There is no law on renovation yet, but the Tashkent khokim has already issued a decree

Tashkent City Khokim’s Decision on Renovation

Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov on 1 August 2024 signed decision on the implementation of renovation projects in six districts of the Uzbek capital. (https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2024/08/05/renovation/)

The decision of the Khokim approved the proposals of “Tashkent Invest” company under the Khokimiyat to determine the boundaries of areas where integrated development and renovation projects will be implemented (in some districts only renovation projects are indicated, the documents provide coordinates of streets and mahallas where projects are planned)

.JSC “Toshkent Invest Companysi” was instructed by the President by decree of 26 July as part of a package of measures of socio-economic development. According to the idea, the state company with 1 trillion soums of authorised capital will act as a “bridge” between the capital administration and entrepreneurs.

Mirzo-Ulugbek district  — 26,71 ha;

Sergeli district  — 35,15 ha;

Shaikhontohur district — 36,82 ha;

Chilanzor district  — 5 ha;

Yashnabod district — 54,67 ha;

Yakkasaroy district  — 13,03 ha.

A total of 160 hectares in the city of Tashkent fall under “renovation”.

Within a month, an inventory should be made and a list of buildings and structures that will fall under demolition or reconstruction, as well as a list of buildings that are part of cultural heritage sites, information on recreational areas, as well as the current condition and load of social, engineering and communication networks and road infrastructure should be drawn up.

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Discontent of the society

The lack of a regulatory framework for such an important decision as the renovation of a large part of the city is noted by all sectors of society: bloggers, social media users, journalists, and lawyers. Political parties have already spoken out against this decision, urging the Khokimiyat to wait until the Renovation Law, the draft of which has only recently been published on https://regulation.gov.uz/uz/d/101957

The draft law itself caused rejection from the society. Thus, the well-known Tashkent journalist Rinat Sagitov in his t.me/golosljelsomino777 Telegram channel on 25 July noted the following points, which will cause huge problems for homeowners:

• the consent of two-thirds of the owners of the flats in a condominium building is sufficient to demolish the building;
• issues of reimbursement of the flats of the opponents to renovation will be determined by the court, i.e. their eviction will be forced;
• the body assessing the market value of housing is not defined, nothing is said about the participation of independent expert-evaluators in the assessment of housing of owners…
• the initiators of renovation are not clearly defined, the draft law specifies some third parties.

“In my opinion, the bill does not meet the interests of homeowners. The bill is written in the interests of construction companies!”, concludes Rinat Sagitov.

Facebook user  Rudok Korud  also notes the obvious lobbying of property developers:

“I have the impression that the “draft law on renovation” is a new way of realizing the desires of private “investors” for land plots under the guise of state needs in the form of the need to replace supposedly outdated and emergency housing.

Private needs are submitted under the guise of state needs, with all the consequences, where the owner can be evicted through the court, it is enough to prove that the structures of the house are outdated and worn out. In this case,  if there are not 2/3 of the owners’ consent, and even if no one gives consent, nothing will help – the house falls under the status of “emergency housing”.

The third parties mentioned in the draft law are most likely the same housing fund management and housing inspections that will collect primary information from the multi-apartment building management bodies. These third parties will be the initiators of renovation in case of proven emergency of the multi-apartment building. At the same time, the amount of compensation will be determined by everyone except the owner, as in the case of state needs».

Rudok Korud also notes that the court will determine the compensation for the residents who do not agree to the demolition.

A blatant violation of the owner’s rights is the prohibition to dispose of immovable property in the renovation zone stipulated by Art. 49. of the bill, which reads as follows:  ” Transfer of rights of existing dwellings and land plots in the urban renewal zone . Owners of buildings, structures and land plots are prohibited to perform actions affecting the disposal of property belonging to them”.

Well-known sociologist Arustan Zholdasov  (Арустан Жолдасов   ) asks the most important question: does this project not abolish the constitutional right to property? “The abolition of the right of ownership of housing together with the right to forcibly impose compensation for owners is not a hidden form of confiscation and cancellation of all rights in general? Do the lawyers, deputies and civil servants know and realize that they are committing a deliberate anti-state and anti-constitutional act?”

Lawyer IR Mirhaydar , quoting Article 3 of the draft law on such basic concepts as “town-planning documents, approved master plan, other planning documents for development of districts and settlements in town-planning and their development”, asks the following questions:

” Where is the “approved master plan”? So “renovation” is going to start without “town-planning documents”? Or is this a draft law for small rural settlements? And the main “town-planning document” will be a hand-drawn drawing in the “town-planning plan”?

“The Ministry of Energy has already announced the forced disconnection of consumers from power supply to avoid emergency overloads. There is an ecological capacity of the city, and there is an energy capacity. As of “today” we have apparently already exceeded the capacity of the energy capacity of the city. And what? “Compact it” further? This is already beginning to resemble the “energy famine”?”, the lawyer notes.

специалист по вопросам жилищно-коммунального хозяйства , администратор группы «опубликовал пост, озаглавленный «Реновация или просто продажа земли?», который мы тут приводим полностью

Maxim Chernikov (Максим Черников), a specialist in housing and communal services, administrator of the group “Housing and Communal Services and How to Live with It? (Uzbekistan) (ТЧСЖ и как с ним жить? (Узбекистан).  -. published a post entitled “Renovation or just a land sale?”, which we reproduce here partially.

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I have reviewed the Decision of Tashkent City Khokim #517-14-0-Q/24 dated 01.08.2024 on allocation of land for renovation in Mirzo Ulugbek district. According to the maps in Mirzo Ulugbek district, the land on which 2-storey multi-apartment buildings are located will be allocated for renovation.

What bothers me is that there is no law on renovation yet. So there is no exact definition of this concept, reasons and conditions of renovation, but this concept is already being used in full swing. It turns out that now under the concept of “renovation” they can shove all demolitions of houses connected with the sale of land to investors. I wonder if there are survey reports of all the houses that were demolished in the decision of the Khokim, according to which these houses are dilapidated, emergency, earthquake-prone, etc., in connection with which they need renovation?

In addition, the preamble of the Decision of Tashkent City Khokim #517-14-0-Q/24 dated 01.08.2024 on allocation of land for renovation in Mirzo Ulugbek district states that it was adopted on the basis of Decree of the Cabinet of the Minbisters DCM #149 dated 25.03.2024. “On measures to improve the implementation of investment projects on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation between the joint stock company “Tashkent Investment Company” and economic entities of Tashkent city” (https://lex.uz/docs/6851920).

However, Annex No. 1 “Address list of land plots to be sold in Tashkent city” to the DCM #149 specifies land plots of Mirzo Ulugbek district in the mahallas of Oliy Khimmat, Geofizika, Alisherabad and Ulugbek, while the Khokim Decision specifies the mahallas of Buyuk Ipak Yuli, Yangi Olmachi, Olmachi, Podshobog, Novnikhol, Oliy Khimmat, Darkhon, Okkurgon, Izhodkor. Why such inconsistency of the Decision of the Khokim to the governmental decree DCM #149? So the Decision of the Hokim contradicts the governmental decree?

Isn’t this all just another excuse to demolish houses and sell land for construction? Will they start demolishing the 2-storey multi-apartment houses now, and then 3- and 4-storey houses? And what will be built in their place? Expensive new buildings or cheap ones, which are already sinking without any earthquakes, about which there have been repeated publications? We can only wait and see where this will lead and when this construction boom in the country will end.

Rasul Kusherbaev, adviser to the Minister of Ecology and former deputy, wrote that “if the project goes through in this state, it will be possible to demolish and take away the housing or other real estate of anyone under the pretext of renovation.”

“If you notice, there is almost no limit to renovation. A person who wants can enter and withdraw the land he wants under the guise of renovating it. The bill appears to have signs pointing to a group of lobbyists. It seems that there is an influence of some business groups that spit on the inviolability of private property,” the minister’s adviser wrote in his Telegram-channel http://t.me/r_kusherbayev/6930.

 

Economist Otabek Bakirov also expressed his opinion about the bill

« No requirement for densification ratio or proportion of green space has been added. In normal, non-cannibal states, renovations follow a density increase ratio. An “anthill” with 10,000 people will not be built in the area where 1,000 people lived before. The lack of obligations to build an additional kindergarten, school and polyclinic at the expense of densification in the renovation area can only increase already serious social problems,” says Bakirov in his Telegram-channelhttp://t.me/the_bakiroo/8502

“There is no indication in the project that the principles of competition will be followed during the renovation process. This means that if, say, there are no auction or competition requirements, the renovation will be done by pre-appointed partner contractors who have agreed with the authority. Know that renovation is not the areas where rich people or bureaucrats live, but first of all, it is the areas where poor citizens live, who find it difficult to independently protect their territory and rights, and at the same time, the rich people are looking for areas that are demolished, rebuilt and sold to make a big profit”. wrote Otabek Bakirov.