After the earthquake that occurred in İzmir in 2020, it has been announced that the earthquake survivors who have been residing in the temporary social housing units owned by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality for nearly 3 years have not been victimized. The statement made by the Metropolitan Municipality included the following points:

“In response to the housing needs of our citizens whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged due to the earthquake that occurred on October 30, 2020, a total of 224 independent sections of Uzundere Social Housing Complex, owned by our municipality, were allocated free of charge for a period of 1 year. It was deemed appropriate by the decision of our Municipality Council dated November 13, 2020, and numbered 05.1012, that the electricity and water expenses, fuel costs, and common expenses of the allocated housing units would be covered by our Municipality.

With the expiration of the allocation period, it was decided by the decision dated November 17, 2021, and numbered 05.1319, to extend the allocation period free of charge and under the same conditions for an additional 6 months until July 20, 2022.

However, due to the inability to complete the construction of the housing units for earthquake survivors, it was decided by the Municipal Council Decision numbered 05.458 and dated April 14, 2022, to extend the allocation period for an additional 6 months until December 31, 2022, under the same conditions. Furthermore, by the Municipal Council Decision numbered 0580 and dated January 13, 2023, it was decided to extend the allocation period for earthquake survivors who have not yet vacated their units until May 31, 2023.

As of today, out of the 224 allocated units, 95 have been voluntarily vacated by the earthquake survivors, while 129 are still occupied. Upon inspection, it was found that out of the occupied units, 63 are owned by individuals who lost their homes in the earthquake, and the rest are tenants.

In conclusion, the housing units allocated by our municipality to the earthquake survivors were initially allocated for a period of one year, but due to the extended construction time of the earthquake housing units and economic conditions, the allocation period was extended three times, each for 6 months, totaling 2.5 years (30 months) of free allocation.

During this period, the electricity, water, heating, internet expenses, and condominium fees of the units were covered by the municipality.

Source: (BYZHA) Beyaz Haber Ajansı