News and announcements IUE

8.02.2019

The Institute for Urban Economics presented its 2018 highlights of the activities funded through the IUE Endowment

The IUE Endowment was established in 2013.  It has been used for to finance our research programs, as well as activities related to designing analytical, methodological and legal support components required for implementation of new mechanisms in the housing, utility, town planning and other areas. Key projects carried out in 2018, along with recommendations designed by the IUE’s... more

1.02.2019

The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of RF (Minstroi of Russia) suggests that investors be compensated for up to a quarter of their costs incurred in resettling residents from hazardous housing, - Nadezhda Kosareva, IUE President, comments

“The approach itself – with compensation for the investors’ costs — is perfectly sensible”, says Nadezhda Kosareva, President of IUE. Investors, however, think ‘on a large scale’. They are rarely satisfied with ‘one-off’ projects, unless these are in central zones (especially where town-planning regulations allow to produce more dwelling space than today). “The most investment attractive... more

21.01.2019

Removing barriers is a necessary step on the path towards promoting competition in management of multi-unit apartment buildings

On January 21, 2018, Irina Gentsler, Director of Urban Economy Department, IUE, spoke at a meeting held at the Federal Council. According to the expert, there is a need to shift from licensing of management organizations, which consists, in fact, in confirming the right to manage a certain apartment building, to confirming professional skills and competence of such organizations, in general.... more

18.01.2019

“Whether housing cooperatives and housing construction cooperatives could be an alternative to mortgage loans and a way of self-organization of people?” – according to “Argumenty i Fakty”, a weekly, with an expert opinion offered by Nadezhda Kosareva, IUE

I would consider housing construction cooperatives (HCC) as an additional option for improvement of housing conditions, along with a purchase of dwellings with mortgage loans. All the more so, since HCC also need bank loans, like mortgages, so that their members could acquire equity (a cooperative share). However, there still remain many outstanding legal and financial issues, in particular... more

17.01.2019

On January 20, the Mono-Town Development Fund will introduce a new passport of the program designed to support the settlements – as reported by News.ru with comments by Alexander Puzanov, Director General, IUE

This means, in fact, a systematic work with investors being involved and with a unified register of mono-towns communications platforms planned to be created, which has never been done before. It is also important and new, as envisaged by the program, to engage more proactively with local mainstays. “It is not clear to what extent the current support tools can change the policy regarding mono-... more

14.01.2019

Property tax has not saved local budgets, - according to IRN with explanations by Tatyana Polidi, Executive Director, IUE

For two years the citizens of Russia have been paying property tax – for their apartments, houses and land plots. Tax assessment takes place based on cadastral value, which is close to the market one. As Tayana Polidi, Executive Director, IUE, explains, local authorities in Western countries have a more stable source of revenue and fewer benefits. They are given more leeway to set their own... more

30.11.2018

IUE’s project on capital repairs to multi-unit residential buildings was awarded the Moscow Mayor Grant

A project “Practical guide for a proactive housing owner: “Road Map on capital repairs to a multi-unit residential building” offers a core group of housing activists a helpful practical tool on how to prepare for and effectively carry out capital repairs to a multi-unit residential building. The guide can be used as an information booklet, a calendar of events, a day planner, and an information... more

15.11.2018

T. Polidi, Executive Director, IUE, expressed her opinion about the economy of housing redevelopment in Russia’s regions in an article published in “Vedomosti”

Authors of the draft law “On Housing Redevelopment in the Russian Federation” consider that the main goal of the law is to put an end to simple substitution of hazardous housing [by replacement buildings] in the country. The document is rather small. It comprises only 30 pages. According to the draft law authors’ estimates, the regions willing to launch the process are still few in number: there... more

14.11.2018

Tatyana Polidi, Executive Director, IUE, spoke at a Plenary Session held at the forum on strategic development “Cities of Russia 2030: A Digital Future” in the city of Yekaterinburg on November 14

During a panel discussion, entitled “Strategies of cities and regions: Designing a Digital Future”, the experts discussed strategic directions for development of municipalities in Russia. Almost all the speakers pointed out that Russia’s cities have to take steps towards consolidating to form metropolitan areas [agglomerations]. And yet T. Polidi, Executive Director, IUE, who was slated to... more

5.11.2018

IUE’s project “Contract for multi-unit residential building management: Do it yourself!” won the support at the Competition for Presidential Grants for Civil Society Development

News feeds are full of briefs highlighting conflicts between the owners of dwelling units in multi-unit residential buildings and managing organizations. The owners do not agree with the list and cost of works and services, with increased fees under contracts for multi-unit residential building management, with the quality of work carried out by managing companies and contractors. The... more