Citizens living in territories where the legal regime of the counter-terrorism operation has been introduced, and who are mortgage borrowers, have the right to apply to the bank for mortgage holidays
A bill has been submitted to the State Duma on granting mortgage holidays to residents of border territories who have suffered from the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The document was posted in the database of the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday, September 18.
The draft law was developed by a group of deputies of Fair Russia. The explanatory note to it notes that since August, “due to an increase in the level of sabotage and terrorist threats from Ukraine, a counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime has been introduced in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions,” which is why residents of these regions are forced to leave their places of residence. At the same time, some of them are mortgage borrowers, their housing is located in the WHO area. But due to relocation and job loss, these people are forced to direct their savings and lump-sum payments to repay loans, the document says.
“Often, banks and other credit organizations in such a situation do not consider borrowers to be among those affected by a natural or man—made emergency and state-guaranteed assistance in the form of temporary suspension of loan obligations is not provided,” the authors of the document indicate.
In this regard, the deputies propose to establish that citizens living in territories where the legal regime of WHO has been introduced and who are mortgage borrowers have the right to apply to the bank for a grace period of at least six months. According to the amendments, the date of the beginning of the grace period is considered to be the date of sending the borrower’s claim to the lender. The document also proposes to oblige banks and credit organizations to unilaterally cancel penalties, fines, and penalties for this period.
In August, the Bank of Russia recommended that credit institutions change their approach to providing mortgage holidays for residents of emergency areas (now these are the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions). Those borrowers who purchased housing not for business purposes, and the amount of loans taken does not exceed 15 million rubles, have the right to mortgage holidays for six months.
In an emergency situation, the Central Bank recommends that banks take a more flexible approach, including meeting requests for mortgage holidays and those borrowers who have a loan amount greater than the statutory amount, the report says. It is also recommended not to refuse mortgage holidays to those who have previously used this benefit. For example, I previously took such vacations due to a temporary decrease in income levels.
The authors of the document submitted to the State Duma noted that the recommendations of the regulator are voluntary, therefore they propose to adopt amendments at the level of the law.
In 2022, special measures have already been introduced for residents of the firing zones. They were given a one—time cash payment, and in case of complete loss of living space, housing certificates. Credit holidays are also provided for the participants of the SVO.
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