Measures have been taken in Belarus to protect the rights of citizens building housing with preferential loans

August 22, Minsk /Corr. BELTA/. Measures have been taken in Belarus to protect the rights of citizens building housing with preferential loans. This opinion was expressed by the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of Belarus, commenting on Decree No. 361 "On improving the procedure for determining the cost of construction of facilities and amending certain decrees of the President of the Republic of Belarus" dated August 11, 2011.

The ministry's specialists noted that the document was adopted with the aim of introducing fixed contractual (contract) prices for the construction of a facility (including stages of construction work) into construction practice, which will primarily protect the rights of citizens building housing with the involvement of preferential loans.

The normative legal act establishes that the estimated documentation for the construction of facilities, regardless of the sources of funding, is developed based on the norms of resource consumption in kind or consolidated norms of construction costs per unit of area, volume, capacity of the facility, and the cost of analogous facilities. Thus, according to the decree, the estimated cost of construction of facilities is determined as of the date of commencement of construction, special, and installation works, which is established by the customer, developer, taking into account the standard construction period determined in the design documentation and forecast price indices in construction.

As for the amendments to certain decrees of the head of state, they reflect the proposals of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction on the need to regulate the cost not only of works but also of construction materials used in the construction of facilities at the expense of budget funds, as well as in the construction of residential buildings (with the exception of those financed by foreign investors). These proposals, which have already been put forward, are particularly relevant today due to the current economic situation and the task of regulating the cost of construction, primarily housing, for citizens in need of improved housing conditions, the ministry emphasized.

According to specialists, at the present stage, it is necessary to preserve the function of state regulation of pricing for facilities constructed with state support. This is a necessary measure that protects the rights of citizens building housing with the involvement of preferential loans.

Regarding the construction of facilities not financed from budget sources, strict price regulation may not be required, the ministry believes. However, even here, leaps that negatively affect the economic situation of the customer, investor, and contractor should not be allowed.

The ministry emphasized that the new approach to pricing will contribute to the development of competition in the contract work market, the entrepreneurial initiative of design and construction organizations, and their desire to reduce construction costs in order to build a facility within the contract price and receive the profit necessary for their development.

According to specialists of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction, Decree No. 361 is the first step in the specified direction. Currently, the ministry, together with RUP "Republican Center for Pricing in Construction" and OJSC "NII Stroyekonomika", as well as with the participation of practitioners, is developing a package of regulatory documents, the adoption of which will allow the implementation of the decree's provisions and improve pricing in construction, and introduce fixed contract prices into construction practice.-0-