The restoration of the Montana villages flooded at the end of April continues. However, homes affected by the rain cannot receive assistance from the state because people do not have notarial deeds for their houses, Nova TV reports.
On April 26, 2025, torrential rain flooded two villages in the Boychinovtsi municipality - Lehchevo and Kobylyak, which forced the evacuation of residents by boats.
Lazarina Tsvetkova and her daughter are among the evacuees. Their home is still uninhabitable. They received a one-time social assistance for the flood in the amount of 1914 leva, but no funds from the interdepartmental commission for restoration and assistance.
„We do not have a notarial deed for the house and they returned the documents to us. We really do not have one, but I think that is not the reason. If they want to help, they will. How do we pay taxes every year? On what basis”, asks Lazarina.
The mayor of the village, Alexander Alexandrov, confirmed that the state is refusing assistance due to the lack of notarial deeds. Only one or two are expected to receive funds.
Spasen was also saved from the water, but not his home. Electrical appliances, his car and the tools he works with remained under water. He received one-time assistance from social services worth 1900 leva. However, he explains that this money was not enough for almost anything.
Out of a total of 40 applications submitted for one-time flood assistance in Lehchevo and Kobilak, 22 were approved. 15 were rejected, and 3 are still being processed. The main reason for the rejected applications was the lack of flooded property. 16 houses received the maximum amount of assistance of 1,914 leva.
The village continues to clean and expand the drainage canal, and residents hope for state aid to restore several bridges.