THE HOUSING OF LOW-INCOME MULTI-CHILD FAMILIES IN ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the housing conditions of low-income multi-child families in Astana. The main motivation of the research is to study the effectiveness of government programs aimed at improving the situation of multi-child families. This topic is important because it involves children forced to live in difficult economic conditions and often have limited access to basic needs. A qualitative research design was used to study housing programs of multi-child families. The primary data collection is interviews and official correspondence from government agencies, Otbasy Bank and NGOs. We used secondary data from government agencies and the Bureau of National Statistics. The analysis in this paper tries to find out what programs and measures exist and whether programs such as "Nurly Zher", "Bakytty Otbasy" and rental housing without the right to redemption meet the housing needs of multi-child families. The results of our study can be used to (re)examine the state's housing policy towards multi-child families. There is no assessment of state support for multi-child families in Kazakhstan in any existing literature and this is a new contribution to the literature. Our finding indicates significant changes in the housing policy. The government increased the number of housing programs, changed the application process and separated multi-child families from other vulnerable groups. It led to a decrease in waiting time and made the application system more transparent and digitalized. The article argues that the housing policy for multi-child families was improved, yet the policy has some shortcomings.