MOSCOW, March 21 (RAPSI) – The lower house of Russian parliament passed a bill on mortgage holidays for Russian citizens found themselves in a tough life situation in the first reading on Thursday.

According to the State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, the proposed provisions would be applied both to people, who took a real estate loan earlier, and those, who would take out a mortgage after the entry of this legislation into force, a statement of the lower house of parliament reads.

Under the bill, mortgage holidays with a running time of up to six months may be granted to loan recipients found themselves in a difficult life situation including loss of breadwinner, temporary disability over a period of two months, certification as disabled persons of groups I and II, reduction in family income by more than 30%.

A loan debtor would be able to choose whether to withhold performance of debt service obligations or to decrease the sum of periodical payments. However, a person would be allowed to take such a privilege only once in terms of one credit. The loan maturity would be extended tacitly for the mortgage holidays’ duration period, the draft law reads.