Children's rights to dwelling are mostly infringed upon in Volgograd oblast

Most part of applications of Volgograd oblast residents, addressed to the regional Ombudsman, are linked with a single topic. Around 40% of such applications are connected with the problem of dwelling for children. According to Ombudsman Nina Boldyreva, it is the most urgent problem, primarily due to the newly adopted housing code.

"The code has significantly changed the legal space and infringed upon the children's rights for dwelling. The new legislation has made the dwelling owners' rights absolute and, from now on, they may dispose of it at their discretion. While before 2005, trade transactions required a prior permission of the trusteeship and guardianship agencies, no such thing is required now," explains Boldyreva.

The problem of dwelling for orphan children is also acute, although in a different way. The oblast program of providing children with dwelling continues to be implemented and 107 million rubles has been allocated for the purpose from the oblast budget in 2007, while in the previous year the sum only amounted to 8.9 million rubles. However, the expenditure of the funds leaves much to be desired, as only 17% has been spent out of the 107 million rubles as of October 1, 2007. "The mechanism of using the resources is not developed in the localities. There are deficiencies in the current regional legislation, connected, among other things, with long waiting lists and a complicated procedure of getting registered. Grown-up orphans often are not able to legally confirm their status and have to defend it in court," Boldyreva comments.