What measures are being taken in Vitebsk to reduce the number of empty houses

The republican Unified Register of Empty Houses currently lists 89 households located in the individual housing sector of Vitebsk.

In a comprehensive approach to the improvement of urban areas and restoring order on the land, work with empty houses plays an important role. Today, with such households, it is organized in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of March 24, 2021 No. 116 "On the alienation of residential buildings in rural areas and improving work with empty houses". Using the example of the administration of the Oktyabrsky district of Vitebsk, we decided to see how and with what result the norms of this document are implemented in practice.

— The first step in organizing the implementation of the decree was the creation of a commission to inspect the condition of residential buildings in the individual housing blocks of our district, — noted Deputy Head of Administration Alexey Gordeyev . — It included representatives of the housing and utilities and improvement departments, the internal affairs department of the administration, the architecture and urban development department and the land management department of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee and other interested services that can provide an expert assessment within their competence. The commission's work regulations provide for at least two visits a year to inspect private housing. In practice, we manage to do more. For example, this year there were four. During one visit, we cover 10-12 households that presumably fall under the criteria of being empty.

A meticulous approach

What are these criteria? One of them is that persons who have the right to own and use the house have not lived in it for a single day in the last three years. As a rule, the consequences of this are visible both in the condition of the land and in the appearance of the building itself. It is not easy to track a three-year period, the period is quite long, and this is a problematic issue. A police officer interviews neighbors and other methods are used. After the commission has inspected the house for one visit, usually only 30-40 percent of houses fall into the group of those that continue to be worked on as empty. The owners of some are found, and they take measures to restore order. In others, it may turn out that the owners were in the house regularly, but no one has seen them for only the last six months. It is clear that the criterion of three years of non-residence is not met.

What happens next?

— Within 15 working days after the visual inspection, we draw up a report, then send requests to authorities that can help identify the owner or heirs. This is the collection of information on registration, payment of utility and tax payments, insurance of buildings, etc., — explained Olga Metelitsa, chief specialist of the housing and utilities and improvement department of the administration. — We are required to publish information on the search for copyright holders in the Vitbichi newspaper and more detailed information — with a photo and characteristics of the house — on the district administration page on the website of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee (tab "Current information").

When it comes to court

After two months from the publication, if no one has contacted the administration, no notifications of the intention to use the house have been received, there is every reason to draw up a conclusion on the condition of the residential building. By the decision of the administration, it is recognized as empty, an application is made to the court to recognize such a house as ownerless and transfer it to the ownership of the city of Vitebsk. In the event that there are no heirs to the home, it can be recognized as an escheat. In this case, an application to the court is received from the Vitebsk City Executive Committee.

In the regional city, there is a great chance to sell an empty house at auction to a new owner, so that he can start writing the history of the previously abandoned building from scratch. By the way, 34 of the 89 empty houses included in the Unified Register for Vitebsk are located in the Oktyabrsky District. Work with other buildings at one stage or another continues together with the interested services.

Positive result

I wonder how often it is possible to find the owners.- Unfortunately, there are few positive results, - answered Alexey Gordeyev. - But when the owner is found, he has the right to write to the administration a notice of intent to bring the house and land into satisfactory condition. For this, as stated in the decree, he has a year. Although claims against the object as empty disappear, the administration commission monitors how the promise is fulfilled.

Nevertheless, over the past years there have been many examples when, pushed by the authorities, former or new owners, as a result of the sale, have repaired and reconstructed unsightly houses. And they have become a real decoration of the private housing estates.

— No one has the goal of confiscating or taking away a house, — summed up Alexey Gordeyev. — Our task is to restore order in every corner of the city, so that there are no buildings threatening to collapse with land plots overgrown with weeds, which are often littered with garbage, become a refuge for people without a fixed abode and, even worse, a source of fires. This is a long-term work, it will be more successful if we receive a greater response from city residents to the efforts taken in the form of any information about the owners of empty houses.

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