Pensioners living with disabled people to be compensated for renovations
28.03.2018
Deputies from the State Duma have added pensioners of 70 and 80 years living with disabled people of group 1 or 2 status to the list of people entitled to benefits for capital renovations.
The State Duma had previously decided to reconsider the existing law that gives regions the right to compensate pensioners of 70 and 80 years old, who are living alone, for renovations at a rate of 50% and 100% respectively.
From the previous version of the law it followed that if a pensioner lives in a flat with a disabled person of group 1 or 2 status, they are deprived of the right to receive such compensation, given that the right is prescribed in relation to single people, as well as those elderly people who live “as part of a family, consisting solely out of non-working pensioner-age people”.
On Tuesday 27 March, the State Duma adopted changes on the first reading to Article 169 of the Housing Codex of the Russian Federation (in the part on providing compensation for expenditure on capital renovations). According to the amendments, pensioners living in a family with disabled people may also count on compensation.
“It is important to consider that the pension provision of the above mentioned group of citizens is practically identical. According to official data from Rosstat, the average pension for group 1 disabled people is 15 315.4 roubles, for group 2 disabled people – 12 479.3 roubles. The average payments to pensioners in old age in 12 830.4 roubles. Therefore, if we compare a family consisting of non-working pensioners and a family consisting of non-working pensioners and non-working disabled people, then the source and size of income of each of the examined families is comparable, even though the latter family is wholly deprived of the benefits foreseen by the legislation”, the explanatory note said.
