Chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a consultation was held today to look for ways of addressing young families’ and servicemen’s housing problems.

“We have gathered to discuss a very important topic. I mean the mortgage lending programs of social importance, which cover a group of key stakeholders, including young families and servicemen. We hope that at this stage we will have a real opportunity to deal with servicemen’s and young families’ housing problems in much better conditions and at a larger scale than before,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

Central Bank Chairman Arthur Javadyan advised that as a result of negotiations held with commercial banks, mortgage interest for young families may be reduced to 7-7.5%, with a prepayment of 20% and up to 30 years repayment period. As regards military servicemen, 10% of the advance payment shall be subsidized by the Ministry of Defense, while interest on the loans will be reimbursed from their income tax.

The CBA Chairman noted that, in the case of a young family’s cumulative non-taxable monthly income of 450,000 drams and a 20-year loan maturity with a 7-7.5% interest rate, interest for an estimated cost of 20 million drams payable for 70 square meters housing will be fully reimbursed at the expense of beneficiaries’ income tax and the latter will only have to pay 65-70 thousand drams per month to repay the principal amount.

It was also noted that the proposed housing program for young families and servicemen will be implemented not only in Yerevan, but also in the provinces, taking into account the imperative of ensuring balanced territorial development.

Prime Minister Pashinyan said that an experienced developer should be selected under the program, stressing that everything should be done to minimize the risks. The Premier emphasized that these programs are of great importance - they are among the Government’s top priorities - and any manifestation of corruption or any impediment should be ruled out during their implementation.

The Head of Government expressed confidence that the programs’ successful completion would make it possible to extend their scope over the coming years in order to effectively tackle the housing needs of young families and servicemen. Nikol Pashinyan instructed to set up an interdepartmental commission to finalize the programs and submit them to the Government for approval.