Apartments changes in law. Apartments will be converted into housing status, but with reservations

Apartments are a popular property format for many buyers. This segment managed to gain serious market shares in a short time. But the problem is that the law has a different opinion on this. The law considers apartments non-residential premises and does not classify them as housing. But the situation in the near future can dramatically change. In October, the Ministry of Construction of Russia announced a decision according to which it is planned to change the legal status of this type of housing. The document at this stage is under discussion, but soon a decision will be made, and the apartments will be able to equate to residential real estate.

For many people, in particular for developers and owners, the adoption of such a decision will be of great importance. This is an important step forward and the opportunity to change the legal features of this segment. But the version of the law that exists now requires further discussion and a number of important improvements. Just for this, the bill is going through a discussion stage. At this stage, all the strengths and weaknesses of the new regulatory document will be revealed. This will allow you to fit the document as close as possible to modern realities.

At this stage, it is planned to amend paragraphs 5a and 5b in article 16 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. It is planned to introduce such a concept as a “multifunctional building”. This term implies a building in which there are both residential and commercial premises, non-residential. But the problem is that there are no clear formulations regarding what exactly are considered apartments, and how the law will relate to this issue.

We can now say that in the document itself at the moment there are no clear definitions of what can actually be considered apartments, how to distinguish them from other types of property and housing remains unclear. Will they relate to apartments in the same way as apartments or will the approach be somewhat different? Another question arises. What to do with those rooms that today are considered apartments, but will not fit all the criteria? A serious question arises, what then to do with such apartments. This version of the regulatory document does not provide clear answers to so many important questions. Therefore, it is necessary to finalize the document and possibly make some changes to it in order for this issue to be fully resolved.

Another important issue is what will give the owners themselves the adoption of such a law and the recognition of apartments. There is, of course, one big advantage, which is that you can register in the apartment. According to current standards, only temporary registration for a period of not more than 5 years can be obtained. Therefore, in any case, the owner will be forced to register somewhere else.

Our company focuses on the elite class. This means that the apartments are not the only accommodation for the client. Therefore, there is no problem registering elsewhere. You can register in any other apartment. But in any case there will be many clients who want to not only actually live in apartments, but also legally. This is important, for example, so that the owner can receive some services that are available only to registered residents. All of these issues are of great importance.

Most experts, developers and the owners themselves have long said that apartments should be legalized legally. For this, it is necessary to work out all the norms and important aspects. A new legal document should fully regulate this area.

On the other hand, many experts and market participants note that if such norms are adopted, pricing policy will change. After that, apartments can be compared in price to ordinary apartments. Today, the cost of apartments is much higher and the price difference can reach 20%.

There is reason to believe that pricing will still undergo changes. This may be due to the fact that there will be a need to bring certain aspects into line with the norms. Previously, companies could compensate some points for their customers by reducing the cost. Such inconveniences include just the same impossibility of registration, higher prices for utilities and much more. After the adoption of this document, developers simply will not be able to use such mechanisms, and introduce the so-called “compensation discounts” for their clients.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that taxes are higher for apartments. It is still difficult to say what kind of tax policy will be in relation to this issue. There is a possibility that the price of apartments will rise, but the tax will remain the same. If the apartments are equated with housing, then, consequently, the tax rate will have to be reduced.

We believe that even in spite of a number of controversial positions and issues, it is necessary to adopt a law. Apartments have long been in need of legal consolidation as a type of home. This is a popular format in terms of market and demand. It can be predicted that in the future the demand for such facilities will only grow. Therefore, securing the status of residential premises for them will be an important and necessary step.

The Ministry of Construction has developed a new bill, which is intended to give a clear definition of the concept of "apartment" and to make appropriate amendments to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. It is planned to extend to the apartments guarantees of the legislation on shared construction (214-ФЗ), which previously applied only to residential facilities. Novostroy-M found out from experts what will happen to this format of real estate and what benefits the apartment buyers will receive from the new law.

Natalya Shatalina, General Director of MIEL-Newbuilding

So far, there is no question of simply recognizing all apartments as residential and allowing registration in them. Now it is said that first all the necessary requirements for this format of real estate should be worked out, and only if the house built meets all the requirements, registration will be possible there.

If the new requirements are minimal and do not lead to higher prices for apartments, then we can assume an increase in demand for this format, since the main criterion when making a purchase decision is the cost of the apartment or apartment. In this case, it will be more profitable for developers to build apartments, which can lead to an increase in supply on the market. It is likely that the requirements that will be prescribed by the authorities will relate to the availability of the necessary social infrastructure. And the additional financial burden in the form of building kindergartens and schools will certainly lead to an increase in the cost of apartments. Since we are talking about new requirements, they will already apply, as well as the opportunity to register for apartments built from some point, and not for the entire proposal that is currently under implementation.

According to the structure of transactions with apartments and apartments, a certain equilibrium state is noted, since throughout 2016 and in the first half of 2017, the share of transactions with apartments occupies 13-14% in the demand structure. At the same time, in absolute figures based on the data of Rosreestr in both the first and second quarter of 2017, there is an increase in the level of demand for apartments. For example, in the 1st quarter of this year, 40.4% more transactions were concluded by individuals in the "old" borders of Moscow than in the same period last year. In the second quarter of this year, consumer demand for apartments was 19% higher than in the second quarter of 2016. High customer interest in apartments is often associated not only with a lower price, but also with interesting locations. And if within the framework of one complex both apartments and apartments are offered, when the latter are lower in price, then the key factor in making the decision is already lower cost.

Changes in demand for apartments will depend on the impact of the new bill on the value of apartments. If their price is already comparable with apartments, then no, there will be no growth in demand. If they are budget-friendly, but with the opportunity to register, then, of course, interest in them will increase.

The adoption of such a bill will affect the cost of only those apartments that are being built as part of multifunctional houses, since under this law these apartments are equated with apartments. Accordingly, the construction of such apartments will be subject to all the requirements of the law on shared construction (214-FZ). And since the amendments to 214-FZ tighten requirements for developers, for example, in terms of the size of the authorized capital, the need to pay contributions to the compensation fund, the cost of erecting such projects or projects with apartments will be equal in value. In this case, of course, this will increase the cost of such apartments, their cost will be as close as possible to the cost of apartments in residential complexes with similar characteristics. At the same time, apartments that are being built as part of hotel complexes or lofts will remain in the same price segment, that is, they will be slightly lower in cost, since the new requirements of the law do not apply to them.

Tatyana Podkidysheva, Sales Director, NDV-Real Estate

In the current version of the bill, apartments are recognized as structurally separate rooms in multifunctional buildings. Thus, the owners of these real estate will have the opportunity to transfer them from non-housing to the status of apartments.

It is legally recognized that this format of real estate is used for living. The current version of the bill provides for changes, as a result of which articles mentioning apartments / apartment buildings will be supplemented with such words and phrases as “apartments” and “multi-purpose buildings”.

The apartments are not limited only to the IFC format, but the bill does not yet cover separate buildings and rebuilt complexes. Therefore, the impact of legislative changes will be heterogeneous. At the same time, you need to understand that in the process of going through all the procedures, corrections are also possible, which can lead to the appearance of other formulations.

Empowering customers will increase the cost of apartments, however, as we noted above, the current version of the bill does not cover the entire segment. For example, the market has a fairly large number of detached complexes with apartments, and these are very popular offers, taking into account their location and quality characteristics.

Maria Litinetskaya, Managing Partner, Metrium Group, Member of the CBRE Affiliate Network

The current version of the bill only clarifies the status of a new type of property. Apartments are premises that are part of multifunctional complexes and are used for permanent residence. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear what properties such objects will have in terms of the constant registration of owners, payment of taxes, and the amount of utility costs. It is possible that the requirements will be developed for the apartments, which will not greatly change the actual state of things. In any case, the very fact that the concept of “apartment” appeared in the legislation can already be considered a breakthrough.

However, it is not yet clear from the current edition of the bill in accordance with what technical and urban planning rules this housing format will be built. If the apartment owners receive technically and legally the same product as standard housing, the apartment will virtually cease to exist on the market. If the changes affect only the legal status, for example, the owner will be able to register and use the social infrastructure, but technical and urban planning standards will be preserved for non-residential premises, then the developers will be able to maintain the low cost of the apartments. They will still have the opportunity to give the buyer a more affordable product, while not depriving him of social rights.

To a certain extent, the regulated status of apartments will attract buyers to this type of housing. Today, the concept of "apartment" actually exists, but formally - no. This fact pushes many away from this format of residential real estate. However, if the apartments are equated with housing in all aspects (legal, technical, economic), then they simply “dissolve” in the total supply of the real estate market and cease to exist. Nevertheless, in many respects it is the lower price tag compared with the offer of apartments today that stimulates buyers. Together with the loss of this advantage, apartments may lose demand.

Of course, developers will try to increase the prices of apartments, bringing them to the level of the cost of apartments. Nevertheless, many apartment projects from the very beginning were designed to attract an audience of this particular format. Such complexes may not have social facilities, but they are close to the center. If the price tag goes up, then they will lose competition to neighboring LCDs, having lost a considerable share of customers.

Ekaterina Thein, Vice President, Retail Sales, PSN Group

We have long advocated the adoption of a bill on the status of apartments, because we believe that this is a necessary and timely step. Apartments have long been included in our lives, in many cities of Russia, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, they are built and sold as residential objects, but their status has not yet been resolved. This often discourages buyers who are looking for full-fledged housing, where you can register permanently or temporarily and enjoy all the social benefits. It will also be important to be able to transfer apartments from the status of non-residential objects to residential after the commissioning of the building. Of course, subject to the relevant standards.

We hope that the innovations will give a new impetus to the development of the format of the apartments as a whole, and according to the Housing Code, the apartments will become a residential building located in a multi-purpose building. This means that the building has residential premises, and hotels, and offices, and retail space - this allows you to organize the life, work and leisure of people in almost one place.

Most likely, after the approval of the new status, the demand for apartments will increase if other factors do not intervene, for example, the economic crisis. But if all goes well, especially in megacities, this will positively affect demand. For example, PSN Group is currently implementing three projects with apartments: the Pravda business-class city block, the I ’M on Sadovoy elite residential quarter and the I’ M Tverskaya premium club house. Apartments "Pravda" just the format designed for young and energetic people, for whom it is important to live and work in the city center.

As for the increase in apartment prices, this is possible. This will become clear after the adoption of the bill.

Evgeny Kiryaev, CEO of Trust No. 7

Thanks to the new law, apartments are likely to receive housing status and, as a result, buyers will be able to register in them. It is also possible to revise the tax rate.

Yes, of course, if the law is still adopted, the demand for apartments will increase. Now the apartments do not have the status of housing, which means it is impossible to register in them, and this is the main limiter in the decision to purchase apartments from buyers. If the law is passed, the apartments will have the opportunity to apply for services in the social infrastructure of the city, in addition, a good location in good locations or close to transport interchanges, metro stations, interesting architecture and thoughtful concepts makes them even more competitive.

What will happen to the prices? Are apartments going up? It all depends on the specific project, in general, apartment prices will increase due to increased demand, but only slightly 5-10%.

   Published Date October 20, 2017

The draft federal law, prepared by the Ministry of Construction, is aimed at improving relations in the sphere of ownership, use and disposal of premises used for permanent residence of citizens and located in non-residential buildings. The document is available on the legal information portal.

Now the apartments are not housing, they can not be registered. In fact, people buy commercial space, which because of this is 20-30% cheaper. Now within the Moscow Ring Road you can find offers for 2.5 million rubles. In addition, utility and tax payments for apartments are calculated at tariffs that are 15-20% higher than for ordinary apartments, says Est-a-Tet Key Account Manager.

The de facto apartments do not have a special legal status. One of the main changes proposed in the bill is the introduction of the concept of apartments.

According to the text of the document, an apartment is a structurally separate room in a multifunctional building, providing direct access to common areas in such a building, designed for residents to meet their domestic and other needs related to their living.

It also solves the problem of citizens with registration at the place of residence or stay in the apartment. In addition, it provides for the establishment of a new type of permitted use - the construction of a multifunctional building with placement in public and business areas.

It is possible to establish different standards for urban planning for various territories and territorial zones in terms of ensuring social infrastructure.

The bill provides for specific legal regulation of the common property of owners of premises in a building, the establishment of fees for residential premises and utilities. In addition, it is proposed to establish a legal mechanism for the transfer of non-residential premises used for permanent residence of citizens and located in previously constructed non-residential buildings to apartments.

The project also adds that the owners of non-residential premises in a building commissioned before January 1, 2019 are entitled to transfer non-residential premises in such a building into apartments by December 31, 2021.

It is worth noting that the new amendments will provide an opportunity to ensure the rights of citizens through liability insurance for developers through a compensation fund, which will work this fall. Earlier, the construction of apartments was subject to the law on shared construction, but developers did not insure their liability for these premises.

There are already owners of apartments in the country who have suffered from unscrupulous developers, having spent money and not having received a “meter”. Such people cannot now be included in the registers of defrauded equity holders, since they did not invest in housing.

The lack of any status of the apartments has already affected the market, experts of the real estate market noted earlier. So, the share of such objects in the sales structure in Moscow has halved since 2015. If in the second quarter of 2015 it was about 23.4%, a year later the share fell to 14.2%, and already this year the figure was 12.9% for the same period, says the CEO of Miel-Newbuilding, citing on the data. It was the decline in demand that could have led to cheaper “housing” in this format - by almost 10%, they added to the Metrium Group.

The professional community positively assesses the legislative initiative, since for buyers of apartment buyers this means the fact that their rights are equal to the rights of apartment owners, said Alexander Baykin, head of development projects management department of MITC Group of Companies.

According to him, this means that the law on shared construction will work equally in terms of protecting the rights of participants in shared construction, including apartment owners.

“From the point of view of developers, the legislative proposal can contribute to the pace of the sale of apartments, as well as simplify issues related to pricing, even on condition of contributions to the compensation fund,” the expert said.

Market experts admit that if apartments are equated with housing, then their price may increase to apartment prices.

But a dramatic drop in demand will not happen because of this, believes the managing partner of Metrium Group. It all depends on the specific case, but the expert does not exclude that mass-segment projects aimed at clients with modest budgets may lose in case of a simultaneous change in status and price increase.

If multifunctional complexes receive full legal status of housing, then, of course, some of them will be inferior to projects of the classical housing format. However, they will attract some customers who were previously confused by the status of apartments, she summarizes.

The apartments will be given status

website on controversial points of the proposed apartment law (see No. 5 of February 19, 2018). Recall, from the point of view of the current legislation, apartments are not residential premises, but commercial real estate. This does not prohibit people from living there permanently, but, for example, does not make it possible to register at the place of residence. Among other important consequences for the final consumer of the non-residential status of apartments is the fact that they are not subject to the rules on insolation or on providing the social infrastructure that apply to “normal” residential buildings.

The new draft law introduces the concept of “apartments” in the legal field and proposes to consider them residential real estate. The document refers to apartments as structurally separate dwellings in multifunctional buildings (MFZ), which serve for living and provide access to common areas. At the same time, it does not clarify whether the general standards for the construction of social infrastructure, for the placement of wet areas, sanitary regulations, and norms for insolation will be extended to such dwellings.

Why do we need a law?

Meanwhile, apartments, even without the status of full-fledged housing, occupy an increasingly prominent place in the market for new buildings. Often they are distinguished by a more affordable price compared to apartments and accommodation rather close to the city center, for example, on former industrial areas that underwent redevelopment. It is important that the apartments can be bought with a mortgage. But the lack of the ability to register in their own housing for many buyers does not play a fundamental role. Particularly because the share of private investors is traditionally high in this market.

As analysts at NAI Becar calculated, in 2017 the apartment market in St. Petersburg doubled its volume: the supply increased from 2,965 to 5,790 apartments. Sales also grew significantly. For example, in the IV quarter, 715 lots were sold, which is 40% higher than in the III quarter. Of the total number of transactions, about 70% of buyers purchased apartments for rent, analysts say. At the same time, the total demand in 2017 increased by 3.5 times compared to the previous year.

Thus, the absence of a law on apartments does not prevent their successful sale. And how will the possible adoption of this document affect the market? We asked specialists of the companies that implement apartment projects in St. Petersburg about this.

Our experts talked about how actively apartments are sold now and what attracts buyers in them. They also gave their assessment of the published draft law on apartments, tried to predict how it will affect the market and what awaits the apartment segment in St. Petersburg in the near and distant future.

Alexey Bushuev, Sales Director:

In 2017, 90% more lots were sold in the LCD apartment complex, than in 2016. In the quarter, sales grew by 50%. Clients are attracted by the price of apartments, which is 15-25% lower than the cost of classic housing, and their investment potential. The main difference between apartment projects and LCDs is the status of real estate, which is being built in areas where the appearance of ordinary housing is impossible, and a smaller amount of the developer’s obligations to erect social infrastructure.

The need to formalize the status of apartments is long overdue. It is no secret that many customers buy them for their own residence. Therefore, the possibility of constant registration in the apartments indicated in the bill is expected by the market. The adoption of this norm will spur demand for such real estate.

As for the prospects, in St. Petersburg, unlike Moscow, apartments are just beginning to reveal their potential. I am sure that in the future the demand for them will grow.

Sergey Nogai, project manager:

The share of apartments in the structure of the housing market in St. Petersburg is 5-6%. In Moscow - 15-20%. The St. Petersburg market is still very far from the saturation point.

The apartment law can only harm the market. It proposes one concept that is missing in the law - “apartments” - to explain through another - “multifunctional building”, which is also not in the law ... This is an extra confusion. I believe that the key concept here should be a hotel (apart-hotel as a kind of hotel).

Now the investment characteristics of the product are coming to the fore, and two factors will be important here. The first one is the reform of the “lease”, which forces developers to launch many new projects on the market. It is possible that this will lead to dumping, offsetting the price advantages of apartments. And the second factor - low inflation encourages banks to reduce deposit rates. This gives apartments as an investment product additional benefits.

I believe that this year demand will grow along with supply, prices will remain at the same level at best.

Alexander Pogodin, CEO of YE’S Apart-Hotel Chain:

The pace of sales of apartments in the apart-hotel network exceeds our expectations. About 50% of the objects have been implemented. Up to 90% of transactions for the sale of apartments on the YE’S network are made specifically for investment purposes.

The main thing that needs to be done when trying to resolve the regulatory field is to draw the line between residential and service apartments. That is, those that are designed for permanent residence of owners, and those that are designed for temporary rent. Duration of residence is decisive in the matter of requirements for filling projects. Otherwise, it is impossible to decide whether kindergarten will be in demand as part of the apartment complex, how big the parking is needed, whether other infrastructure is needed.

The apartment market, especially in large cities and tourist centers, will grow. This is facilitated by the loyalty of banks. You can buy apartments today according to the same scheme as housing - by obtaining a mortgage loan, the rates for which start at 9%.

Because of the crisis, developers are looking for non-standard solutions: they are trying to transfer unfinished business centers to apart-complexes, change their specialization and go from commercial real estate to residential, etc. In the fall, the State Duma is ready to consider a bill prepared by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation and the Institute for Urban Economics Foundation on the “amnesty” of apartments. The portal site decided to find out how the market will change if the apartments receive the status of residential properties.

Moscow-City as a catalyst for the apartment market

They started talking about apartments as a mass phenomenon after 2006, when several complexes were commissioned at the Moscow City Center. The vice-mayor of Moscow, the head of the construction complex, Marat Khusnullin said that the city authorities allowed to build apartments in order to create a civilized rental housing market. Developers, not burdened with the need to create the infrastructure of apartment complexes, began to build apartments. Buyers, in turn, used the opportunities de facto to buy apartments in a profitable location for themselves at 15-20% below the housing market. However, this state of affairs could not continue forever, the city did not like the fact that developers are building in tidy locations not burdened with infrastructure facilities used for permanent residence.

In 2014, Moskomstroyinvest even began to conduct “educational work” with citizens, explaining that apartment buyers will not be able to register, use social facilities, etc.

Interestingly, the new bill does not fundamentally change the situation. According to the initiative, the apartments are likely to appear as residential premises in houses of mixed use (DSI) or will be part of multifunctional buildings (MPF). (The terminology is offered by the Institute of Urban Economics). According to Maria Litinetskaya, Managing Partner of Metrium Group, the apartments offer to transfer the apartments to second-class housing, where they can register, but they will have to use kindergartens and schools on a residual basis - they will only take a child out of the apartments if they remain free places. In addition, the new bill does not cancel the increased property tax, housing and communal services will be paid at rates as from commercial facilities (on average, the payment is twice as high as for a traditional apartment of the same area). Apartment buyers will not be able to file a tax deduction. Who needs such a bill and how will it change the market?

Transferring apartments to housing status will kill the market?

“If the“ amnesty ”weren’t profitable for sellers, that is, developers, of course, there wouldn’t have been any transfer,” said Maria Litinetskaya, ““ Legalization ”of apartments will allow developers to review their cost, which is likely to increase and become comparable to prices for apartments. In addition, as a result of the “transformation” into housing, apartments will become a more understandable and attractive format for end consumers.

Those who previously purchased apartments will obviously benefit, for them, “amnesty” is a pleasant bonus: they actually bought an apartment with a good discount to the market, while the savings amounted to hundreds of thousands of rubles.

The fact that, ceteris paribus, buyers acquire a more understandable product - apartments - is evidenced by the situation in MR Group. As Maria Litinetskaya notes, after the transfer of some of the apartments to housing, the cost of apartments (former apartments) increased by about 10%. In price terms, on average this is about 600 thousand rubles. At the same time, despite the difference in cost, it is apartments that are in greater demand, whose share at the moment is about 85% of the entire project proposal.

Rusland SP partner Andrei Boykov is very negative about the bill. He generally believes that the initiative could kill the market. “The question so far is not about the transfer of apartments to housing in its pure form, but about a partial change in the legal status of this segment of real estate,” he said. - This is mainly about the additional burden of apart projects with social infrastructure, which is necessarily provided for in the construction of residential complexes. The question of the volume of social infrastructure (whether they will be the same as in the sale of housing, or less) remains open so far. ”

Is there any doubt that the additional load will inevitably increase the cost of construction, and that in turn will “pull” up the cost per square meter?

The main advantage of apartments over housing in the form of reduced cost (up to 25%) can be partially or completely leveled, says Andrey Boykov. - In addition, the issue of registration, as well as an increased tax burden due to non-residential status, remains open in the new bill. Accordingly, the sale of apartments may in principle not be very interesting for developers, since the demand from end customers can be reduced.

The head of the strategic consulting and research department at Welhome Andrey Khitrov partially agrees with Andrei Boykov:

Higher tax rates compared with housing already make some categories of buyers think about the appropriateness of buying an apartment. The inability to use the infrastructure at an increased tax rate and the inevitable increase in prices when you are allowed to register in the apartment will lead to a loss of interest in this segment of a significant part of consumers. However, this does not apply to the elite segment, but rather affects the comfort and business class apartments.

Market evolution: from single-family housing to family-friendly housing

To the question whether the portrait of the buyer will change when the bill is passed, experts answer differently.

According to Maria Litinetskaya, after the transfer of apartments to housing among buyers, the proportion of families with children will increase, since it was for them that the ban on permanent registration was critical. Accordingly, multi-room apartments (former apartments) will be in great demand.

However, this point of view is not shared by other experts.

Apartments are most often built in areas where real estate is not the cheapest. This means that for the person who paid attention to them, this is not the first purchase of real estate in any case, ”says the director general of Icentra Investment Center (IFC Hanoi-Moscow). - The average buyer is an accomplished person of middle age and older. In general, the portrait of the buyer will not change critically. Initially, apartments are not the first real estate, but rather an investment purchase or housing for children.

As noted by Andrei Khitrov, over the past few years, apartments have ceased to be housing "for single people" or housing "for a jacket."

In the elite segment, the buyer of apartments is no different from the buyer of apartments. In the economy segment, apartments are purchased by those buyers who do not have enough money for an apartment in the location of interest, the expert says.

If developers used to position apartments as a place in the center of Moscow next to work, where employees and office workers come to spend the night, or as loft apartments for a creative cluster, now everything has changed. Projects with apartments are a complex development with an internal territory (for example, I’m, Wine House and others), where it is comfortable to live with the whole family, including with children. Over the past few years, the product itself has changed.

Maria Litinetskaya clarifies that buyers of economy and comfort class apartments buy this property for the whole family. Developers are also aware of this, respectively, in the mass segment they provide for the availability of infrastructure facilities. It is not necessary to say that buyers of apartments are a priori deprived of the associated infrastructure, - emphasizes Maria Litinetskaya.

“Social responsibility lies with developers”

Another problem that may arise with the adoption of the bill, called Le Cheong Sean. If the apartments become housing with the possibility of permanent registration, but with increased taxation and other “joys,” for uninformed buyers, receipts for housing services or visiting the nearest kindergarten can be an unpleasant surprise.

“To some extent, developers have a social responsibility to make people understand what apartments are. Otherwise, this will have a very negative effect on the market: if there is a wave of misunderstanding, then apartment sales will simply rise. People will think that this is a complex, obscure product, and costs about the same as an apartment, ”commented Le Cheong Sean.

Inexperienced clients who turn to dubious real estate agencies, ready to keep silent about some of the nuances of apartments for the sake of sales, can be deceived in their expectations, - says Maria Litinetskaya.

She does not believe that the confusion in the heads of buyers of apartments or apartments will be widespread. If two years ago, customers bought apartments without thinking about the size of utility bills and the tax rate, today buyers are more knowledgeable in this matter and, before making a decision, weigh all the pros and cons.

The most important thing today is to give buyers and developers the answer, what is an apartment ...

In 2015, two apartment complexes received the status of residential facilities: the project "Faces" (Capital Group) and IFC "Water" (MR Group). The editors of the portal Novostroy-M.ru met with the commercial director of the Capital Group company Alexei Belousov, in an interview with the publication he explained the reasons for moving the apartments to housing.

Earlier, Marat Khusnullin said that since the beginning of the year, the authorities considered the transfer of 8 projects with apartments to residential real estate. This year, according to Maria Litinetskaya, the status of residential real estate is planned to be assigned to IFC Fili Grad from the developer MR Group, etc.

To transfer already constructed apartments into residential real estate, the project must comply with the requirements for residential premises. If an object of ownership is registered, the developer applies to the Interdepartmental Commission for the transfer of residential premises to non-residential premises and non-residential premises to residential premises. If a positive decision is made, then changes are made to the state register of rights to real estate and a new certificate of ownership is issued.

As for the prospect of introducing changes to the RF LC, experts agree that sooner or later this will definitely happen. The whole question is when the final decision will be made, and in what form it will enter the LCD finally.

“I don’t think that the government will postpone the issue of the status of apartments for a long time,” said Maria Litinetskaya. - Discussion of the future fate of the format, and so it lasted for the whole of 2014 and half of 2015. Uncertainty interferes with the further development of the market, so the most important thing today is to give buyers and developers a clear answer what awaits them when buying and building apartments.

You should not wait for changes in the RF LCD before the end of the year, believes Andrei Boykov. In his opinion, the issue of apartments will be resolved by the end of 2016. He also notes that not all apartment projects are “pseudo-housing”. In some cases, these are hotels of short and medium term accommodation, and the buyers of such apartments are mostly investors who purchase real estate for rental purposes. An example is the complex of the Pioneer, Vertical group of NAI Becar and others.