Armenia eyes new safeguards in housing sector

PanARMENIAN.Net - At the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, discussions were held with representatives of development companies, state bodies, and sectoral organizations on initiatives aimed at protecting consumer rights and regulating the construction sector.

Legislative amendments were presented, envisaging the creation of self-regulatory organizations for developers, new transparency requirements, and insurance mechanisms to cover the risk of refunding payments made by buyers.

Commission Chairman Gegham Gevorgyan noted that last year the commission conducted a study of the sector from a consumer protection perspective, revealing a number of issues. These included failure to deliver advertised infrastructure in offers, delays in handing over apartments, and problems related to building maintenance.

“To address these issues, proposals have been submitted to the authorized bodies, and two important draft laws have already been developed and are under discussion. They are aimed at ensuring good-faith operations by companies and effective protection of consumer interests.

It is proposed to establish specialized self-regulatory organizations (SROs) for developers, which will rate companies. Transparency requirements will be introduced, including mandatory audits and official websites. Mechanisms are also planned to insure the risks of refunding payments made by buyers — for example, through insurance, bank guarantees, or freezing funds in special developer accounts — in order to avoid risks associated with insolvency,” the statement said.

Representatives of participating companies responded positively to the initiatives, while also presenting their comments and suggestions on specific issues.