In order to make it easier for young families to obtain their first own home in the territories of the country's regions and greater clarity of legal regulation, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour has prepared amendments to the law shortening the period after which the young family will no longer have to repay the grant received if it wishes to sell the home. The conditions for issuing certificates confirming the right to a financial incentive for young families purchasing a first home are also being improved, the report says. © DELFI / Mindaugas Ažušilis "Low birth rate, emigration of young people abroad, migration to the country's cities – a daily routine of regions. We believe that the amendments to the law will make it clearer and easier for young families to get a financial incentive to buy their first home in the regions, thus contributing to the recovery of the regions," says Monika Navickienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour. The deadline is shortened, the conditions are eased Under the current regime, if a young family has returned the housing credit for the purchase of their first home to the lender before 10 years have passed since the conclusion of the credit agreement and wishes to sell it, it must repay the received state subsidy for the purchase of the first home. In order to facilitate changes of residence for families, adapting to changing needs of the labour market and other life circumstances, the said time limit is reduced from 10 to 5 years, that is, if a surviving family gives credit and sells a home for at least five years, it will not have to repay the state subsidy. The draft law also proposes to expand the list of cases in which the subsidy is not to be repaid and to further establish that the grant does not need to be repaid if five years later the aim is to change housing to a larger one in the same municipality, in cases where housing is too small according to the housing benefit area of the Housing Support Act per family member, or if there are persons in the family, which require a larger area, for example as a result of an increase in family conditions or the improvement of conditions for disabled persons. It is also proposed to supplement the provisions of the Law and to provide that in cases where a dwelling is sold under enforcement or in bankruptcy proceedings of a natural person, the requirement for repayment of the grant received does not apply. In this way, contributing to the state would alleviate the situation of families in a financial disadvantage and prevent them from making it worse. The conditions for issuing certificates are being improved According to the current procedure, the certificate issued by the municipality regarding the right to a financial incentive for the purchase of the first home is valid until 31 December of the current year at the latest. Practice shows that families who receive such a certificate at the very end of the year are not able to cope with all the formalities in order to purchase a home and receive a financial incentive, or are subject to an additional administrative burden on families in order to apply to credit institutions during the period of validity of the certificate. It is proposed to waive the provision that the certificate is valid until 31 December of the current year and to establish a uniform period of validity of 15 calendar days. This would ensure the principle of equal treatment for all families regardless of the date of issue of the certificate. Prevention of abuse It is proposed to provide that, in cases where housing is purchased from a legal person, if a member of a young family or his or her close relative is the sole participant in that legal person, the young family would not be entitled to a financial incentive from the State for the purchase of housing. This would avoid abuses where financial incentives benefit mainly close relatives of a young family, who are the only participants in the legal entity from which the housing is purchased.

Source: Siūloma keisti sąlygas jaunoms šeimoms įsigyjant pirmąjį būstą regionuose – DELFI Verslas