The State Duma supported the project on housing savings for citizens

Investors will have a new financial instrument for purchasing houses and apartments

The State Duma Committee on the Financial Market recommended adopting in the first reading a bill introducing a new savings instrument in Russia – housing savings.

The document introduces a new mechanism – a housing savings agreement. Only an individual can be a depositor under it, and the validity period is at least one year. Under such an agreement, the bank will accept funds from the depositor (or a third party in his favor), accrue interest on them, and then use the accumulated savings at the depositor’s direction to purchase housing or finance his participation in shared-equity or individual housing construction. Interest is accrued annually and paid at the end of the contract by directing it, along with the deposited amount, to improve the living conditions of the investor.

The bill provides for separate insurance of citizens’ funds for a deposit placed under a housing savings agreement and for other client deposits in the same bank. In the event of revocation (cancellation) of a bank’s license or the introduction by the Bank of Russia of a moratorium on satisfying the claims of its creditors, compensation is provided for the deposit placed under a housing savings agreement, up to 10 million rubles.

The housing savings mechanism, according to the explanatory note, will allow the population to be involved as widely as possible in the implementation of housing programs while simultaneously generating pent-up demand for housing. This creates a reliable banking mechanism for accumulating and saving funds for the purchase of housing.

The Russian government supported this bill.