On some amendments to the Housing Code of the Republic of Belarus

By the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 04.05.2019 "On Amendments to Laws on Legal Regulation of Housing Relations", a number of amendments were made to the Housing Code of the Republic of Belarus of 2012, including those concerning the eviction of citizens from residential premises.

In practice, difficulties arose in determining actions that constitute a system of violations leading to the termination of a residential lease agreement and eviction (regarding the disclosure of the term "system of violations", the composition of systematicity, issues of warning about the possibility of terminating the agreement and eviction; responsibility of persons whose behavior makes it impossible to live with them. In this regard, paragraph 3 of Article 62 of the Housing Code stipulates that the lease agreement may be terminated, and the citizens referred to in paragraph 5 of Article 1 of Article 79 of the Housing Code shall be evicted if, within a calendar year, they have been brought to administrative responsibility three or more times for violating the rules for using residential premises, maintaining residential and auxiliary premises, expressed in the destruction or damage of residential premises or their use for other purposes, or if they systematically violate the requirements of the Housing Code, which makes it impossible for others to live with them in the same apartment or in the same residential building, have been warned by the owner about the possibility of terminating the residential lease agreement or about the possibility of eviction without providing another residential premises, and within a year after such warning have been brought to administrative responsibility for similar offenses.

Previously, legislative acts lacked specific norms allowing for the eviction from dormitories of citizens who systematically violate internal regulations and/or the rules for using residential and other premises. Currently, paragraph 2 of Article 87 of the Housing Code provides for a new ground for eviction of the tenant and family members living with him from a state housing fund residential premises in a dormitory without providing other residential premises.

Thus, at the request of the owner or an authorized person, the said citizens shall be evicted in case of systematic (three or

more than once within a calendar year) destruction or damage to residential premises and common areas in a dormitory, or their use for other purposes, or systematic violation of the internal rules of the dormitory and fire safety rules, which makes it impossible for others to live with them in the same dormitory, if they have been warned about the possibility of eviction without providing other housing and within a calendar year after such a warning have committed similar violations.

The norms regulating eviction from special residential premises of the state housing fund have also been supplemented with a similar ground for eviction from these residential premises. The norms for eviction from residential premises of the state housing fund of the tenant and members of his family living with him have been excluded, if minors recognized as being in a socially dangerous situation or recognized as needing state protection live or have the right to live in the residential premises of the state housing fund, or citizens recognized as incapacitated or limited in legal capacity by the court live in the residential premises, or these residential premises are assigned to orphans or children left without parental care.

As for eviction without providing other housing from the residential premises occupied by them, not previously privatized and included in the rental housing stock for this reason before 01.07.2016, paragraph 3 of Article 80 of the Housing Code establishes that the requirements for evicting citizens who evade payment for housing and communal services, payment for the use of residential premises, reimbursement of electricity costs, from residential premises of the state housing fund apply to citizens living in rental housing provided to them in the manner prescribed by law under a lease agreement for residential premises of the state housing fund and included in the rental housing stock in the manner determined by the President, before 01.07.2016. Thus, this guarantee applies only to citizens whose residential premises were provided under lease agreements for residential premises of the state housing fund without status or by orders (before 01.07.1999) without classifying such premises as service housing stock.

Regardless of the status of the premises, in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations for payment of housing and communal services, payment for the use of residential premises, reimbursement of expenses for electricity, the Housing Code provides for a six-month period for the eviction of tenants of rental housing from the residential premises occupied by them with all family members living with them and other citizens without providing other residential premises. Before the amendments to the Housing Code, it was established that tenants of rental housing were subject to eviction from the occupied residential premises without providing other residential premises in cases of unjustified arrears in payment for the use of rental housing and (or) housing and communal services in the amount of two monthly payments.

Article 86 of the Housing Code provides for the application of requirements for the eviction of citizens and their family members from rental housing provided for the period of labor (service) relations, upon obtaining other housing with a total area of 15 square meters or more per person.

In order to establish guarantees for former family members of the owner of privatized residential premises who lived with him at the time of privatization but did not participate in privatization, as well as members, former members of the family of the owner of residential premises that were built (reconstructed) or acquired with state support provided to the owner, whose family included these members, former family members, paragraph 3 of Article 89 of the Housing Code includes a norm stipulating that the specified citizens can be evicted at the request of the owner to another residential premises owned by them or the owner in this settlement and meeting the sanitary and technical requirements established for residence.

Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of Compliance with the Law of Judicial Decisions in Civil Cases
of the Regional Prosecutor's Office   
Alla Sashcheko