"I don't want an apartment in a new building because I'm afraid"

There is a surge in dismantling and construction works in Baku again. Over the past few months, settlements such as Alatava-1, Alatava-2 and the area in the city center known as Kubinka have been demolished. Residents are offered either compensation or housing in newly constructed buildings. However, residents express distrust of these new high-rise buildings.

At the same time, the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers provides for the demolition of all old buildings and the construction of multi-storey houses in their place. However, there are still buildings that have remained inoperable since the past, and some unfinished buildings are also being occupied.

A resident of Kubinka, Vafa Akhmedova, shared her experience with RadioAzadlig, saying that a month ago they were visited by representatives of a construction company. They informed residents that their homes had expired and they would be demolished to make way for new construction. The company offered either a new home or compensation. However, Akhmedova considers the proposed amount of compensation insufficient - 2000 manats per square meter. If she accepted the money, then she could only buy a house outside of the city center. In addition, she expresses concern about the quality of new buildings, as it is widely known that they are often substandard.

The State Agency for Construction Safety Supervision told the Turan news agency that in 2019 there were 475 new high-rise buildings in the country that people moved into, although these buildings did not receive official permission for operation. During the last year, 408 of these buildings received a commissioning permit, while 67 buildings could not be commissioned due to the lack of proper construction and safety documentation, especially regarding fire safety.

Elnur Farzaliyev, an expert on property issues, explained to Radio Azadlig that according to the legislation, the house project must be developed and approved before construction begins. Representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations carry out quality checks at every stage of construction, from the foundation to the roof, including materials such as concrete and rebar. Only after passing these checks, the construction can proceed to the next stage.

The expert stressed that although buildings may be built in the immediate vicinity and face delays in the preparation of documentation, quality control remains strict. He noted that there are relatively few residential buildings in Azerbaijan that have not been commissioned. Some buildings are inhabited, despite the lack of gas supply. In most cases, construction companies do not eliminate deficiencies during construction, which leads to the disruption of their commissioning period.

Farzaliyev believes that the retail sector dominates the real estate sector in Azerbaijan, where various structures are responsible for issuing documents, permits and construction supervision, but they lack interconnectedness. He proposes to amend the law and create a construction agency to consolidate these functions. This would allow citizens to contact a single organization in case of problems related to the construction sector. Currently, the presence of numerous gaps in the construction sector leads to an increase in problems.