Back to the USSR: Large families to get free apartments from the state

The Russian authorities should provide an apartment to families or write off mortgage upon the birth of a third child, Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko believes.

Matvienko noted that in the past, a family would be put on the waiting list and receive free housing from the state within a year after the birth of their third child.

"The state should provide apartments to families with children. We need to build and provide apartments. For wealthier families, we can discuss preferential mortgages, mortgage write-offs. In principle, the state should improve conditions for families with children,” Valentina Matvienko said.

Providing housing for families with children is a tool to stimulate the birth rate in the country, Valentina Matvienko added. According to her, guaranteed housing at the birth of a child can become a decisive factor for many.

However, opinions regarding the minimum number of children in a family that would be eligible to free housing are divided.

Earlier, Nina Ostanina, the head of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, proposed issuing a housing certificates for apartments to families for the birth of a fifth child.

In turn, State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladislav Davankov suggested introducing a new preferential mortgage program for young families who have not had children yet. Spouses under 27 years of age may receive a subsidy from the state for the down payment on a mortgage. After the birth of their first and second child, they would be able to get a subsidised interest rate of up to 4 and up to 2 percent per annum, respectively.

"At the same time, when a third child is born, it is proposed to completely write off the main mortgage debt at the expense of the budget,” Davankov said.

The financial assistance program for families with children known as maternity capital remains in effect in Russia until 2028. A family may use the maternity capital certificate to improve housing conditions, to make a down payment on a mortgage, repay housing loans and construction. Presently, the maternity capital for the next year is planned in the amount of 631,000 rubles ($6,800) for the first child and 834,000 ($9,000) for the second.