(25 February 2026 | Source: press service of Otbasy Bank)
Kazakhstan is changing the procedure for the distribution of housing to those on the waiting list. Otbasy Bank is introducing mandatory data verification before providing apartments or subsidised loans. The decision was made after cases where the distribution had to be re-evaluated based on the results of information checks.
HOW MUCH HOUSING HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE BANK
After obtaining the status of a national development institution, Otbasy Bank began actively distributing housing among those on the waiting list. For these purposes, regional akimats transferred 13,393 apartments to the bank.
Of these:
- 8,846 apartments are intended for rental housing;
- 4,547 apartments are for credit-based housing.
Since the start of distribution, 4,216 families have celebrated moving into their new homes. The bank has also launched a digital housing distribution platform, orken.otbasybank.kz, integrated with state information systems.
WHY THE VERIFICATION IS NEEDED
Verification involves checking and updating information about those on the waiting list. During the procedure, the following data is updated:
- family composition;
- category of the person on the waiting list;
- whether they currently own housing or not;
- current status on the waiting list.
According to the bank, this helps eliminate errors and ensures that apartments are allocated to those who genuinely need them and who joined the queue earlier. Those on the waiting list must sign a consent for the collection and processing of personal data and complete the procedure on the portal orken.otbasybank.kz.
To date, 257,000 people have undergone the verification process.
WHY THE DISTRIBUTION PROCEDURE WAS CHANGED
During the initial phase of the bank's operations, housing was distributed before the verification process was completed, in order to speed up the launch of the programme. After the distribution, the person on the waiting list had to undergo a data check to finalise the apartment.
However, during verification, it sometimes turned out that:
- the person on the waiting list had already purchased housing;
- their family composition had changed;
- the allocated floor space did not match the current data.
In such cases, the distribution had to be reconsidered, which delayed the process.
WHAT WILL CHANGE FROM 2 MARCH
From 2 March 2026, verification becomes the first mandatory step before housing distribution.
If a person on the waiting list does not complete it:
- they will not be removed from the queue;
- they will not be able to participate in housing distribution;
- they will not be provided with a rental apartment or a subsidised loan at rates of 2% and 5% until the procedure is completed.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THOSE ON THE WAITING LIST
The new procedure aims to make housing distribution more transparent and to eliminate repeated processes. Only those on the waiting list whose data is confirmed and up to date will receive apartments and subsidised loans.