Social housing rental: how to draw up an agreement, what is needed?

Russian families that do not have enough resources to purchase or build an apartment or house can take advantage of the social housing programs developed by the Government of the Russian Federation. How to get housing from the state free of charge, and who is entitled to such support is the topic of this article.

How it works

To get an apartment, you need to register as needing residential premises.
A queue is formed from such people in need. You can wait a long time: now people on the waiting list have been celebrating housewarming in the capital since 1995; there are 68,946 families on the general list, but last year only 3.6 thousand families took advantage of state support. But for beneficiaries, the line moves faster - disabled people, WWII veterans, and orphans are at the top of the list. The renovation program will also speed up the process in the coming years - almost 25 thousand people on the waiting list will transfer to it.

The queue moves very slowly. But if you cannot buy an apartment now and will not be able to do so in a few years, then it makes sense to get on the waiting list and wait for government help. If you can handle it on your own, then simply give way to other people on the queue.

Those in need of residential premises are provided with apartments on social rental terms. It's free.

You can register family members in the received apartment and live indefinitely, paying for utilities. Such housing still belongs to the city, it is difficult to rent or exchange it, and it is impossible to sell it at all.

To become a full owner of real estate, it must be privatized. You can start collecting documents for privatization immediately after moving into an apartment on social rent. The exception is orphans; they can privatize an apartment only 5 years after receiving it.

The concept of social hiring

The concept of social rent implies the conclusion of an agreement for the use of living space under certain conditions and for a certain time. The difference with commercial transactions is only two points:

• in the ownership of rented living space - the owner of social housing is always municipal authorities, in other agreements the owner can be either an individual or any company or firm;
• in terms of the provision of apartments, the family will receive “social benefits” for indefinite use, and a private contract is concluded for a specific time.

In case of social hiring, relations between the parties are regulated by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation and decrees of regional authorities.

What should be done

Housing on social rent in Moscow can only be obtained by registering with the Moscow City Property Department (DGI).

DGI deals with housing issues. If you decide to stand in line for an apartment, you will have to regularly communicate with specialists from this department.

The procedure for obtaining housing in Moscow looks like this:

1. You need to fill out documents for housing registration and get your number in the queue.
2. When the time comes, collect the package of documents again and confirm your position. When family composition changes or income levels increase, it is easy to fall out of line.
3. Find out what they can offer you for moving in and choose housing from three options.
4. Sign a social rental agreement under which you rent an apartment from the city.

Standard social tenancy agreement

In fact, this path can take decades, and documents will have to be collected repeatedly to confirm your right to a municipal apartment.

Over time, the housing program may change, as has happened several times. Thus, those who got on the waiting list before 2005 can choose a social mortgage or a subsidy to pay up to 70% of the cost of housing - in order to quickly move to a new apartment, they add their own money. Now these options are not offered to those who have just registered; only apartments are available under a social tenancy agreement.

Social rent rights

The term social hiring, first of all, means the conclusion of an agreement of the established form, regulating the rights of use and obligations of tenants. This agreement is the main basis for the allocation and transfer of housing to a specific citizen, as a result of compliance with the established procedure.

Unlike other forms of real estate, municipal or public housing is not subject to gratuitous or compensated transfer to a third party, since the main owner remains the official structure.

The conclusion of the contract is regulated by the provisions of the Housing Code (Chapter 8).

The form of the social tenancy agreement itself is the same for all employers, without the inclusion of additional clauses and adjustments.

A person who has entered into an agreement with a government agency acquires the right to reside in the transferred area and use utilities and amenities.

These include:

• water supply;
• heating;
• provision of electricity;
• repair;
• cleaning of common areas and other benefits.

Premises maintenance services are paid; a fee is charged for use in accordance with the tariffs. Rent for social housing is payable monthly.

Other rights of the employer include the right to subsequent privatization (unless this measure is prohibited by law under certain circumstances). For example, tenants who received meters from the state before 2015 can privatize social housing.

For persons living under a social tenancy agreement, a number of limiting factors are provided. It is impossible to carry out activities for sale, exchange, sublease, will, or donation.

Such rights appear to the employer only as a result of privatization, if it is possible in this particular case.

Payment for social rent housing

Housing transferred from official structures must meet the basic parameters of a comfortable property, and residents are required to pay a certain rent for the services they use. The receipt includes not only the fee for the specific resource (service) used, but also the fee for the use of real estate.

Unlike usual receipts for privately owned apartments, payment documents and invoices under a social tenancy agreement include an additional clause for the rented premises.

For many families, drawing up an agreement to rent social housing is the only way to solve housing problems. However, even meeting the criteria and having the right to apply for public housing will not free you from the need to collect a large package of documentation, as well as a rather long waiting period.

Families who have received a maternity capital certificate improve their living conditions using subsidized funds. Read: Buying an apartment with maternity capital (step-by-step instructions).

Who is considered to be in need of housing?

You can apply for an apartment from the state if you have problems with housing. Just don’t ask for a separate one-room apartment to separate from your mother-in-law, because you don’t get along together. You can’t count on an additional studio to rent out if you already have a place to live.

There are only 4 reasons why free housing is provided in Moscow:

• there is no corner of your own - none of the family members own housing or housing provided by the state free of charge;
• little space - each family member has less than 10 square meters in an apartment or less than 15 square meters in a communal apartment;
• it is impossible to live in the house - it is in disrepair, cannot be repaired and is unsuitable for living, like apartments in apartment buildings without amenities - without electricity, running water, sewerage, heating, shower or bath;
• a relative is very ill - several families live in the same apartment with a chronically ill relative, whose illness is dangerous for others, and cannot allocate him an isolated room or move him separately.

Military personnel can also apply for free housing if they have served 20 years or more or were dismissed after 10 years of service due to health reasons or age. They have access to the opportunity to privatize office housing. That's only if they don't own any other home and didn't participate in the military mortgage program.

You can match only one item or several at once. This will affect the queue number. The more difficult the situation, the closer you are to getting housing.

Basic rental fee

The basic fee is calculated from the product of the average cost of 1 m² on the secondary housing market in the municipality and 0.001. In this case, the specified price is set by the Federal State Statistics Service.

Find out why to determine the composition of the OP in the ICD

Who can get in line

Apartments are not given to everyone in need. If you can buy square meters yourself and move, you will not be able to register for housing. Foreigners, as well as those who have just moved to the capital, are not provided with housing.

To be in line for an apartment, a family must simultaneously meet 4 criteria:

1. Russian Federation citizenship for all close relatives and family members living together.
2. Registration in Moscow for 10 years. Only permanent registration at the place of residence is considered (this is the so-called “propiska”), and not temporary registration. The requirements for the period of registration in the capital do not apply to children, only to adult family members.
3. There have been no real estate transactions in the last 5 years, which forced us to make room. If you recently sold or exchanged your apartment, and now you insist that there is not enough space and demand housing from the state, your family will not be registered as housing.
4. Low-income status - all family assets and income for 20 years will not be enough to independently purchase housing of the standard size. Even if the money from the sale of a car and a summer house is enough for a room in a communal apartment, but according to the norm your family needs more space, then you will receive low-income status, and then a free apartment. Calculation of the sufficiency or lack of funds is carried out according to a special law. You can’t complain unfoundedly that you don’t have enough money before payday; social security takes into account only official figures and a special methodology to recognize a family as low-income.

If there is at least one reason to be considered in need of housing and you meet all the requirements, then you can collect documents for housing registration.

In order to obtain the status of a person in need, an application is submitted to the relevant executive authorities of Moscow. The application is accompanied by documents confirming compliance with all conditions that allow the applicant to be recognized as in need of housing, as well as documents on the applicant’s identity, his citizenship and residence in Moscow. The executive bodies consider this application within 33 working days. If a positive decision is made on the application, the applicant is placed on the housing register.

If you are in doubt whether you are entitled to an apartment in Moscow, you can take a test from the City Property Department on the website of the capital’s mayor’s office. He will help you find out how to get an apartment for free in your case.

Who will get housing faster?

Those in need of housing join a general queue. Those who register earlier will receive an apartment earlier. But there are certain categories of beneficiaries who are entitled to housing on a priority basis or even out of turn.

Accounting data for 2021

Those outside the waiting list receive apartments as soon as the necessary documents are ready and they are recognized as needing housing.

1. Living quarters must be immediately provided to persons suffering from severe forms of chronic diseases that are dangerous to others: epilepsy, tuberculosis, skin and mental diseases. A complete list of such diseases is approved by the state.
2. The city authorities are also, out of turn, obliged to provide square meters to those who find themselves in unsuitable housing or have completely lost a roof over their head, for example, as a result of a fire. The dilapidated building is considered unsafe and is being prepared for demolition, and all residents are resettled, providing them with new apartments. When moving out of old houses, you are allowed to choose the area of ​​residence and the option of moving - to an apartment of the same size or to a more spacious one with an additional payment.
3. Large families with 5 or more children receive temporary housing without a waiting list. Then, as a matter of priority, they have the right to an apartment under a social tenancy agreement, which can be privatized.

Two more categories of beneficiaries who do not have to prove their low-income status have priority rights to housing:

• Orphans left without parental care - their representatives can apply to be placed on the housing queue from the age of 14, or they themselves can apply to social security when they turn 18. Housing is also provided to them under a social tenancy agreement. An orphan can also move and register his minor children and spouse in this apartment if he has already started his own family. After 5 years, they will be able to re-register such housing as their own.
• Disabled children and wheelchair users with musculoskeletal diseases, disabled people and elderly people living in nursing homes. They, together with their guardian, are allocated specialized housing under a contract of free use with renewal every 5 years. The procedure for providing housing for such beneficiaries is described on the Moscow City Hall website.

How can you manage social housing?

All rights and obligations of the tenant under a social tenancy agreement are given in Article 67 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.

A social apartment cannot be sold, donated, used as collateral or bequeathed to relatives. But, living in such an apartment, you do not need to pay fees for major repairs, pay for housing maintenance and property taxes. A social apartment can also be rented out.

You can privatize the apartment in which you live under a social tenancy agreement for free, we wrote about this earlier.

What documents will be needed

It is better to check the complete list of documents with the City Property Department. Officials receive most of the documents as part of interdepartmental cooperation, so you need to find out what exactly needs to be collected yourself. You can fill out an application for registration online.

Typically the applicant is asked to:

• application for housing registration, signed by all adult and capable family members;
• personal documents of all relatives living together: passports, SNILS, birth and marriage certificates;
• certificates of income from the place of work and from the Pension Fund, a certificate of recognition of the family as low-income from social protection;
• documents for property owned: an extract from Rosreestr about real estate and a cadastral passport for existing housing, a certificate from the traffic police about vehicles;
• residence documents: extracts from the house register, information about permanent registration addresses to confirm the presence of Moscow registration for 10 years, personal accounts at residential addresses to prove that there has been no deterioration in living conditions.

The application and package of documents are reviewed within 1.5 months. The response to housing registration or refusal must arrive no later than 33 working days from the date of application.

How do you get it?

The following description will help you navigate the sequence of actions when receiving housing from the state fund:

• The first step is to determine whether the law provides for the right to receive social housing.
• The housing department of the local administration will find out the conditions for placing on the waiting list.
• Submit an application requesting the provision of real estate accompanied by a supporting package of documentation.
• After the 30-day period, the municipality is required to notify the decision.
• If the answer is positive, the applicant and his family are registered in the queue. If there are rights to priority provision of housing, the future tenant receives housing in a separate manner.

As a rule, a standard list of papers is presented:

• personal documents of the applicant and his family members;
• documents confirming material need (certificates from place of work, benefits, pensions, etc.);
• if there is property, attach an assessment report;
• a certificate confirming the applicant’s place of residence for the last 10 years.

Other documents are determined based on the procedure established in a particular region, taking into account individual circumstances.

Receipt out of turn

Waiting in line lasts for years, and only certain categories of people can count on a quick solution to their housing problem.

Out-of-turn housing on social rent is provided by:

• if the premises in which citizens live are declared unfit for living, as well as if the building cannot be repaired;
• in the presence of serious diseases, with a chronic form, according to diagnoses defined by law (clause 4, part 1, article 51 of the LC);
• orphans and persons equivalent to them (children without parental care).

Why you might lose your place in line

You can lose your right to a free apartment in Moscow if:

• move outside of Moscow for permanent residence;
• independently buy housing of sufficient size;
• lose the right to housing, for example, due to a change in family composition or an increase in income;
• take advantage of a subsidy to improve living conditions;
• enter incorrect information into documents or attach fake certificates;
• violations on the part of officials during registration will be revealed;
• submit a personal application for deregistration.

Approximately every five years, the waiting lists are re-registered to update the data on the families on the list. The City Property Department requests most documents from other authorities, but may contact you directly for some information. If during re-registration it turns out that you no longer need housing or are no longer low-income, then you will lose your place in the queue.

The last check is carried out a year before the decision to provide an apartment is made; if even then your family meets all the requirements, then all you have to do is wait for an invitation to view the options.

If the situation in the family changes, you must immediately provide additional documents to the City Property Department. The priority will be affected by the appearance of children, marriage or divorce, disability, or recognition of housing as unsafe.

How to get through the MFC and what is the waiting period?

Submitting documents at multifunctional centers is easier and more convenient:

1. branches are more geographically accessible and are located even in remote villages;
2. Center staff will help you collect the necessary certificates and documents;
3. you don’t have to visit various structures and stand in long lines.

It is important to know:

• If documents were submitted through local authorities, the maximum waiting period for a response will be 30 days.
• If the application took place through the MFC, then 30 days are added to the time for delivery of the package of documents to the body carrying out the work and making the decision to sign the contract.

How is the apartment provided?

The Moscow City Property Department issues three warrants to people on the waiting list to view apartments. If all options are rejected, further offers will be made only after a year.

Housing is provided within the city of Moscow, but not necessarily in the same district where you lived before. Your wishes regarding the location or layout of the apartment are not taken into account. You can only choose from these three options or wait another year for other offers.

The law determines the area of ​​the apartment provided. The norm is at least 18 square meters for each family member.

Standards for the provision of social housing in Moscow per family

For a family of 4–5 people, the norm is calculated at 18 square meters per person plus 9 square meters for everyone, no more. For a family of 6 or more people, this could be several apartments with a total area within the normal range.

But this takes into account existing real estate. If a family already has a room or apartment, they will take it away and provide new housing of the standard size, or they will subtract its area from the standard and add the missing square meters.

For example, a family of three already has a room of 20 square meters, but according to the norm they are entitled to at least 54 square meters of living space. They can receive either a separate two-room apartment with an area of ​​54 square meters by giving away their room, or they can additionally take a one-room apartment with an area of ​​34 square meters in addition to their room. Options depend on what is available in the city's housing stock at the time inspection documents are issued.

The number of rooms is determined taking into account the number of family members - relatives of different sexes, if they are not spouses, can be accommodated in one room only with separate consent. So, to accommodate a family of 6 people (grandfather, grandmother, mother, father, daughter and son) you will need 4 rooms, unless the family agrees to place the children together.

If there is a relative in the family with a chronic disease that is dangerous to others, then he is allocated a separate isolated room.

How real is this?

It is long, difficult, but quite realistic. Every year thousands of Muscovites receive housing, and you can try too.

It’s convenient to check your progress in the housing queue online on the Moscow government website. After registration, you can monitor changes in your serial number and find out the date of upcoming re-registration in order to confirm your right to square meters.

Difficulties on the way to your own apartment in Moscow can be discussed with experienced people on the waiting list - there are thematic communities on social networks, for example, the group of the Public Organization “Moscow Waiting People”.