AZE.US
Homeowners with small apartments in central Baku may soon receive apartment offers instead of cash compensation when their properties are demolished, under a proposal voiced in parliament this week.
Currently, compensation during urban redevelopment projects is calculated per square meter. In practice, this formula disadvantages owners of small units.
For example, a 30-square-meter apartment valued at 2,700 manats per square meter would yield just over 80,000 manats in compensation – an amount widely considered insufficient to purchase comparable housing in central districts.
Member of Parliament of Azerbaijan Vuqar Bayramov said the mechanism needs improvement. He suggested that owners of small houses and compact apartments should, where possible, be offered replacement housing in the same or nearby area instead of a monetary payout.
Under the proposed approach, residents of 30-square-meter individual homes or small flats slated for demolition could be allocated apartments in newly constructed buildings – potentially on the same site or within the surrounding neighborhood.
Bayramov also noted that when land is acquired for state needs, additional support mechanisms for citizens could be considered within existing legal and financial frameworks.
The debate reflects a broader tension in Baku’s redevelopment strategy: how to balance urban modernization with the purchasing realities facing lower-income homeowners in high-value central zones.