A New Idea for Affordable Housing. Except That’s Already Been Done and It Didn’t Work
“Gazeta Wyborcza” has learned that the government wants to transfer money to local governments to build rental apartments. These are not TBSs or municipal apartments – we do not know the details, but we can assume that it will be similar to the Rental Housing Fund. And this one has not achieved any special success.
On Tuesday, the government provided new information on the planned form of the “Start-up Credit” act. In its main part, it will be similar to the “Safe 2% Credit”, i.e. it will consist of subsidies. However, that is not all. As “Gazeta Wyborcza” unofficially established, the government’s next idea for affordable housing is to build premises with affordable rental in mind. This would be the task of local governments.
Cheap apartments for rent and loan subsidies
The daily’s informant assured that everything is ready and the construction program will start in the fall. This solution may respond to the demands of the Left, which opposed further subsidizing of loans and instead called for the construction of rental apartments, where prices would be under control. The combination of two components: subsidies for loans and redirecting part of the money to the construction of rental apartments – this is an attempt to find a compromise between the expectations of the coalition partners.
“GW” established that local governments would receive PLN 5 billion annually for the construction of cheap housing.
It would not be the first time that the state wants to get involved in creating a pool of rental apartments. Since 2014, institutional rental has been operating under the Rental Housing Fund program. This is not a government project, but is managed by the National Economy Bank. This in turn belongs to the State Treasury, so in simple terms, it can be said to be a state program.
The list of housing failures is long
As part of the Rental Housing Fund, the lessor receives a guarantee of the rate indexed to the inflation rate. The regulations prohibit changing the rent or shortening the lease period (if the lessor is not late with payments). It is relatively easy to rent apartments (there are no “castings” for a tenant, the interested party only needs to fill out an application and bring the required documents and certificates), and you can also terminate the contract without unnecessary formalities.
As a rule, prices are supposed to be lower than on the commercial market. Is that true? The offers on the program’s website are from 8-10 years ago, and the Facebook profile is updated on an ongoing basis, but it has been taken over by a commercial real estate agent. The program was not officially completed, but it ceased to exist by fait accompli. Later, the Housing Fund for Development announced the construction of cheaper apartments, and the most famous fiasco was the Apartment Plus, which was supposed to be a combination of renting with the option of gaining ownership (for those willing). The program was so unsuccessful: the apartments were defective, the prices were high, and the provisions in the contracts were unclear, that in 2023 the government officially withdrew from it – there was nothing left to save.
