Our family recently built an apartment. In order to repay the loan faster, we thought that we would let tenants live in it, and we ourselves would live with our parents for a couple of years. However, they say that a law has now been adopted that prohibits both renting and selling housing built with state support. Is this true? G. B, Brest.

A ban on the free disposal of housing built (reconstructed) or acquired with the help of a soft loan, within 1 year from the date of its early repayment, existed before. By Presidential Decree of May 30, 2013 No. 246 “ On introducing amendments and additions to some decrees of the President of the Republic of Belarus» this period increased to 5 years. Now such residential premises or part of it (if a division has been made), as well as shares in the ownership of it within 5 years from the date of early repayment of the loan, can only be sold to the relevant district, city executive and administrative body, local administration in the manner prescribed by law.

If they refused to buy, the sale, donation or exchange of the specified (its parts, shares in ownership) within 5 years from the date of early repayment of the loan is carried out with permission these executive and administrative bodies, local administration in exceptional cases (moving to another area, divorce, death of the owner of the property, etc.) or in the event of improvement of the owner’s living conditions through construction or acquisition of residential premises.

Before repayment of the preferential loan, the decision of local authorities on the donation or exchange of such housing (its parts, shares in ownership), can, as before, be made only with the consent of Belarusbank in the manner prescribed by law.

Restrictions are also being introduced on the provision of such housing. under a rental agreement residential premises of a private housing stock or under a lease agreement. Until the loan is fully repaid, renting it out is not allowed, but in exceptional cases (moving to another area, divorce, death of the homeowner or a member of his family, financial situation, etc.) with permission the relevant local authority without the consent of the mortgagee.

There are also sanctions for violating these requirements. Thus, renting out housing until the soft loan is fully repaid without the permission of the relevant local authority entails the imposition of fine in the amount of 4 to 30 basic quantities

For committing the same violation again within a year after the imposition of an administrative penalty, the perpetrators face a fine of 30 to 50 basic units.

Although for many, preferential loans for housing construction have become a long-awaited opportunity to make dreams of their own apartment come true, not all happy new residents were in a hurry to move in immediately. On the contrary, someone willingly let others live there for a good sum, making a profitable and “dust-free” business out of it. It got to the point of absurdity: some “will-be-beneficiaries” posted “apartment for rent” advertisements even before the house was officially handed over and could not even show it to a potential tenant! The fact that the former freebie is coming to an end became clear last year, when Presidential Decree No. 246 appeared. It prohibited, except for certain exceptional cases, renting out apartments built on a preferential loan until it is fully repaid. For violation there is a significant fine, but only if there is a rental agreement for residential premises. This year, the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Procedural and Executive Code of Administrative Offenses will include appropriate changes and additions - and administrative liability will be introduced for renting “preferential” housing before repaying the loan and without any contract. That is, even the most cunning owners will have to answer.

Of course, in this case, the tax authorities will also be interested in the “bad apartment”. First Deputy Head of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties for Minsk Nadezhda Boldyreva explains:

Today in Minsk there are approximately 45 thousand registered citizens who officially rent out apartments under a contract. The inspection regularly identifies housing that is rented without any documents. In this we rely on a variety of sources: housing departments, relevant statements from citizens, and calls to the hotline operating under our department. In the first half of the year, 460 such apartments have already been identified. However, at the present time it does not matter to us whether this housing was built on a preferential loan or not - the very fact of its delivery without an official contract is fundamental. But if, during an inspection, we identify an apartment built using a soft loan, then we also send the relevant information to local authorities.

After the adoption of the appropriate amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, anyone caught in such fraud will have to pay twice. On the one hand, there is a fine for violating tax laws, on the other hand, there is a fine for renting out an apartment built on a preferential loan before it is repaid. In the latter case, we are talking about 4 to 30 basic units, if such an offense is committed for the first time. If there is a repeated violation within a year, the fine will increase to 30 - 50 basic.

The leader in the number of subsidized apartments for rent was considered to be the Minsk microdistrict Kamennaya Gorka. This territory is under the jurisdiction of ZhREO No. 2 of the Frunzensky district, and the deputy director for ideological work of the organization, Gennady Akstilovich, notes:

With the issuance of the Presidential Decree, we actually stopped registering rental agreements if we are talking about an apartment built on a preferential loan. However, if we talk about holding the owners of such housing accountable, then this is quite difficult to do. It is not easy to prove the fact of renting - the tenants instructed by the owner introduce themselves, say, as his distant relatives who came to stay for a week. But you still need to know where to look, and if the owner has good relations with his neighbors, then they are unlikely to report his machinations. We are currently dealing with only one case of renting out an apartment in circumvention of last year’s decree - the administrative process was initiated at the request of one of the family members, which means there are specific witnesses.

Will the new amendments work as intended? Will it happen that the owner of the apartment will continue to fill his pocket, simply paying a fine from time to time, or, worse, will shift all the risks onto the shoulders of the tenants? But hardly anyone will want to rent an apartment with such an “addition”, because if something happens, they will have to fork out 4.5 million rubles, or even 7.5 million, at the current base value.

Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Legislation, Vladimir Cherevach, believes that such amendments to the codes are clearly overdue:

Circumstances have arisen in which citizens who are on the waiting list in need of improved housing conditions, with the help of preferential loans, have the opportunity to build their own housing. And then they begin to successfully pass it, receiving, of course, significant income. The question arises: did they really need housing and government assistance? After all, they don’t actually use this housing! The bill has already been adopted in the first reading and is being prepared for the second reading at the autumn session of Parliament.

Photo by Vitaly Gil.

In early June, former people on the waiting list were officially banned from renting out apartments built with concessional loans. Now you can get a fine for this - from 400 thousand to 3 million rubles.

The new rules are indicated by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 246 of May 30, 2013 “On introducing amendments and additions to some presidential decrees.” There is a clause in the document: you can rent it out, but only with the permission of the local executive and administrative authorities. The VG journalist tried to legally place a tenant in an apartment built with the help of the state.

Tax office: “Our job is to collect taxes”

We came up with a story: a family built an apartment on Vishnevets, but now they would like to rent out the room to a student. The reason is a difficult financial situation. And they started calling. The first appeal is to the tax office.

- Conclude an agreement at the settlement and reference center at your place of residence. Then come to us. You will pay 100 thousand a month,- they explained to me at the tax office.

I specifically clarify: “The apartment was built on a soft loan.” But the specialist on the other end of the line told me: “We don’t care about this decree. Our business is to collect taxes, and not to find out at whose expense the living space was built.”

RSC: "Conclude an agreement, but then we will tell you where to go..."

A specialist at the settlement and reference center, who must understand the issues of renting housing, upon learning that an apartment built with the help of a cheap loan will be rented, warned:

- Do you know that for this you can get a fine and even lose a preferential loan?

Indeed, the new decree provides for fairly strict liability for the delivery of subsidized housing. For the first time, a person on the waiting list who decides to earn extra money on subsidized housing may receive a fine - from four to 30 basic units (400 thousand - 3 million rubles, or 45-340 dollars). If a person is caught renting out housing again, he will have to pay a fine of 30 to 50 basic units, or up to $570.

True, the main questions: where can I get a special permit and what compelling reasons are needed for this - I was never answered by either the tax office or the RSC. It turned out that no one had ever approached them with such questions. More often those townspeople come who want to terminate the tenancy agreement.

The specialist from the settlement and reference center surprised:

- In principle, I can conclude an agreement with you. Come. But only then will I report this to the appropriate place.

-Where should I go? Maybe that's where they'll give me permission,- I don’t let up...

- For example, to the tax office. And they will check you with their sources,- the specialist concluded.

Administration: "Call me next week"

The story about the difficult financial situation did not make an impression on the lawyer of the Oktyabrsky district administration.

The decree states that renting out such an apartment before repaying the loan is allowed only in exceptional cases. For example, if you move to another area, divorce, in the event of the death of the homeowner or others.

- You see, no one has yet explained what is meant by the word “others”,- noted the lawyer. - You must provide certificates confirming your difficult financial situation, but I cannot guarantee whether this will be taken into account. There were no clarifications on the distribution of our powers from the City Executive Committee. Call next week. If there is news, I will tell you.

Ministry of Architecture: “Let the executive committees decide for themselves”

It is interesting that representatives of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction are not as categorical as employees of the district executive committee.

- We did not limit this list of everyday situations. Let the executive committees decide for themselves- commented the head of the housing policy department of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction of Belarus, Alexander Gorval. - Here is a man who moved to work in another place. A possible option is the death of a husband or wife, or divorce. You never know what problems arise in life. You can’t write down all the cases in a decree.

Help "VG"

What's new in the decree?

1. If the former person on the waiting list pays off the soft loan ahead of schedule, he will be able to sell his apartment only after five years. Until June 1, 2013, we had to wait only one year.

2. It is now prohibited to rent out a preferential apartment until the loan is fully repaid.

3 . A person on the waiting list can receive government support in the form of a preferential loan only once. The exception is large families for which the need for additional living space will arise in connection with the birth of a child.

4. The possibility of receiving one-time subsidies to pay off debt on soft loans for young families and citizens permanently residing in rural areas is excluded.

On a new two-room apartment, a beneficiary can earn 1.5 million a month.

Last week, Alexander Lukashenko spoke sternly about those on the waiting list who built apartments with soft loans and are now renting them out.

He rented it out - take the apartment from him! Otherwise, he has a place to live, and we, the state, built him a second apartment, he rents it out and earns $200, $300, or even $500 a month in Minsk,” BelTA quotes the president.

Komsomolskaya Pravda tried to find out how and for how much you can rent an apartment in a “preferential” house in Minsk. We compiled a list of houses that had recently had waiting lists built and went searching.

You can find an apartment, but only on the Internet

Cozy new buildings on Minsk streets Nemanskaya and Kuntsevshchina were commissioned two years ago. The metro is five minutes away, there is a clinic, a school and a store nearby. It is not surprising that all the entrances are plastered with advertisements in the spirit of “A young family will rent an apartment for a long time.” But no one cuts off their phone numbers. Is it really not possible to rent housing in these houses?

Excuse me, do you know if anyone here rents out apartments? - I ask the man coming into the entrance.

“Definitely no one here,” he answers confidently.

Maybe someone is already filming?

Personally, I don't know anyone like that. But maybe they are filming it.

Other residents say the same thing. But in fact, you can still find an apartment in these new buildings - on the Internet. Specialized websites even offer you to choose from several options. I'm calling because of a tempting ad: two rooms, double glazed windows, plumbing, refrigerator, built-in wardrobes - and only $250 a month.

What kind of repairs have been done there?

Well, it’s good, but not a European-quality renovation, of course. Belarusian wallpaper is pasted, there is linoleum on the floor.

According to another advertisement, they tell me that there is no furniture in the apartment, and the renovations were “minimal, but of high quality.”

These are new houses, a whole street of new buildings! In principle, there cannot be bad conditions there. This is a normal finish.

But the apartment from the third advertisement has already been rented.

“I’ll rent it out cheaply, but only if you’re decent”

Not only young families, but also students who come to study in Minsk are looking for rental housing. Last year, three out-of-town students managed to find themselves a three-room apartment for just $250 a month - in one of those “preferential” houses in the Minsk Kuntsevshchina.

The owner was ready to rent it out for little money, as long as the tenants were decent,” explains one of the girls. - At the same time, renovations were made there, there was a stove, kitchen cabinets, a sofa, armchairs and even a washing machine. True, it is no longer in very good condition. But these conditions for such money are just a godsend!

Alas, the students had to move out soon anyway: the owner decided to move relatives into the apartment. He himself lives in his second apartment.

COUNTER "KP"

How much do people on the waiting list who rent out their apartments earn?

A 5 percent loan for a two-room apartment is about 100 million rubles.

Monthly loan payments are approximately 500 thousand.

Income from renting out an apartment is $250 (2 million 100 thousand).

Net income - 1 million 600 thousand monthly.

HAVE A QUESTION

Is it possible to take away an apartment built on credit?

Within the framework of civil law, an apartment can be seized only when land plots are seized for state needs,” explains Andrey Kudakaev, leading legal consultant at the real estate agency “Your Capital”. - But with such a seizure, compensation is also due. There are no other options yet.

According to the decree, which has been in force since the beginning of this year, if an apartment was built on credit, and the loan is not repaid, it means that the housing is pledged to the bank. It can be rented out only with the consent of the mortgagee, that is, the bank. If the apartment is rented without the consent of the bank, the rental agreement will be declared invalid. The consequences of illegal long-term rental of housing may be, for example, problems with the tax authorities, but we are not talking about deprivation of property rights. In addition, the Civil Procedure Code states that an apartment built on credit cannot be foreclosed on. That is, it cannot be subject to confiscation.

The deputy head of the Main Department of Taxation of Individuals, Svetlana Shevchenko, answered readers’ questions about what taxes need to be paid, whether there are benefits for these taxes, and whether an apartment can be confiscated if you rent it out without paying taxes.

“Do I need to tell the tax office how much money the tenants pay?”

- I'm going to rent out the apartment for a long time. How to conclude a rental agreement correctly and do I need to go to the tax office for this?

The procedure for leasing (subletting) residential premises is regulated by the Housing Code (Article 49) and other legislative acts. The rental agreement must indicate: the subject of the rental agreement, its validity period, the amount of payment for the use of residential premises and the deadline for its payment; deadline for paying fees for housing and communal services (if the tenant pays it). The rental agreement for residential premises is concluded in writing and is considered concluded from the date thereof by the district, city, village, village executive committees, and the local district administration in the city. In this case, you do not need to contact the tax authority. However, please note that this does not relieve an individual from the obligation to pay income tax on income received from rental housing.

- I rented the apartment for a year and paid tax for the year. The tenant turned out to be sloppy, and I terminated the contract with him a month later. Can I get my income tax back for the months in which the apartment is not rented?

In the event of termination of a lease (sublease) agreement for residential premises, the overpaid amounts of income tax are returned to the payer on the basis of his written application submitted to the tax authority at the place of residence. It should be remembered that a refund of overpaid tax amounts is made if three years have not elapsed from the date of payment.

- Tell me, please, is it necessary to provide income received from tenants in the tax return?

A tax return on income received from tenants must be submitted to the tax authority only in one case - if the income from rental housing received in 2013 exceeds 33.1 million rubles (at today's exchange rate, it turns out that there is no need to report the cost of rent to the tax office , if it does not exceed $290 - Ed.). In this case, income tax is paid at a rate of 12%.

- But I already pay a fixed tax every month...

There is no double taxation in this case. Income tax on income received will be calculated by the tax authority at a rate of 12 percent, which will take into account income tax paid in fixed amounts. The additional payment will need to be made before May 15 of the year following the reporting year.

“Are there tax breaks for renting out housing?”

- I am a pensioner, I live alone. There is not enough money, so I rented the room to a student for a year. I pay my taxes regularly. Do I have any tax benefits?

No, income tax benefits are not provided for in your case by tax legislation. At the same time, the Tax Code grants the right to exemption from income tax in whole or in part to local councils of deputies or, on their instructions, to local executive and administrative bodies. Such exemption is provided to payers based on their property status.

Therefore, you have the right to apply to the local executive committee.

“Will the subsidized apartment be confiscated if I rent it out?”

- I built an apartment with a soft loan. I need to repay the loan. Can I rent out this apartment? I heard that it seems impossible.

In accordance with Presidential Decree No. 13 dated 06.01.2013 (as amended on 07.10.2013), the provision of residential premises (parts thereof) under a lease agreement for residential premises of a private housing stock or under a lease agreement for residential premises built (reconstructed) or acquired with the assistance of preferential loan, until its full repayment is not allowed, and in exceptional cases (moving to another area, divorce, death of the homeowner or a member of his family, financial situation, etc.) is carried out with the permission of the relevant district, city executive and administrative body, local administration without consent of the mortgagees.

Thus, you have the right to rent out an apartment built using a soft loan only if you have the appropriate permission.

- But this is my apartment. Let's say I rent it out without the permission of the executive committee, what then? Could it be taken away?

Providing such an apartment for rent without the permission of the relevant district, city executive and administrative body, local administration entails a fine in the amount of four to thirty basic units (from 520 thousand to 3.9 million rubles).

An offense committed repeatedly within one year after the imposition of an administrative penalty for the same violation entails a fine in the amount of thirty to fifty basic units (from 3.9 million rubles to 6.5 million rubles).

STAY IN THE KNOW!

“My neighbors rent out their apartment and don’t pay taxes.”

- My upstairs neighbors rented out housing, the tenants regularly flood my apartment with water. I complained to the housing department, but did not receive any compensation for the damage; the owner of the apartment did not respond. I know they don't pay any tax. Where can I go?

Information about persons violating tax laws can be provided by calling the Ministry of Taxes on the helpline 328-53-53 or the hotline 229-79-29, as well as by contacting the tax authority in person or by sending a written request.

AND AT THIS TIME

How to pay tax if you rent out an apartment as an individual entrepreneur?

- Good afternoon! I have the following situation: I am an individual entrepreneur, I own two apartments. I rent one for a day, the second for a year. What taxes do I have to pay?

For an apartment that you rent out for a day, you, as an individual entrepreneur, must pay a single tax. You must calculate it yourself for each room you rent. The tax return must be submitted to the tax authority at the place of registration no later than the 1st day of the reporting month. Payment of the single tax is made monthly no later than the 1st day of the reporting month.

For an apartment that you rent out for a long term, you, as an entrepreneur, must pay either tax according to the simplified taxation system or personal income tax of your choice. For example, income tax is paid by individual entrepreneurs at a rate of 15%. Payment of income tax is made no later than the 22nd day of the month following the reporting (tax) period.

- Where can I see the single tax rates?

The single tax rates are posted on the official website of the Ministry of Taxes and Taxes nalog.gov.by in the “Taxation of Individual Entrepreneurs” section, or you can call the tax authority or the contact center at 229-79-79.