“Lewandowski Act”. The government found an antidote for a housing gap?

By 2030, the government wants to spend as much as PLN 40 billion on the development of social construction. In this package, as much as PLN 4 billion will go to the construction and modernization of dormitories. By the end of next year, nearly PLN 7 billion is to be secured for cheap loans supporting social construction.

“Lewandowski Act” antidote for a housing gap?

The act referred to as the “Lewandowski Act” was adopted at the end of July by the parliament.

– The idea is that the system includes all groups of citizens. For the weakest economically we will develop supported, social and municipal apartments. The second group are families with an income gap. That’s about 4 million families. It is the biggest challenge for the government to prepare an offer for this group. We also have people who will want to have a flat. The state must also have an offer for them. This is, for example, developing one model mortgage agreement. Its content is to be authorized by the state, and all deviations will be invalid – explained Deputy Minister Tomasz Lewandowski to Gazeta Wyborcza.

Expert: “It’s a good direction”

– Planned changes are going in the right direction. To stabilize the housing market, it is necessary to fill the so -called Luki of a housing, i.e. creating an offer for people too poor to buy an apartment, but still paradoxically having so high income that they do not qualify for the rental of municipal apartments – notes in an interview with “Wprost” legal advisor Krzysztof Granat, a managing partner at the K&L Legal Pomegranate and Partnership Chancellor.

In his opinion, the key to solving the problem of the availability of apartments is to strengthen existing support mechanisms.

– The development of TBS programs and increasing, instead of the current reduction, the municipal resource of apartments can fill this gap. In addition, instead of fighting the rental market and proposing further solutions discouraging investors from investing in apartments for rent, you can try this market paradoxically more open – says the lawyer.

Higher supply is lower prices

According to the expert, a wider offer will stabilize and reduce prices.

– The government should consider, instead of taxation at the sanction rate of real estate tax or the catastral tax of the third and subsequent apartments, rather additional taxation of those that bought on the primary market have never been finished and are not intentionally inhabited, being actually a speculative product – says MEC.