purchase or receive an apartment as personal property. This program is called a savings mortgage system and you do not need to invest your own funds in it. The conditions of the system are such that funds will be credited monthly from the state budget to a personal account, which can be used after the military man enters into a loan or mortgage agreement with a banking institution to purchase an apartment. This agreement can be concluded no earlier than three years after the opening of a personal account and the first transfer. But such a deal is not necessary, since there is a second option for receiving funds - a period of twenty years of contract service.
Options for purchasing housing for military personnel
In accordance with current legislation, there are several options for military families to purchase living space.
We will not talk about the allocation of official housing for military personnel, since everything here is relatively clear - within 3 months from the moment the family moves to a settlement in which the military man does not have his own living space, he must be provided with premises to live with his family. The family does not have any rights to the apartment received, with the exception of the main one - the right of residence. After the end of the contract or upon transfer to another duty station, the serviceman vacates the occupied residential premises. The first and most common option for purchasing an apartment is to participate in the savings-mortgage system created in 2004. The essence of the program is that from the moment he enters service under a contract, a serviceman begins to participate in such a system. In this case, savings funds are allocated from the federal budget. After 3 years of service, the contract soldier has the right to use the accumulated capital to purchase residential premises. In this case, the serviceman contacts any bank that provides mortgage lending and agrees to provide a targeted housing loan.
It should be said that the size of the apartment purchased depends on the composition of the family. But we will discuss living space standards below. In the meantime, it should be noted that in the case when a serviceman wants to purchase a more spacious apartment, he has the right to do so, but only with the involvement of his own finances.
Another feature of the program is that you can get a mortgage before you start using the funds accumulated under the NIS program (before the expiration of 3 years from the date of entry into contract service). But in this case, the mortgage will be issued on general terms, and after receiving a certificate of entitlement to a housing loan, you will be able to use the accumulated funds to repay it.
A special scenario is provided for persons who have served in the armed forces for 20 years or more. In this case, their loan is repaid by the state, regardless of the remaining amount. Mortgage repayment also occurs in cases where a serviceman served for at least 10 years and was discharged due to reaching the maximum age allowed for military service; for health; in connection with organizational and staffing changes in its part; and also in the presence of family circumstances provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. In addition, repayment of the mortgage loan is also carried out in the event of the death of a military personnel. It should be noted that the creditor does not have the right to demand payments from family members of a deceased military man; the state, represented by special bodies, will be responsible for the obligations, but family members will acquire ownership rights.
Conditions for obtaining a military certificate
A military certificate for the purchase of housing is a personal certificate that guarantees a serviceman the right to government subsidies for the purchase of real estate and improvement of living conditions. In another way, this paper is a guarantee of receiving the apartment free of charge.
Each serviceman has the right to use a military certificate once, even if several people in the family are serving under contract . The certificate cannot be cashed: it is not issued in cash. It is only allowed to redirect it to improve living conditions.
The military certificate for the purchase of an apartment is personal. It contains an indication of its recipient, all family members, passport details of the recipient, information about the apartment being purchased, and the final cost of the certificate.
The certificate is not issued to all military personnel. An important condition for obtaining it may be the lack of own living space at the recipient of the certificate or its non-compliance with established standards, when there is less than 18 square meters per person. m. per resident. This literally means that only employees who are on the housing register can apply for a state housing certificate. At the time of registration of the certificate, they can rent a property or occupy a hostel.
Also, those military personnel who were transferred to another city by order can apply for a certificate.
How much is it issued for?
The amount of the certificate is calculated in each case individually.
When issuing the denomination of a housing certificate, various factors are taken into account, including the composition of the military personnel’s family, the average cost of real estate in the region, length of service and rank. The required footage according to the standards will be as follows:
- The amount of living space per soldier is 33 square meters. m.
- If there are two people in a family, then the total footage will be 42 square meters. m.
- In other situations, each family member is entitled to 18 square meters. m.
When assessing the average market value of real estate in the region, information on all types of housing on the market is used. To determine the final subsidy amount, the required square footage is multiplied by the average cost per square meter on the market in the region .
For example, the price per square meter in the region is 65,000 rubles. There are 3 people in a military family, therefore, they are entitled to 54 sq. m. The amount of the certificate will be determined as follows: (18 * 3) * 65,000 = 3,510,000 rubles. If the specified amount is not enough to purchase housing, then the serviceman will have to pay extra.
Validity periods
The housing certificate is valid for no more than six months after delivery. The time frame for searching and purchasing new real estate can be increased to 9 months if you contact a credit institution that participates in the state program to provide housing for military personnel.
The serviceman is given no more than 60 days to transfer the certificate amount to a special account opened at the bank.
Who is entitled to
The following categories of military personnel can receive financial support from the state in order to improve their living conditions:
- People on the waiting list who need improved living conditions. These include military personnel who do not have their own apartment, or the available living space does not meet the standards for the minimum square footage per person. For example, with a norm of 18 sq. m. per person, a serviceman gets 12 sq. m. m.
- Military personnel with more than 20 years of service and those who have been transferred to the reserve.
- Dismissed for medical reasons from the Russian army with more than 10 years of service.
- Close relatives of deceased servicemen who were on a waiting list for improved housing conditions. These could be parents, children and wife.
- Persons who moved from disbanded military camps.
- An applicant who did not participate in the mortgage savings lending program.
- The applicant who vacated the occupied residential premises.
- An applicant who did not take action to deliberately worsen living conditions. For example, he has not recently sold his only home and did not register with a relative shortly before submitting his application.
Categories of citizens not entitled to a certificate
The law establishes both a list of military personnel who have the right to issue a certificate, and a list of those who do not have the right to apply for it and are guaranteed to be refused. The list of citizens who are not issued military certificates includes :
- Those who own their own living space (at the rate of 18 sq. m. per person).
- Those whose immediate relatives own comfortable real estate: spouses, children and parents.
- Those who bought an apartment under a military mortgage.
- Those who fall into the category of those in need of improved housing conditions as a result of the exchange of an apartment received from the state.
- Citizens who previously participated in this program.
- Citizens whose family members bought housing using a certificate.
Savings system and mortgage for military personnel
As mentioned above, every military personnel has the right to participate in the funded system. We emphasize: it is a right, not an obligation. This means that in order to subsequently receive funds and accumulate them, the employee must submit a corresponding report. After 3 years of service, you must submit another report in which you declare your desire to receive a Certificate of the right of a participant in the savings-mortgage system to provide a targeted housing loan.
It should be noted that the report should be addressed to the headquarters of your unit. After this, the serviceman must wait a little until he is issued such a Certificate. At this time, you can search for an apartment that you want to buy, as well as a credit institution that deals with mortgage lending and is ready to provide you with a loan on suitable terms. Take your time, look for the most favorable conditions for you. Please remember that the terms offered may vary significantly from one organization to another.
After the Certificate is received and the apartment is selected, it is necessary to sign a housing loan agreement with the bank and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Then you need to conclude a purchase and sale agreement for the selected property or enter into a mortgage agreement. Next, register the agreement with Rosreestr and receive an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate on the ownership of the residential premises. That's it, from now on the serviceman is the happy owner of his own real estate.
An important difference between the special mortgage program for military personnel is that the amount of the loan issued and its terms do not depend in any way on the level of income of the military man or his family members, since the loan received is repaid not from personal funds, but from the funds of the savings system.
What to choose: military housing certificate or military mortgage?
There are two ways to resolve the housing issue for military personnel: a military certificate or a military mortgage. These programs are mutually exclusive, so the serviceman must choose which form of support will be more beneficial for him. Obtaining a military mortgage is regulated by the norms of Federal Law No. 117 “On the savings and mortgage system of housing for military personnel.” This law assumes that the mortgage will be repaid by the state, and not by the serviceman himself. Mortgages are issued through banks participating in the state program. Mortgage rates for military personnel are usually lower, since the government is considered a reliable, bona fide borrower, which makes military mortgages very popular.
In order to take part in the mortgage program, a serviceman must become a participant in the savings-mortgage system. The main requirement for participating in a military mortgage is a valid contract for military service.
As with the certificate, payments on a military mortgage are transferred taking into account the current standards for living space per family member. The terms of the mortgage must be such that the final payment date is no later than 45 years.
The state housing certificate and military mortgage have their pros and cons. With a mortgage, the state regularly repays the loan payments, while the certificate is a lump sum payment.
The housing certificate is sold free of charge, although it imposes more stringent requirements on recipients . Mortgage payments can be reimbursed by the state only as long as the contractor is in military service. Upon dismissal, you will be responsible for all payments.
It is unacceptable to use a certificate to pay for housing in a house under construction, but with a mortgage there are no such restrictions.
All these advantages and limitations must be taken into account when choosing a program to improve living conditions.
Features of purchasing housing for military personnel
Purchasing residential premises under the savings-mortgage system program has a number of features:
- In accordance with the current rules of law, registration of an apartment purchase and sale agreement within the NIS takes place within a period not exceeding 5 working days (7 if the application is submitted through a multifunctional center).
- The loan term depends only on the age of the potential borrower. All banks set a lending age limit, that is, the age of the borrower up to which he is obliged to fully repay the debt to the credit institution. In most banks this age is 60 years, but generally varies from 55 to 70.
- The down payment can be made either from the borrower’s personal funds or from the accumulated amount. By the way, some banks are considering the possibility of providing a housing loan without making a down payment. But be careful: firstly, this may negatively affect the interest rate, and secondly, the loan term increases.
- You can purchase not only a finished residential property, but also space in a house under construction by concluding a shared construction agreement. But the purchase of housing under construction for military personnel is fraught with some difficulties, since cooperation between the bank and the developer is a prerequisite.
- Limited validity period of the Certificate of entitlement to receive a housing loan. Until 2011, the issued Certificate was valid for only 3 months. Since 2011, this period has been six months. During this time, you will need to select housing, conclude a purchase and sale agreement and register the property in the prescribed manner.
Basic conditions and personal costs
In order to use your right to receive funds that have accumulated in a serviceman’s personal account over three years of accruals, you need to know some nuances, conditions and procedures. The accumulative mortgage system implies that the initial payment under the agreement for the purchase of an apartment will be made by the state in a lump sum. Further payments will be made every month to a bank account from a personal account by the responsible authorities. In accordance with legal regulations, the monthly payment amount will be equal to one-twelfth of the annual federal loan. Moreover, each payment is indexed taking into account inflation.
They also give the right to use the funds for compulsory insurance of the purchased apartment and the life of a military personnel. In this case, the deadline established for this procedure must be observed.
You should also prepare for personal financial expenses that the state does not cover. These include notary services, apartment appraiser services and, if desired, early repayment of debt.
Housing standards for military personnel
When familiarizing yourself with the current system of accumulation of funds, a natural question arises: how much money will be transferred? The state allocates funds, which should be sufficient to purchase residential premises of the established size. Finding out the required size of living space is very simple - for a single serviceman, the apartment area should be 33 square meters, for a family of 2 people - 42, and if there are 3 or more family members, the norm will be taken at the rate of 18 square meters for each.
As noted earlier, this calculation does not limit the military personnel. You may well purchase an apartment with a larger area, but with your own funds contributed towards the missing amount.
The state annually transfers to the military personnel’s savings account the amount of money established by the Government, which consists of the main part (that is, the fixed amount established for the current year) and part of the interest that is due to the military man in connection with the investment of his accumulated funds. In this case, the amount due for payment will be paid in equal monthly installments throughout the year. The total annual amount in 2019 is RUB 280,009.70. Consequently, more than 23,000 rubles are transferred to the serviceman’s account per month. and the amount of interest on the investment.
By the way, the legislator does not limit military personnel from using the funded system. Not only citizens in need of housing, but also military personnel who already own residential premises or need to improve their living conditions can become participants in the program.
In what cases is a contract with a military personnel terminated?
A serviceman has the right to terminate the housing contract at any time on his own initiative. This can also be done by agreement of the parties. At the request of the command, a contract soldier can be evicted only in court and if the following grounds exist:
- Systematic failure to pay utility bills (at least six months).
- Failure by the tenant or members of his family to comply with the rules for using housing.
- Using an apartment, room or house for other than its intended purpose.
Since the lease agreement for departmental housing is fixed-term, it is subject to termination upon expiration of the main contract. The contract worker and his family are given three months to vacate the area.
