The Ministry of Construction recommended not to build small-sized housing in the regions. The authorities of the regions called for focusing on Moscow and the Moscow region, where the minimum area of studios in houses under construction should start from 28 square meters. m., and one—room apartments - from 36 square meters. m. Izvestia found out what such recommendations are related to and how their implementation will affect the real estate market.
Landmark on Moscow
The Ministry of Construction urged not to build small-sized housing in the regions. In a letter addressed to the authorities of the country's constituent entities, the Ministry of Construction recommends that, as part of the development of regional standards, new projects be coordinated, where the minimum area of studios starts from 28 sq. m., one—room apartments — from 36 sq. m., two—room apartments - from 49 sq. m., three-room apartments - from 66 sq. m. The ministry told Izvestia that the document is Advisory nature: there are no plans to introduce strict restrictions on the area of housing construction.
"Currently, the Ministry of Construction of Russia is not considering adjustments to the current regulatory framework regarding the introduction of any restrictions on the area of housing construction. Methodological recommendations are being finalized by the working group," the ministry's press service noted.
Similar standards are already in effect in Moscow (since August 2024) and the Moscow Region (since January 2025). Since that time, projects involving studios smaller than 28 square meters have not been coordinated in the capital and the Moscow region.
— It is too early to talk about the impact of the ban on the capital's housing market. A significant part of the lots in this format (less than 28 square meters) were put on the market even before the restrictions of the Ministry of Construction, therefore, in Moscow and the region it is still possible to purchase an apartment with an area of up to 28 square meters. m. Noticeable changes can be observed later, when developers implement projects laid in the second half of 2024, — said in an interview with Irina Litvinova, head of the new buildings sector of the Yandex Real Estate service, told Izvestia.
The market situation
The practice offered by the Ministry of Construction will change the situation in the real estate market, said the director of the research center "Analytics. Business. Pravo" by Venera Shaidullina. According to statistics, today about half of apartments under construction in Russia do not meet the new recommended standards.
According to the Analytical center "Dom.Russia", provided to Izvestia, currently 255 thousand lots with an area of up to 28 square meters, 597 thousand one-room apartments with an area of up to 36 square meters, 206 thousand two-room apartments with an area of 49 square meters are represented in houses under construction throughout the country. and 82 thousand three- bedroom apartments up to 66 sq . m .
Yandex Real Estate noted that the distribution of small-sized housing by region is uneven. The largest concentration of apartments with an area of up to 28 square meters is observed in Ufa (23%), St. Petersburg (21%), Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg (16% each), Moscow (14%), Perm, Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh (13% each), Novosibirsk (11%) and Chelyabinsk (10%).
According to BnMap, there are 18,462 apartments and apartments with an area of up to 30 square meters on display in the Moscow region. In the mass housing segment, the number of such lots increased before the ban, and now analysts are observing a downward trend.
These changes, Shaidullina notes, can significantly affect the housing affordability factor for certain categories of buyers. An increase in the minimum area of apartments can lead to an increase in cost, which will make it difficult for some groups of the population to purchase housing.
Marina Maltseva, Deputy General Director of Aeop Development, says the same thing. According to her, small apartments were popular because they provided an opportunity to purchase housing with a minimal purchase budget. Such lots were often bought as the first home for children, as well as as an asset for subsequent rental or resale.
— In conditions of high mortgage rates, this may affect the level of demand, especially in mass segments of real estate, — the expert notes.
Expert forecasts
According to Izvestia experts, at the moment we are talking only about the recommendations of the Ministry of Construction, and not about legislative restrictions, but, most likely, many developers will listen to them and take them into account when planning future facilities.
— Based on previous experience, the recommendations will eventually become new established norms, and it makes sense to prepare for them in advance in order to avoid possible problems at later stages of projects. In a number of regions, they will certainly listen to the Ministry of Construction," says Anton Gak, Sales Director for federal projects at the Aeroplane Group.
One way or another, he believes, the market will smoothly replace one product with another, with slightly different characteristics, but you need to understand that this process will be very time-consuming. The average duration of the development cycle is five years, and the entire volume of apartments is less than the recommended standards, which has now been designed, agreed upon by the regional authorities and is under construction, will be put on the market, no restrictions will affect it.
— Therefore, the change in the requirements for the area of apartments will not affect housing prices in the near future, and in the long term, the cost correction will not be noticeable, — said the interlocutor of Izvestia.
According to Vladimir Shchekin, co-founder and co-owner of the Rodina Group, in the future, the average area of apartments in Russia may increase by 3-5 square meters in three to five years, as the share of housing with an area of more than 28 square meters will increase. In 2024, the average area of an apartment purchased has already increased by 8% to 53.2 square meters.
"In general, the initiative to limit the minimum area of apartments can balance the market by finding a compromise between effective planning solutions for the maximum usable area and the needs of buyers," says the source.
The reasons for the changes
As Vladimir Shchekin explains to Izvestia, two factors became prerequisites for the ban on small—sized apartments - political and social. Last spring, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Russia's national development goals, in which one of the tasks was to provide housing for the population at the rate of 33 square meters per person by 2030. Accordingly, the smallest apartment should not have a square footage of less than 33 sq. m.
— The second factor is the general trend in real estate to increase comfortable living conditions. We see a trend towards the creation of ergonomic layouts and flexible spaces in apartments and the development of public spaces in residential areas, — says the interlocutor of Izvestia.
According to Marina Maltseva, Deputy General Director of Aeon Development, projects with a large number of studios, which fill the modern market, significantly increase the burden on the infrastructure of the district — kindergartens, clinics, schools, transport.
— In addition, according to many studies, living in an apartment with an area of less than 28 square meters has a negative effect on the psychological state of people. At the same time, we see that Moscow is developing towards creating the most comfortable urban environment at all levels," Maltseva believes.
According to her, the Leningrad Region may become one of the first regions to adopt the experience of the capital and the Moscow region. There is a ban on the construction of studios and one-bedroom apartments with an area of less than 28 square meters. It will enter into force on January 1, 2026. In addition, the ban is being discussed in Yekaterinburg.
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