The article deals with the problems of regional peculiarities of housing policy at the initial stage of the formation of the Soviet state in 1917-1921 in relation to the so-called representatives of the "exploitative" strata of the urban population. The processes of nationalization and municipalization of housing property of the "former peole" in the cities of the Tambov province, the problems of implementing the new Soviet housing policy were investigated. The basis of the research source base consists of materials from the archives of the Tambov region, a significant part of which is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.The study led to the conclusion that the large owners of urban real estate in the governorate have lost their rights to their property. At the same time, the issue of alienation of immovable property of the "bourgeoisie" in the cities of the Tambov governorate during the study period could not be fully resolved. In the course of municipalization and nationalization, the authorities faced a number of problems. In some cases, during the implementation of the new housing policy, they were forced to be guided not only by class, but also by pragmatic motives. Representatives of the "exploitative" classes in the cities of the province during the revolution and the Civil War tried to use various mechanisms to avoid eviction and consolidation, while maintaining more comfortable housing conditions in comparison with other social groups of the provincial urban population.