Why don’t earthquake-resistant houses ship for free?

Because of the Kahramanmaras earthquake, we experienced one of the greatest devastations in our recent history. More than 45 thousand of our people died as a result of the earthquake. The number of buildings that have fallen into disrepair in cities affected by the earthquake is in the hundreds of thousands, and the number of our people left homeless and forced to leave their homes is in the millions. In other words, the biggest problem in the earthquake zone, both in the short and long term, is housing. As a result, the public is wondering how to solve this problem in the region. According to a government statement, the “earthquake” in the disaster area will be completed within a year. However, the only question that needs to be answered in this regard is not when residential buildings will be built in the region. Despite billions of lira in earthquake aid, both domestic and foreign, they are looking for an answer to why post-earthquake homes are not provided free of charge to earthquake victims. Let’s look at the details together.

The World Bank estimates that 1,250,000 people lost their homes or were forced to leave the region where they live due to the Kahramanmaras earthquakes.

The population of our cities affected by the earthquake is approximately 14 million people. In other words, almost 1 out of every 11 people in the earthquake area is faced with a shelter and housing problem. This problem, which affects millions of people, stands before us as one of the biggest problems in our country even almost a month after the earthquake.

The problem of temporary housing in the region has not been resolved, despite the fact that several days have passed since the earthquake.

It is said that there is still a need for more tents or containers in some areas where demolition has been effective. AFAD, on the other hand, states that 335,382 tents have been set up in the earthquake area to date, the installation of container cities continues in 10 provinces and 130 locations, and that 1,914,292 people are served in shelters such as tents, containers. , hostels, hotels, public pensions and public facilities. So, what is known about permanent earthquake-resistant housing?

The government has announced that the process of building houses in the disaster area will be completed within a year.

The website of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change indicates that the construction of 199,739 permanent homes will begin in 11 provinces, in the reserve areas of cities, along with contract processes, until the end of March and April 2023. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said:As the damage assessment, debris removal and location processes are completed, the number of such houses will increase in each province.” used words. On the other hand, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum stated that 73,972 village houses were built with steel structures and reinforced concrete projects.

40,426 permanent residences will be built in Hatay, 45,067 in Kahramanmaras and 44,770 in Malatya.

It is stated that thousands of new houses will be built in other cities affected by the earthquake. In addition, the ministry says that the houses to be built in the region will be built in accordance with the cultural, sociological and demographic structure and needs of cities. It is also reported that the earthquake-resistant houses will consist of 3+1 apartments with a total area of ​​105 square meters and a net net area of ​​85 square meters, while the village residential houses will be built as 3+1 apartments with a total area of ​​120 square meters and a net net area of ​​93 square meters. .

Will these houses, which will be built for people who have suffered great destruction as a result of the earthquake and lost their relatives, families and homes, be donated to the victims of the earthquake?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no. As was the case with previous earthquakes in Van, Elazig and Izmir, the houses that will be built after these earthquakes will not be donated free of charge to the victims of the earthquake. The answer to the question of why earthquake survivors cannot own housing for free is contained in Law No. 7269 on Assistance with Measures Taken in Relation to Natural Disasters Affecting Public Life, published in the Official Gazette of May 25, 1959.

Article 27 of the relevant law “The costs of buildings under construction and the value of the land on which the buildings are built constitute the cost of those buildings.It contains the expression “”. The following statements are included in the continuation of the article:After deducting the amounts in the value certificates of the owners from the valuations of immovable property thus determined, the remainder is taken as the basis for the write-off.In other words, earthquake victims who have lost their homes due to an earthquake and want to own a home again unfortunately have a “debt”.

According to the AFAD website, earthquake victims can choose from 4 different ways to purchase a home.

Accordingly, earthquake survivors can become homeowners through “TOKİ, a tender method, a method of helping those who will build their own homes, and ready-made home loans.” However, in all these methods, it is envisaged that earthquake victims will take out loans at a certain rate. The payment and interest plans for loans granted differ depending on the extent of damage to the building and whether the building is residential or commercial. At this point, the question of “how much will be required for housing in the event of an earthquake” comes to mind.

The cost of earthquake-resistant houses with an area of ​​105 square meters exceeds 1 million lire.

An official statement on the cost of earthquake-resistant housing has not yet been received. However, experts can estimate how much housing could cost in the event of an earthquake. According to the Communiqué on Estimated Unit Costs for the Construction of Buildings for 2023 for the Calculation of Payments for Architectural and Engineering Services, published in the Official Gazette on February 11, 2023, the cost of building a house ranges from 6,350 euros. lire and 8 thousand 825 lire per square meter.

What’s more, these figures are only an “approximate cost of construction”, items such as bathrooms, toilets or flooring in the building are not included in the price. Experts say that taking into account such expenses as parquet, sink and kitchen cabinets, the construction cost per square meter could be about 10,000 lire. In other words, the cost of the 105-square-meter houses, which are said to be built by the ministry, exceeds 1 million lira.

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