Housing scandal: Dozens of Uzbek property managers misappropriate billions in maintenance funds

During a press conference held on July 8 at the Agency for Information and Mass Communications (AIMC), attended by officials from the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, it was revealed that from January to June 2025, 158 housing management bodies were subjected to administrative fines totaling 587 million UZS, Gazeta.uz reported.

“The Ministry regularly analyzes complaints received from the public – quarterly, biannually, and annually. Over the first six months of 2025, the activities of 417 housing management organizations serving multi-apartment buildings were monitored by the Inspection for Supervision in the Field of Construction and Housing and Communal Services. As a result, financial inspections of 83 organizations revealed embezzlement of 25.9 billion UZS in mandatory homeowner payments. Relevant documents have been submitted to law enforcement agencies. The remaining entities were issued mandatory corrective directives,” said Deputy Minister Ozoda Juraeva.

According to Juraeva, under previous regulations, housing management entities were held administratively liable only once per year. However, due to recent legal amendments, each individual violation is now subject to separate administrative accountability.

“In cases where management organizations violate housing regulations, administrative measures are taken by the Inspection under Article 159, Part 2 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility (Violation of rules governing multi-apartment building management),” she added.

In her comments to Gazeta, Deputy Minister Ozoda Juraeva explained that there are three main types of housing management bodies serving multi-apartment buildings:

• Management service companies (MSCs),
• Homeowners’ associations, and
• Self-governing bodies operated directly by residents.

“Currently, Uzbekistan has 44,028 multi-apartment buildings, comprising over 1.5 million apartments. These are served by 971 management service companies, 241 homeowners’ associations, and 852 self-governing management bodies directly run by property owners,” Juraeva said.