RA Social Ministry: Over 6,000 of  20,000 eligible Artsakh families   received housing program certificates

ArmInfo. Of the potential 20,000 Artsakh families, 6,911 families, or approximately 28,400 people, have received a housing certificate. Gayane Karagezyan, Advisor for Coordination of Individual Functions of Structural Units of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, announced  this at a press conference in Yerevan, presenting the recent changes  to the program.

According to her, the changes can be divided into two groups: the  first concerns the beneficiaries themselves, and the second is  related to improving the mechanisms of interaction between the state  and financial institutions, in particular, the introduction of more  effective financial resource management tools.  One of the key  changes, according to Karagezyan, concerns divorced parents. "A  parent who does not have custody of a child after a divorce will be  able to apply for a certificate. This means that the certificate can  be issued for either oneself or for a new family, if one has been  created. Another change concerns families whose applications were  previously rejected due to the lack of information on children under  six years of age in the database of the Migration and Citizenship  Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia.  Such cases  were quite common, and the reasons could be varied, including  technical errors and human error. In this regard, it was decided that  if a child is under six years old as of September 19, 2023, and the  parents' application is rejected solely due to the lack of  information in the database, such applications will now be accepted,"   Karagyozyan said.

The next changes, as the Ministry of Social Labor representative  continued, concern the use of the certificate's positive balance. She  recalled that previously, families could not re-use a home renovation  loan, as the program only provided for one such loan. However, as  Karagyozyan noted, this restriction has been lifted after the  changes.

Another important change, she said, was made to the certificate  consolidation process. As Karagyozyan explained, the problem arose in  families where one or more members encountered delays in obtaining  Armenian citizenship. As a result, the coordination adviser noted,  the remaining family members were unable to take advantage of the  program in a timely manner. "Now, the family will be able to use the  certificates of those members who already meet the program's  conditions. After the remaining members resolve their citizenship  issues and also receive certificates, they can be combined with those  already used.  The unused amount will be counted as a positive  balance, which can be used for the purposes specified by the  program—obtaining a loan for home renovation or reconstruction,  purchasing furniture and appliances, and purchasing a plot of land,"  Karagyozyan noted.

The changes, she said, also affected the work of the  Interdepartmental Commission. Previously, as the Ministry of Social  Labor representative noted, when reviewing individual applications,  the Commission often had to request additional information from the  Ministry of Defense (if the applications concerned military  personnel) or from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and  Sports (MESC) of Armenia.  "To make the Commission's work more  efficient and effective, a decision was made to include  representatives from these ministries."

A separate set of changes, as Karagyozyan recalled, concerns the  state's interaction with financial institutions. She stated that the  program now requires a mandatory down payment  of 20%, but this  innovation, she assured, does not create an additional financial  burden for beneficiaries. "It is important that the people of Artsakh  do not have any misunderstandings. These 20% will be fully financed  by the state.  Banks' ability to finance the program has also been  expanded." As the number of participants increases, banks' own  resources may prove insufficient, so refinancing organizations, in  particular the National Mortgage Company of Armenia, will be involved  in the process," Karagyozyan clarified.

Speaking about the implementation of certificates by region,  Karagyozyan reported that Kotayk Province remains the leader, with  790 families purchasing housing. Next comes Armavir Province with 543  families, Ararat Province with 368, Yerevan Province with 366, Lori  Province with 315, Syunik Province with 184, Gegharkunik Province  with 129, Shirak Province with 115, Aragatsotn Province with 101,  Tavush Province with 73, and Vayots Dzor Province with 51 families.  According to her, these statistics indicate that not all program  participants choose to live in Yerevan.

In total, 6,911 families, or approximately 28,400 people, received  certificates. Of these, 3,254 families (approximately 15,000 people)  have already exercised their right under one of the program's  designated areas. Thus, 2,994 families purchased finished housing, 41  purchased housing under construction, and another 219 families used  the funds to pay off a mortgage taken out before the program's  launch.  Furthermore, of the 3,035 families who purchased housing or  were under construction, 1,803 took advantage of the 100% state  subsidy without investing their own funds. Some of them retained a  positive certificate balance. 1,232 families used additional personal  funds. Of these, 204 families subsequently received a refund of  approximately 348 million drams, which they used to obtain an  additional loan under the program," Karagyozyan reported.

A representative of the Ministry of Social Labor also noted that when  the program was launched, approximately 20,000 families were  considered potential participants. However, she clarified that it was  initially anticipated that some participants might not meet the  established criteria, while others might not want to take advantage  of the program. "Considering that the program is designed for five  years and is currently only in its second year of implementation, we  consider these figures to be very good. While as of January 1, 2025,  only 289 certificates were issued, of which only 4 were implemented,  by January 1, 2026, the number had increased to 4,012, with 1,751  implemented. As of today, 6,911 certificates have been issued, of  which 3,254 have been implemented. These figures clearly demonstrate  the growth dynamics," the coordination adviser believes. 

Karagyozyan also cited statistics on small families, noting that the  common belief that the certificate amount is insufficient for  families of two or three isn't always true. According to her, out of  291 two-person families, 180 purchased housing with 100% state  subsidy. "And out of 390 three-person families, 129 were able to  purchase housing without using their own funds. It's important to  understand that even small families can receive full subsidy if  they're considering housing outside of Yerevan," Karagyozyan  concluded.