Lukashenko Voices Discontent Over Vacant Rental Housing

Reform.news Editorial Team · 22 September 2026, 12:01

https://reform.news/en/lukashenko-voices-discontent-over-vacant-rental-housing/

Aliaksandr Lukashenka has criticised the fact that rental housing is standing vacant in the country, while local authorities want to demolish nearly 6,000 unoccupied units.

“As I am being informed, the number of vacant rental apartments is growing. How is that possible? There are now more than 17,000 residential units on the list of unclaimed properties. We built housing, and nobody needs it? Many apartments have been standing vacant for more than a year. Where is the responsible approach? We spend money on maintenance while people are waiting in line”, Lukashenka said angrily.

He added that some previously built rental housing is not being renovated, is falling into disrepair and is to be demolished.
Prime Minister Aliaksandr Turchyn responded that most of the vacant housing consists of properties classified as rental housing in 2016. Previously, these were departmental, service or simply non-privatised homes. Most of the unclaimed housing is located in rural areas.

“It varies. Sometimes these houses, old and run-down, may indeed need to be demolished, but some can also be renovated, brought into proper condition or sold”, Lukashenka responded.

Another issue that angered him was payments for rental housing and utilities. According to him, the State Control Committee reported that overdue rent and utility payments nationwide had exceeded 20 million roubles. At the same time, debtors continue to use the housing.

“The pricing and payment discipline for rental housing are puzzling. In some cases, rent for housing in regional centres is merely symbolic: 30 roubles a month for a two-room apartment.

Against this backdrop, there is such a paradox: overdue rent and utility payments nationwide have now exceeded 20 million roubles. Debtors continue to use rented housing for years. It costs pennies, and we cannot even pay that.

The facts and amounts of total debts recorded by the State Control Committee show that there is some systemic shortcoming here that needs to be corrected”, Lukashenka said angrily.

He also stressed that built apartments should not remain vacant.

“Not long ago, following complaints, we decided to reduce as much as possible the time needed to occupy newly built housing. Local authorities should take this process under control. Built apartments should not remain vacant”, he said.

According to him, the requirements for rental housing remain unchanged.

“The priorities remain the same: the price per square metre should not exceed the average monthly wage, and completion deadlines should meet the standards. And quality… We need to make it possible for a person to move into a house or apartment and live there”, he said.

Lukashenka also noted that rental housing is often built not according to demand but to meet targets.

“A catastrophe, isn’t it? At the same time, regions sometimes complain that there is not only no need for construction, but also no sources of financing. People were promised that apartments would be built in connection with jobs. That is probably the essence of rental housing”, he said.

Lukashenka added that some enterprises had begun building apartments for their employees, but there were still few such examples.

“Some enterprises have begun building individual apartments for their employees. But there are still few of them: 153 in 2025. What do we need to decide to make this practice more widespread?” he asked.

Finally, Lukashenka also noted a decline in overall housing construction.

“In addition to rental housing, the country continues to build housing with state support, commercial housing and individual housing. All the decisions requested by the government and regional executive committees on these issues have been adopted. As I am being informed, the pace of housing commissioning declined in the first half of 2026. How can we explain this?

In the media and social networks, citizens sometimes complain about the incompetence of local authorities, bureaucratic delays by banks in issuing housing loans and similar issues. Such situations should not occur! And the government must get fully involved here”, he asked.