About 8,300 housing certificates have been issued so far under the state housing program for compatriots forcibly displaced from Artsakh, with roughly 4,600 already used, according to Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The figures were cited by Gayane Gharagyozyan, an adviser coordinating specific functions of the ministry’s structural subdivisions, Sputnik Armenia reported.
Gharagyozyan said the average family receiving a certificate has four to five members. Based on that estimate, between 33,200 and 37,350 Artsakh Armenians have either bought property in Armenia with state support or are in the process of doing so. She added that around 70 houses are currently under construction.
At this stage, the results are satisfactory and the program is showing a fast-growth trend, she said. The highest certificate-use rate has been recorded in Kotayk Province at 28%, followed by Armavir at 17% and Ararat at 14%. Next came Yerevan at 11%, Lori at 9%, Syunik at 6%, and Gegharkunik and Shirak at 4% each. The lowest rates were registered in Aragatsotn at 3%, Tavush at 2.4% and Vayots Dzor at 1.6%.
The ministry expects the number of issued certificates to reach around 10,000 by the end of the year, while the number used is projected to approach 6,000. The overall target for the program is 15,000. Gharagyozyan said that goal is realistic because reforms to the scheme have removed a number of objective barriers.
Although the government decision was adopted in May 2024, the program moved into a practical phase only in mid-2025 after the relevant reforms, she said. Initially, it was available only to certain social groups, including families with a member with a disability, those with three or more children and others. After the changes, it became accessible to everyone.
Support amounts were also revised from March 2026. A 4 million dram allocation was set for all regional settlements, except Yerevan and settlements where the support amount is 5 million drams. In Yerevan, support stands at 3 million drams per person, which ministry officials say is often insufficient, especially for families seeking to buy property in the capital.
According to Gharagyozyan, one of the main issues is that many beneficiaries prefer Yerevan, where property prices are high and buying a home without additional funds is often unrealistic. That problem is largely absent in regional settlements. Another key requirement of the program is a minimum of 9 square meters of living space per family member.
At the same time, in about 60% of cases where certificates have already been used, families did not need additional borrowing. In other words, the purchase or construction of a home was fully covered by state subsidization. More than half of those beneficiaries also had a positive balance left over because they bought property for less than the allocated amount. The remaining funds can be used for renovation, household appliances, furniture or the purchase of agricultural land.
So far, around 1 billion 343 million drams has already been paid for furniture and household appliance purchases, with the money transferred directly to the retailer’s account. Many beneficiaries have also received renovation loans.
In the remaining 40% of cases, additional financial resources were needed because beneficiaries opted to buy apartments in Yerevan or communities near the capital, where real estate prices are also high. Even so, the program allows families to purchase higher-value property if they cover the difference themselves. For example, in Yerevan, excluding the first and second zones — the Kentron and Arabkir administrative districts — property worth up to 55 million drams may be purchased, with compensation of 3 million drams per person.
Another reason for the relatively slow pace of the housing process is the time needed to obtain Armenian citizenship. Gharagyozyan said work has been carried out with colleagues at the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia’s Interior Ministry to introduce procedures that could speed up the process. After citizenship is obtained, the next step is to apply for the housing program, though applications are still rejected for various reasons.
She said the easiest and quickest issue to resolve is citizenship-related documentation. In many cases, adult family members had citizenship but were unaware that they also had to apply separately for citizenship for a minor child. After being rejected from the program, such families reapply on the basis of a parent’s citizenship, which makes the process faster.
A large number of rejections are also linked to missing information on one family member in the database of displaced persons maintained by the Migration and Citizenship Service of Armenia’s Interior Ministry. In other words, that person’s displacement was not recorded for one reason or another. To deal with such cases, an interagency commission chaired by Deputy Minister Artyom Smbatyan was set up at Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Welfare and meets every one or two months.
If families submit documents and evidence proving that they had lived in Artsakh for at least one year before the displacement, but that fact was not recorded, the commission can grant them beneficiary status under the program if the grounds are deemed sufficient.
Back in December 2025, Armenian Labor and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Torosyan also outlined an alternative option for families of up to three members that include people with profound or severe disabilities or members aged 60 and older. If such families meet all government requirements, primarily Armenian citizenship, but the allocated amount is insufficient, they can register for the ministry’s social housing fund program. Until new apartments are added to that stock, they are expected to receive partial rent compensation of 40,000 drams per month for 10 years.
