Housing poverty in Armenia

Unsafe homes and access to water

22,665 people served in FY18
61 volunteers hosted in FY18
Projects: construction, renovation & market development

Our local team is dedicated to eliminating housing poverty in Armenia and improving housing conditions of families with low income.

We have been active in Armenia since 2000 and as of July 1st 2015, we have supported 4,323 low-income families throughout the country. We implement various projects including home renovations and upgrades as well as energy efficiency upgrades of residential buildings.

Lack of decent homes

Almost half of the population in Armenia lives in apartment buildings (around 19,000 buildings and 435,350 apartments). A significant part of the “housing stock” in Armenia is in deplorable condition and continues to deteriorate year after year. There are no adequate maintenance and management systems in place.

Waste of energy

In certain regions, low income families still heat their houses with wood because they have no heating system with natural gas.

All homeowners pay mandatory fees that go to residential buildings’ maintenance funds, however these are far too low to cover repair costs. In addition, these buildings do not have proper energy insulation because old construction methods were not based on modern energy efficiency standards.

The main issues we encounter include:

Insufficient energy insulation (roofs, windows, walls)
Poor condition of the gas, water and sewerage systems
Unhygienic conditions of bathrooms and kitchens
Very limited access to drinking water

Key facts & figures

Capital: Yerevan
Population: 3 million
63% live in cities
Life expectancy 74 years
Unemployment rate: 17.6%
Population living below poverty line 32%

Housing microfinance

Typically, our local team works with low-income families to build, renovate or improve homes that are paid for over time by affordable mortgages or loans.

Because low-income families often face problems receiving loans from banks due to insufficient income, we work in collaboration with microfinance institutions to provide access to micro-loans to finance these home repairs.

Within the scope of this project, we also provide technical assistance to families and our partners through training programs and information brochures. Some projects allow for international volunteers to help with construction.

Building resilience

Our housing microfinance programme includes the following projects:

- Home-improvement for low-income households
- Building self-resilience and independence in female-headed households
- Use of solar energy for low-income families

These projects help low-income families renovate and repair their homes, improve energy efficiency, water and sanitation conditions, and create access to solar energy.

Solar energy

Solar energy at home is an efficient solution for low-income families. Given the high solar potential of Armenia and the usage of solar thermal systems, successful implementation of our project will significantly compensate for the constantly rising energy prices and improve social well-being of the population in general.

Through “Use of solar energy by low-income families” project, we promote the use of solar energy to give them affordable hot water and electricity throughout the year.