Tashkent, Uzbekistan – Podrobno.uz. The National Social Protection Agency has responded to a complaint from an orphanage graduate who has been unable to obtain housing for eight years. The agency clarified that the woman's marriage is not a legal reason to deny her an apartment.

However, the agency noted that it does not distribute housing funds itself and recommended that the applicant resolve the issue directly with city and district khokimiyats (local administrations).

The official clarification was prompted by a video appeal from the woman to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. She stated that she left the orphanage in 2015 but has not received permanent housing.

According to her, in 2018, local authorities told her that apartments were no longer given to orphans and advised her to cope on her own. After a complaint to the government portal, the khokimiyat allocated her a room, but it was temporary (for five years) and did not provide permanent registration.

Promises of fully furnished housing in new buildings were not fulfilled. The woman now lives with her husband's relatives with her young child.

She claims that local officials use her marriage and registration at her father-in-law's house as a formal pretext to refuse state obligations, instead offering commercial mortgages or subsidies.

The Social Protection Agency explained that the previous procedure for providing rental housing to orphans (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 164 of 2010) was repealed in October 2021.

Under current legislation, needy women aged 18 to 35 from among orphans can only be provided social housing by the khokimiyat on a rental basis for five years without the right of privatization.

However, according to Uzbekistan's laws, the state guarantees housing for orphans upon reaching adulthood, with at least 25 square meters per person.

Source: podrobno.uz