“4 million families” in the government’s crosshairs. The new housing strategy is ready
The government announces a new housing strategy. It is intended to help millions of families who cannot afford loans but do not qualify for social housing.
Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański and Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Tomasz Lewandowski presented the assumptions of the government’s new housing strategy. As they emphasized, the program is intended to be a response to the needs of millions of Poles who cannot afford a mortgage loan and at the same time earn too high an income to apply for municipal or social rent. According to the government, there are approximately 4 million families in the so-called rent gap.
Housing program
The head of the Ministry of Finance emphasized that the housing sector is of great importance for the entire economy. As he said, each zloty invested in housing policy will translate into PLN 2.5 for Polish GDP. At the same time, the government announced the construction and renovation of tens of thousands of premises. PLN 6.7 billion was allocated for housing construction in this year’s budget, and together with funds from the KPO, this amount increases to PLN 8.7 billion. This year, renovation of 18,000 is planned. apartments, and including previous years, the funds are to cover the construction and renovation of 35,000. premises.
Deputy Minister Tomasz Lewandowski pointed out that instruments have been prepared for families in the rent gap that are intended to quickly increase the supply of apartments. The offer will include premises in SIMs and cooperatives, with rent ranging from PLN 15 to PLN 30 per square meter. As he explained, in Warsaw this would mean a rent of PLN 1,000-1,200 for a 50 sq m apartment, which is about twice less than on the market. The government wants to involve not only Social Housing Initiatives and TBSs, but also cooperatives.
New strategy
The new strategy also assumes the introduction of a repayable instrument with a maximum period of 50 years and an interest rate of 1% for housing cooperatives. The plans also include a ban on autonomous inheritance of leases, raising the income thresholds enabling applying for modern premises for rent, as well as a term of office for cooperative authorities and a register of contracts for cooperative members. The government also announces changes to the development act, work on the act on land supply and the restoration of the institution of perpetual usufruct for housing purposes.
As Lewandowski pointed out, the coalition is looking for a cross-party agreement on this matter, and the work is to cover several bills. The strategy is part of a broader change in the approach to housing policy. After abandoning the “Start Loan” project, greater emphasis was placed on apartments for rent and the development of social housing. In 2025, an act was adopted redirecting significant funds to premises developed by local governments, and restrictions were also introduced on the privatization of municipal and social housing. Now the government wants to replace the National Housing Program, in force since 2016, with a new document adapted to the current market realities.
