HOW NOT TO BECOME A DECEIVED SHAREHOLDER?

Today, in the primary housing market of Kazakhstan, developers often offer citizens to purchase an apartment through equity participation. However, there are many pitfalls here: sometimes shareholders are deceived, misled because they do not know their rights. Therefore, in order to eliminate possible risks, it is important for future buyers to know the basic requirements for construction companies in the field of shared-equity construction.

Some developers offer future shareholders to sign a booking agreement, pre-sale, investment and other similar documents, after which they immediately require payment. And future buyers often agree to such conditions from developers, as they are attracted by the relatively low price of housing.

But it is important to know here that in Kazakhstan, the sale of housing at the construction stage is legally allowed only through the conclusion of an equity participation agreement in accordance with an approved standard form. In turn, the conclusion of such an agreement and the attraction of funds from shareholders according to the legislation is possible only if the developer has the appropriate permission from the local akimat or guarantees from JSC "Kazakhstan Housing Company" (KZHK). And the developer is obliged to present these documents to the future shareholder.

The standard form of the equity participation agreement was approved by the order of the Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This agreement is concluded in writing and, please note, after signing, it must be registered with the local akimat through the Unified Information System of Equity participation in housing construction "Kazreestr". Upon registration of the contract, a corresponding statement is provided, which is the basis for payment.

Therefore, if the buyer signs completely different documents instead, for example, investment agreements, assignations, reservations, which are considered illegal, then there is a high probability that he will end up "in a broken trough." After all, according to the law, he will not be considered a participant in shared-equity construction and will not be able to protect his rights as a shareholder. And in case of non-fulfillment by the developer of its obligations, no one will provide housing for buyers. There is also a risk of double sales, when the same apartment is sold to several people at once.

Meanwhile, there are many such deceived shareholders in Kazakhstan. Statistics show that almost every second apartment financed by buyers is sold according to gray schemes. This means that the risk of falling for the bait of illegally building housing companies is still high. In order not to find themselves in such a situation, it is important for future buyers of long-awaited apartments to double-check the documents of the developers before signing them and to know their rights as shareholders. They are specified in the Law "On Equity participation in housing construction" of 2016.

In addition, it is worth paying attention to the history and reputation of the company in the market, the number of successfully commissioned facilities and how long it has been operating on the market. The buyer can also double-check the information received from the developer using the Housing Portal, which is still working in test mode. The site contains information on all shared-equity construction projects in the country that have the appropriate permission from the akimat or the guarantee of the Housing and Communal Services to attract money from shareholders, as well as on illegally constructed facilities. The information in the Housing Portal comes from the Kazreestr system.

We add that KZHK, which provides guarantees for the completion of shared–equity construction, on its website in the section "Individuals" (hereinafter referred to as "Shareholders") provides full information on the objects of guarantee, including a register of contracts for the provision of guarantees for facilities under construction, the progress of construction on residential complexes and certificates. It is important for all future buyers to check this information on residential complexes.

For example, this year, for shared housing construction, KZHK issued guarantees to construction companies in the amount of 97 billion tenge for 15 projects, including about 7 thousand apartments with a total area of 589 thousand square meters. m. Most of the guarantees were issued for projects located in Nur Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent and Kostanay. In general, since 2017, KZHK has issued guarantees for 160 projects totaling 735 billion tenge.

In addition, since June of this year, KZHK has launched an online service for accepting applications for guarantees of completion of shared-equity housing construction. This is done for the convenience of developers and to ensure transparency in the consideration of applications for a guarantee. Developers can submit an application online on the Unified Business Support Portal "Digital Baiterek" in the "Services" section – "Provision of a guarantee for completion of construction". At the same time, the application review period is 20 working days.

Thus, by concluding a deal for the purchase of housing under construction with developers who do not have a guarantee of housing and communal services or a permit from the akimat to raise funds from shareholders, future buyers risk being left both without invested money and without an apartment.

A source: https://www.zakon.kz/6017667-kak-ne-stat-obmanutym-dolshchikom.html