The myth about "free" apartments

The statement about free housing in the USSR is a popular myth that does not reflect economic reality. In fact, the state only redistributed resources, actually subtracting the cost of apartment expenses from citizens' salaries, which could have been higher without these deductions. The process of getting an apartment was reminiscent of a mortgage issued without your consent or the right to choose a location or layout. Added to this was waiting in lines, which often dragged on for 20–30 years.

It is important that the key difference from property was the absence of property rights: residents could not sell, officially exchange or completely bequeath the apartment, and the state retained the opportunity to take it away at any time. This turned citizens into lifelong debtors who had already paid for housing work, but remained dependent on the will of the authorities. The situation began to transform only in the 1980s with the development of housing cooperatives, which opened the door to other forms of property ownership.