Attempts to Solve Housing Crisis Cause Problems

There are also suspicions that local banks don’t have enough cash in reserve to pay out on the loans.

Kurdish MP and economist Izzat Saber suggests that because the amount allocated for loans was increased in 2013, there has been increased demand for them. He also said he thought the suspension of loan pay outs was most likely illegal and that there were also problems with how the loans were being distributed and paid out on.

“But MPs will try and find solutions to all these problems when we discuss the draft budget law for 2014,” Izzat told NIQASH.

Rumour has it that the government may well pass the job onto the private sector, an idea that Saber supports. Allegedly the local Ministry of Finance also thinks this is a workable option. “The issue needs to be discussed first though, and a special committee formed to look into it,” Ministry spokesperson Tariq said.

The property loans are just one part of the Iraqi Kurdish government’s plans to solve the housing problem in the region; it’s meant to provide homes for those who need them as well as aid in reconstruction of local villages.

At the same time the government is also building state housing and giving the apartments and units built out to those lower income families who need them. However this process also seems to be taking too long. More than 26,000 potential tenants have filled out forms to apply for state housing but, just like those who filled out applications for loans, many of them are still waiting.

“It is a detailed process,” the head of the statistics department in Sulaymaniyah, Mahmoud Othman, tells NIQASH. “The forms were distributed and they are being reviewed. As yet no dates have been set for when the apartments should be distributed. We can’t set a date for when this process will be finished – it requires a lot of work. When we finish the work we will announce it. But the process is still ongoing.”

There is one last hope for people like Karim, with his partially built house, though - and that is the upcoming federal election. Those who have applications waiting for review hope that if they complain now, that the politicians will listen – they think that the authorities may just move on this issue before the elections in order to gain favour with local voters.