Prime Minister officially launches “Flat+” flat-building programme
Inaccessibility of flats for rent and insufficient level of income for a mortgage – this problem applies to numerous Polish families. The government has a plan to tackle the shortages in housing. The new “Flat+” development programme, announced earlier this year, has been officially launched by Prime Minister Beata Szydło and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Development Materusz Morawiecki and the Minister of Infrastructure and construction Andrzej Adamczyk.
The government’s intention is to build flats for rent for low-income families who are not able to get a mortgage. The flats created through the “Flat+” programme are to have moderate rent and the option to buy the flat on favourable terms. Beata Szydło said in a press conference that the programme is designed with average Polish families in mind.
The symbolic inauguration of the scheme is marked by signing applicable letters of intent by representatives of several Polish local governments that will participate in the programme. The trailblazers will be 17 Polish towns and cities: Biała Podlaska, Chorzów, Dębica, Gliwice, Katowice, Kobyłka, Nowa Dęba, Pelplin, Poznań, Radom, Skawin, Stalowa Wola, Starogard Gdański, Trzebinia, Tychy, Wałbrzych and Września. They will take part in the pilot stage of the flat-building programme.
The state-built is to be constructed fast and cheap. This will be possible due to use of public land. The construction lots are to come from local authorities as well as state-owned companies, such as PKP (Polish Railways). The goal is to bring the price of square metre down to 2.5 thousand PLN. Some experts raised concerns that the price is not realistic.
Apart from meeting the housing needs of a large part of Polish society, the programme is also going to stimulate the construction industry and the whole economy. Deputy Prime Minister Morawiecki also expressed hope that it will enhance the growth of Polish middle class.
Construction work is expected to begin in late 2017. The first flats are to become available for rent in 2019. Currently, the government has 67ha of land at their disposal in the pilot stage of the project.
The government hopes to bring the average number of flats per a thousand inhabitants up. Currently, the EU average is 435 flats, while for Poland the number is 363.
Apart from the flats for rent scheme, the government wants to give citizens more access to housing through savings plans and support for community housing.
