Uzbekistan's Ministry of Justice has moved to dispel rumors that the sale of housing directly by developers on installment plans would be banned starting January 1, 2027. The clarification comes in response to interpretations of a presidential decree (PQ-294) issued on August 14, 2026, which sparked widespread speculation on social media.
The decree stipulates that from January 1, 2027, the activities of legal entities providing installment payment services — known as installment service operators — will be regulated. Specifically, subparagraph 'd' of paragraph 3 states that real estate cannot be the object of installment services provided by an operator.
According to the Ministry of Justice, this means that an intermediary operator is prohibited from purchasing or providing housing to a buyer within the framework of installment services. However, this restriction does not apply to the direct sale of housing by a developer to a buyer on an installment basis.
The ministry further clarified that subparagraph 'a' of paragraph 3 excludes from the concept of installment services cases where a seller directly sells their goods, works, or services to a consumer with a condition of gradual payment. This effectively ensures that direct transactions between builders and buyers remain unaffected.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan, in response to a query from Gazeta, confirmed that the decree does not ban the sale of housing on installment plans. The regulator emphasized that while real estate cannot be the object of services provided by an installment operator, direct sales by sellers to consumers with installment conditions do not fall under the decree's scope.
"Therefore, a developer can sell housing they have built directly to a buyer on an installment basis. Investment contracts under shared construction also do not fall under the activities of installment operators regulated by this decree if the relationship is conducted directly between the developer and the buyer," the Central Bank stated.
Importantly, these requirements do not automatically apply to all sellers. The Central Bank clarified that the decree's provisions are not universally applied to all trade organizations and service companies. They primarily target entities that provide installment services on a large scale.
According to subparagraph 'k' of paragraph 3, if quarterly revenue from the sale of goods, works, and services exceeds 500 million soums and the share of installment services constitutes 50% or more of that revenue, organizations providing consumer goods credit must register with the Central Bank and be included in the relevant registry.
Organizations included in the registry will be subject to the requirements stipulated for installment service operators. The Central Bank cited the sale of automobiles as an example.
"Thus, for instance, the mere fact of selling a car does not mean that these requirements automatically apply to them. In this case, the organization's business model, the provision of installment services, and compliance with the criteria set in the decree are taken into account," the Central Bank noted.
The regulator's data indicates that the decree's requirements are not aimed at a complete ban on installment purchases of housing, but rather at regulating the activities of operators providing installment services as intermediaries.
Source: www.gazeta.uz