Speaker meets working group in charge of housing program

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Speaker of the Parliament G.Zandanshatar has presented a package of measures to be taken by the Parliament against COVID-19 pandemic. Development and implementation of a housing program for physicians, healthcare workers and officers of government special services, is among those measures. On April 17, Friday, the Speaker met and held discussion with a working group in charge of formulating recommendations and analysis on the measures to put in place in this direction. Deputy Minister of Construction and Urban Planning B.Munkhbaatar, Governor of the Capital City S.Amarsaikhan and executive officials of other organizations, such as the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Mongolia, Financial Regulatory Commission and Housing Corporation of the Capital City were present at the meeting. The working group reckoned that the ‘Rent-to-Own’ version is the most appropriate one among several variations of a housing program. The Housing Corporation of the Capital City has successfully implemented this variation, which allows the tenant to buy the apartment in the future while renting it, and gained public support on it. For instance, under the rent-to own transaction, a tenant entering into a 15-year lease agreement on a 50-square meter apartment, which costs MNT 1.5 million per sq.meter, will pay around MNT 493,000 a month and get to own the apartment at the end of the lease term. The interest rate of the rent-to own purchase is estimated to be around 6 percent. As of today, over 1800 apartments are ready to be used under rent-to-own contract and there are more apartments are waiting to be commissioned in the near future. According to the estimation, there are over 6400 physicians, hospital staffs and officers of special services, who are in need of having apartments within the program. Speaker of the Parliament G.Zandanshatar tasked to conduct study on the apartments and people to be involved in the program and ensure its preparation, resolve financial issues in the future as well as to submit proposals and suggestions for the decisions, laws and resolutions to be made by the Parliament on this matter.