Experience of individual housing construction in Belgorod oblast

Individual housing by a number of parameters is a promising form of settlement. In Belgorod oblast it has been decided that it should become the main such form. The policy carried out in the region allowed it to take a leading position in the construction of individual housing in Russia. This policy is aimed at solving the practical issues that people face when procuring their own housing: obtaining land and funding for construction. In addition, bureaucratic procedures have been significantly simplified; attention is paid to development of the construction sector. Residents of the region can obtain land plots at prices significantly lower than market prices, primarily from the reserves of state and municipal land, mainly near cities; the regional administration purchases or interchanges unused private land, turns into use vacant (ownerless) land; agricultural land is partially transferred for individual housing construction. Planning of the allocated land and provision with infrastructure is conducted in cooperation with municipalities within the frames of regional programmes. The issues of construction financing are addressed together with the issues of providing land by a special regional organization - there are a number of schemes, such as subsidizing interest rate or partial debt reduction, for example, at birth of a child. Construction saving cooperatives have been established and are operating with the support of the regional authorities. At a number of large enterprises, including budget-funded ones, there are programs for providing housing to their employees under different schemes.