MIDA apartments and subsidized housing

What MIDA and the "Güzəştli mənzil" system are

MIDA is a state agency: it builds residential complexes in Baku and in the regions and sells apartments below the market price. The agency sets the price itself. Sales are done electronically, through the "Güzəştli mənzil" system on the Electronic Government portal: that is where you choose an apartment and where you file the application.

So a "MIDA apartment" appears in two different markets. The first is a sale by the agency itself: the price is subsidized, but not everyone has the right to buy. The second is resale: a person who bought an apartment from the agency later sells or rents it out. Listings on Birev belong to the second market, and the price in them is already the market price.

• Seller: the State Housing Development Agency (MIDA)
• Where it is sold: the "Güzəştli mənzil" system on the Electronic Government portal
• Price: below the market, set by the agency
• Resale: at the market price, like an ordinary sale

Who can buy and how the purchase works

A citizen of Azerbaijan can buy a subsidized apartment, but not just anyone: the state Rules define who has the right. You open an electronic account in the system, and after that you choose one of the apartments put up for sale. A family can use this right once.

You can pay in two ways: with your own money or with a mortgage loan. An apartment bought with a mortgage stays pledged to the bank until the loan is paid off in full. The rules, the projects on sale and the dates of the next sales are published on the MIDA website; the 108 call center answers questions.

Resale: the restriction in the contract

A restriction is written into the contract for an apartment bought from MIDA: the first owner cannot sell, gift, or rent out the apartment for a set period. The period is stated in the Rules and in the contract. Exchanging apartments does not fall under this ban.

If you want to buy an apartment from a listing, ask the seller to show the contract with MIDA and look at the date. If the restriction has not yet ended, stay away from offers like "sale by power of attorney" or "we will register it later": in that case the apartment does not pass to your name, and your money stays at risk.

• The seller's contract with MIDA and its date
• The day the restriction ends
• Do not agree to a "sale" by power of attorney

Documents: the title deed and the mortgage pledge

As in any sale, the main document here is the extract from the register: it shows who the apartment is registered to. Check the name in the extract against the seller's ID, and verify the extract in the electronic service of the state register.

Many MIDA apartments were bought with a mortgage. Such an apartment is pledged to the bank until the loan is closed, and it cannot be sold without the bank's consent. Before the deposit, ask the seller for a fresh certificate of encumbrances: it will show whether the apartment is pledged. If there is a pledge, agree in advance with the seller and the bank how the loan will be closed, and complete the deal at a notary.

Renting a MIDA apartment

The restriction applies to renting too: until the period ends, the owner cannot legally rent the apartment out. When you rent such an apartment, it is hard to sign a lease, and if a dispute arises, the tenant is left without protection.

So ask the landlord when they bought the apartment, and look at the date of the contract. If the period has ended, a MIDA apartment is no different from an ordinary rental: sign a written lease and state the deposit and utility payments in it.