"Pilot Project": Problems and Approaches

At the end of 2017, the 86th decree of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers on the development of housing stock in 7 out of 12 administrative districts of Baku - Surakhani, Nasimi, Khatai, Narimanov, Nizami, Yasamal, Sabail, Pirallakhi and Khazar districts started on February 25, 2016.

The program, which assumes the demolition of an emergency housing that does not meet the standards and worsens the appearance of the city, is designed for 5 years. It includes 63 houses in Surakhani, 226 houses in Nasimi, 99 houses in Khatai, 219 houses in Narimanov, 131 houses in Nizami, 18 houses in Yasamal, 41 in Sabail, and 297 in Pirallakhi.

It is planned to relocate about 15,000 Baku residents who are temporarily resettled in rented apartments, paid for by the developer. Citizens can receive compensation for their housing or agree to move to a new apartment, but its area should be 10 or more percent more than in the apartment from which citizens left. In paragraph 1.2 of the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers it is said that payment of compensation and provision of new housing should be carried out "with the consent of individuals and legal entities, on the basis of existing civil legislation."

The full text of the government's decision is posted in the government website http://cabmin.gov.az/page/doc/1790, but it does not open when you visit this page of the website. The official text of the 86th decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to the general public is not available, but there are employees of district executive structures.

Official websites of the Baku district of Baku do not even mention a "pilot project", lists of houses that are coming under demolition have not been made public, which leads to discontent among citizens and disbelief in the legality of the actions of the district authorities. Thus, residents of the Nasimi district claim that the construction company Gloria Palace is destroying houses illegally, and the district leadership has created its own false "Pilot Project" under the guise of which the non-emergency houses are being demolished.

In official websites of the Executive Powers there is no information on the conduct of tenders, according to the results of which, according to law, developers should be determined. Residents themselves study the history of these companies and there are cases of criminal conviction of company owners for criminal offenses.

Baku citizens do not believe in declarative guarantees, are dissatisfied with the terms of the contracts it offers with developers, do not want to give away property at low cost, require market-based mechanisms to determine the price of old real estate, attract independent appraisers of real estate. The contracts are not notarized, there is no risk insurance mechanism.

A resident of the Nasimi district of Baku, Viktor Sapunkov, studied the text of the contract with the developer and realized that he cannot be signed because the tenant receives no guarantees, and under many pretexts called in the contract by force majeure circumstances, the agreement can be canceled. In the text of the draft treaty there is an amazing clause about secrecy, the meaning of which is that the citizen who has concluded the contract has no right to file a lawsuit against the company and hire a lawyer. The state does not bear responsibility for the performance of the contract. If the state does not accept the house built by the company, then the contract is also canceled, is written in the draft contract drawn up by the construction company.

Courts do not take into account the arguments of residents and decide on the demolition of houses belonging to owners who do not agree with the terms of the developer. There are cases of demolition of houses in which the owners lived. Under the collapsed houses remained property of citizens, several residents were injured (the house of Dmitry Lugansky, Sabail district, Khanlar str., 10).

Local Executive Power ignore item 1,2 point 86 of the decision, which obliges to pay full compensation for the property. At the same time, in clause 1.2, it is rather vague how the compensation for property should be paid and which legislative base should be applied.

Lawyers believe that the growing shaft of lawlessness and violence against residents who do not want to leave their homes on the terms of a borrower is due to the insufficient legal thoroughness of the 86th Cabinet order. The document was adopted hastily, as can be seen from its short text. For comparison: the similar process of renovation of the old housing stock, which began last year in Moscow, was defined in a special law, and the text of this law is tens of times larger than the 86th decision of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers.

The law on the renovation of the Russian Federation noted that the agreement between the Executive Power and the owner is based on the article of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The owner is offered either a new equivalent housing, (there is no extension of the living space) or full compensation is given for the property, depending on the area of ​​Moscow, that is, the cost of the rented housing varies depending on the location. Residents get a new apartment in their area.

In Moscow, under the renovation program are houses, 2/3 of which are willing to leave the old house. "Only the apartment house of the first period of industrial housing construction can be included in the design of the renovation program, similar to it in terms of the characteristics of the structural elements of the apartment building in which the owners of residential premises and tenants of residential premises of at least two thirds of the residential premises voted for the inclusion of the corresponding apartment building in the renovation program." In Moscow, there is a procedure for withdrawing the building from the renovation program, if a certain part of the residents does not want to move out of the old house. An important feature of the Moscow law is that residents sign a contract not with a construction company, but with the local executive power. The Moscow government obliges the regional authorities to publish in the press all decisions on the renovation of housing.

It is enough to look through publications in the Azerbaijani press and debates in social networks to make sure of the tension of the society caused by the "pilot project". There are sharp calls, that refugees from Armenia, whose housing in Baku will be taken away under the "pilot project", threaten to start mass protests.

The European Court of Human Rights has already taken two decisions against Azerbaijan on claims of residents illegally evicted from their homes. In the cases of Akhverdiyeva and Khalikova, the ECHR unequivocally established that property is not alienated for state needs, there is no corresponding decision of the Cabinet, therefore property rights are violated. Local courts, and then the European courts, hundreds of new lawsuits from the citizens of Azerbaijan.

To prevent the problems that have begun, it is necessary to take an urgent decision to cancel or suspend the execution of the 86th decision of the Cabinet, with its postponement. During this time, the text of this decision should be revised and expanded with important changes introduced. The demolition of citizens' housing within the framework of renovation projects should be carried out under state guarantees. Lawyers believe that it is impossible to entrust the fate of residents to private construction companies that make up the texts of contracts in which the interests of the company are taken into account and the rights of citizens are completely ignored. Residents must conclude contracts with the local executive power or the Cabinet of Ministers should draw up an exemplary text of the agreement between residents and developers, which provides for all the legal rights of citizens. The developer should be deprived of the right to offer a contract to citizens, the quality of which is lower than in the exemplary draft contract of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet of Ministers should study Federal Law N141-FZ of July 1, 2017 "On Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation" On the Status of the Capital of the Russian Federation "and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation regarding the establishment of specific regulation of certain legal relations with a view to renovating housing in the entity of the Russian Federation - a city of federal significance, Moscow." It was adopted by the State Duma on June 14, 2017, and approved by the Federation Council on June 28, 2017.

The government of Azerbaijan should consider the issue of creating a special state structure with the assignment of all operational issues arising from the implementation of the updated Cabinet order, and this organization is created to protect the rights of citizens and to realize the interests of construction companies. A new government agency or an authorized state agency (Baku City Hall, State Property Committee or ASAN agency) will guarantee citizens a decent financial compensation or apartments in new homes. In Moscow, for this purpose, the Foundation for the Renovation of Residential Buildings was established. The objectives of its activities, tasks and functions are detailed in the relevant law.