The five-year program launched last summer offers financial assistance to refugees willing to buy or build new homes in mainly rural areas. Its primary beneficiaries are Karabakh Armenian families that have at least three children or a disabled member or lost a loved one during the conflict with Azerbaijan. Each refugee is eligible for between 2 million and 5 million drams ($5,000-$13,000) in government grants that could only be used for meeting their housing needs.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian touted the “extensive program” last May. One of his deputies, Tigran Khachatrian, said at the time that as much as 800 billion drams (over $2 billion) could be spent on its implementation by the end of 2029. Many refugees said, however, that the sums offered by the government are not enough to buy or build even modest homes.
Gayane Gharagyozian, a senior official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, said on Tuesday that only 633 of the more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians who took refuge in Armenia in September 2023 have applied and qualified for such aid. She admitted that this is well below the government’s initial expectations.
“I can assure you that these numbers will increase soon because we still have [Karabakh] compatriots waiting to receive their [Armenian] citizenship,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The lack of interest led Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s cabinet to make some changes to the housing scheme last week. In particular, it raised by 300 the number of towns and villages where refugees eligible for the aid can buy or build homes.
Liana Petrosian, an exiled Karabakh activist dealing with the housing problems of fellow refugees, was skeptical about the impact of those changes, saying that they are not significant enough to make the government scheme workable.
“Only a small part of numerous proposals made by displaced people have been accepted [by the government,]” she said.
Petrosian singled out the government’s failure to increase the per-capita amount of money that can be provided to refugees lacking decent housing. She also complained that many of the refugees who have received the government aid have trouble obtaining additional funding in the form of mortgage loans from local banks.
Zhora Hayrapetian, a young Karabakh Armenian man, lives in the southeastern town of Goris with his mother and disabled grandmother. They are eligible for up to 15 million drams (about $38,000) in combined housing aid. Hayrapetian said this sum is too small even for the local community. He said he knows of virtually no other refugees who have applied for the scheme.
Since November 2023, the Armenian government has been giving each refugee, who does not own a home or live in a government shelter, 50,000 drams ($125) per month for rent and utility fees. The government decided late last year to start essentially phasing out this aid program that has benefited most Karabakh Armenians.