Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, August 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Investors in the construction of a nine-storey residential block at 8-a Tarasovska Street in Bucha (Kyiv region), which has not been commissioned, are accusing Kyiv-based Ukrzhytlocomplex Ltd. and the state fund for apartment construction for young people of violating their rights.

A group of investors gave their views at a roundtable at which the conflict was discussed in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The construction of a 213-apartment building was started in 2003 as a part of the program on apartment construction for young people. A total of 84 apartments were bought by individuals and 123 apartments by young families on 30-year state-subsidizedcredits. The commissioning of the house was declared for Q2, 2007, although the house has not been yet commissioned.

Investors said that in summer 2007 Ukrzhytlocomplex informed those who did not pay the total price for apartments that the initially declared price per square meter stipulated in agreements had grown from UAH 2,975 to UAH 4,191 and proposed that they pay the difference. The difference in some cases reached UAH 117,000 depending on the area of the apartment. The company claimed the right to cancel agreements if investors do not agree to pay the additional funds.

Yulia Malymina, one of the investors, said that by summer 2007 all individual investors had paid in full for their apartments along with 97% of the investors who received credits via the state fund for apartment construction for young people. Almost all families who did not pay for the apartments by summer 2007 took additional 15-year credits at the fund, although 15 families refused to pay more, believing this was fraud.

The investors say that Ukrzhytlocomplex is deliberately delaying the commissioning of the block until all investors pay.

The investors say that the commissioning of the building is also delayed thanks to the fund, which used the funds received for the construction of the building for other purposes.

The head of the fund, Valeriy Omelchuk, at the round table said that the fund was not able to pay for the construction on time, as it depends on the budget financing and the constructor increased the price of one square meter.

He said that it was planned that UAH 1.117 billion would be sent from local budgets in 2002-2008, although only UAH 507 million was received.

Omelchuk said that he is holding talks with the director of Ukrzhytlocomplex, Serhiy Halushko, trying to settle the problem, although the constructor is not able to commission the apartment block, as before the examination of the state commission no one is permitted to live in the building, while 12 families live illegally in it and some of them started replanning their apartments.

At the roundtable, the investors decided to create an initiative group and draw up a plan of action with clearly set out terms.