Republic

MPs approve draft mortgage bill at first reading

On December 14, the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus has approved a draft mortgage bill at the first reading. Piotr Zhabko, first deputy economy minister, has said that if passed the bill will lay the groundwork for mortgage legislation in Belarus since what now exists is not enough to properly regulate the relations in this sphere. Now, mortgage relations are regulated by the Civil Code, the mortgage law and by a number of other regulatory legal documents. “But they define only general provisions which regulate mortgage relations while some of the regulatory legal acts are outdated and do not meet present-day necessities,” he said. If passed, this bill will lay the foundation for legislation in the area of long-term mortgage lending, including that in the housing sphere. Once adopted, the bill will help citizens in purchasing dwelling, will help boost the construction industry and the adjacent industries, stimulate the banking system. While drawing up this bill, specialists were guided by the achievements of the Stroiekonomika institute and foreign countries, in particular of Russia.