The State Duma reported on the possible introduction of a ban on the purchase of housing for cash

In Russia, by the end of this year, a law may be passed banning housing transactions for cash. This was announced on April 21 by Svetlana Razvorotneva, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, RIA Novosti.

According to Razvorotneva, the relevant draft has already been prepared for submission to the Federal Assembly. According to the expert, the draft law reflects world practice. According to Razvorotneva, it is planned that real estate can be paid for in cash in the amount of no more than 1 million rubles.

"We have been discussing the initiative with the professional community for a long time. I certainly support her. In the best case scenario, we will introduce a bill at the end of the session, sometime in June or July. I hope that by the end of the year it is theoretically possible to accept," she said.

According to the agency, the new ban is justified by the authors by the fact that, according to statistics, the number of crimes related to the deprivation of real estate increased from 6,000 in 2022 to 8,000 in 2023, while civil damage increased from 32 to 42 billion rubles.

It is specified that in the Russian market 10-15% of transactions between individuals are carried out using cash, while in the USA, Canada, Europe, China and South Korea they are carried out using non-cash payment. In Germany, France and Italy, in turn, cash is used only in transactions in the amount of 100 thousand to 1 million rubles in terms of Russian currency.

Walls help: Russians have become more likely to take out loans secured by real estate

The trend arose due to high rates and massive refusals by banks

Earlier, on April 18, the real estate and consulting company Metrium reported an increase in demand for apartments in new buildings in the Moscow region in 2025. According to the company, in the first quarter of 2025, 12.1 thousand equity participation agreements were concluded, this figure increased by 24.8% during the quarter and by 25.8% over the year. In February, the maximum number of transactions was registered — 4,6 thousand, the minimum — in January (3,3 thousand).