MOSCOW, February 19 - RAPSI. The State Duma passed a bill in all three readings on Tuesday, extending free housing privatization until March 1, 2015.

All 444 Duma deputies unanimously supported the bill sponsored by the leaders of all the parliamentary parties, while only 226 votes were required to pass the bill. The law takes effect on the day of its official publication.

Russians are allowed to privatize their apartments free of charge until March 1, 2013. The privatization campaign was initiated in 1992 and has been extended twice since. Last week, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin thinks it is advisable to extend the privatization for another two years.

The next day, the leaders of the parliamentary parties submitted the relevant bill.