STA, 27 May 2021 - The National Assembly has adopted an amended housing act whose overarching goal is to increase the number of public rental homes in the country.
Under the new legislation, public housing funds will be allowed to take on more debt to speed up construction of new flats.
According to government projections, an extra EUR 200 million in fresh borrowing for housing construction will be released.
At the same time a public service will be established acting as an intermediary and manager of rental homes.
This is seen as a way to convince owners of empty flats who are hesitant about renting for fear of soured relations with tenants to enter the rental market.
In this scheme, tenants would pay non-profit rent, while some of the gap to commercial rent would be covered by the state.
It is believed that thousands of flats are currently idle, though there are no reliable numbers.
The national Housing Fund will have pre-emptive right to buy municipal land designated for construction to build apartment buildings.
The government believes that up to 10,000 new public rental apartments could be available within five to ten years as a result of the new legislation.
The law also brings the first rise in non-profit rents since 2007 but also higher subsidies for eligible tenants.
Among the changes the bill brings is also a lower quorum of home-owners in blocks of flats needed to approve works for which a construction permit is needed.
The legislation has been welcomed by the real estate industry and won some bipartisan support in parliament, where it was confirmed in a 52:1 vote yesterday evening.
