HSE scientist criticized the idea of legislatively increasing the permissible area of housing
Establishing a minimum area of apartments planned for construction will lead to developers building more apartments. This format of real estate is not considered housing, which means it is not subject to the law that the authorities may adopt.
Evgeny Mikhailenko, Dean of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development at the Higher School of Economics, thinks so.
Recall that developers in Moscow may be prohibited from building residential studios with an area of less than 28 square meters and two-room apartments with less than 44 square meters.
— Apartments will take part of the demand that could stimulate housing construction. Moreover, we can expect a surge in demand specifically for apartments, says Evgeniy Mikhailenko. — The minimum area of an apartment, rather, refers to social guarantees, that is, increasing it indicates an increase in guarantees. But under market conditions, this will increase its minimum price and reduce economic accessibility for Russians.
The scientist argues that it would be optimal to expand the variety of housing conditions for citizens with the opportunity to purchase real estate at an adequate price. “This requires a developed housing market with larger or smaller apartments, and not a system of prohibitions or controls,” the specialist concludes.