Minister: More than 1,300 people apply for affordable rentals

Hina - A total of 1,315 applications have been submitted for Croatia’s affordable rental programme by citizens seeking subsidised housing. The first tenants are expected to move in by the end of the summer, Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister Branko Bačić said on Wednesday.

More than half of the applications, 56%, list Zagreb as the first choice for housing. A total of 745 applications were submitted for the capital, followed by Split with 173 applications, Rijeka with 77, Osijek and Sisak with 47 each, Zadar with 22, Pula with 19, and Dubrovnik with 15 applications, Bačić said at a press conference.

Singles submit highest number of applications

The data show that the average age of applicants is 38.5 years, and as many as 61.9% of applicants are between 20 and 40 years old. The youngest applicant is 19, while the oldest is 83 years old. The largest number of applications came from single-person households - 523, or nearly 40% of all submissions.

A priority list will be formed from the submitted applications, with the main criteria including income, age, number of household members, number and age of children, and disability status.

“Our goal was to place vacant apartments on the long-term rental market through measures and subsidies from the state budget, and by increasing the supply of such housing, try to halt the further rise in real estate prices. According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, there are around 600,000 vacant residential units in Croatia, and our aim is to activate part of those apartments and include them in the long-term rental system,” said Bačić.

Tenants will have access to 435 properties out of a total of 960 whose owners previously decided to join the affordable rental programme.

Under the programme rules, affordable rent may not exceed 30% of a household’s monthly income after utility costs are deducted, while the difference up to the market price - adjusted annually according to market trends - will be covered by the state.

In addition to the 435 privately owned properties, part of the state-owned housing stock will also be included in the affordable rental programme.

As Minister Bačić revealed, the state-owned Državne Nekretnine company, which manages state-owned property, is currently renovating 329 such apartments, though they will mostly be occupied by protected tenants.

“We first had to resolve the issue of protected tenants, namely situations where some of our fellow citizens lived in apartments confiscated after World War II. In accordance with a ruling by the European Court, we had to return those apartments to their owners and provide protected tenants with new housing. That is why we initiated this process,” Bačić said.

He added that the state currently also has 157 housing units being used by earthquake victims, which will become available and be included in the long-term affordable rental system once temporary accommodation is no longer needed.

Changes to housing assistance in underdeveloped areas

The minister also presented new legislation on housing assistance in underdeveloped areas. The new rules introduce additional aid models, expand the rights of certain groups of citizens, and change the rules for renting and purchasing state-owned apartments.

Among the changes are the sale of uninhabitable state-owned apartments and the donation of construction materials for repairing apartments and attic roofs in subdivided residential buildings. Additional points have also been granted to persons with disabilities, while single parents who are caregivers, as well as members of the armed forces, the police, judicial police, and professional firefighters, will receive extra points as well.

The new rules also standardise rent for all beneficiaries of housing assistance in underdeveloped areas at €0.36 per square metre, while victims of domestic violence will be exempt from paying rent.

The rules for purchasing state-owned properties are also changing, so the right to buy can only be exercised after at least five years of residence, while the ban on selling the purchased property is extended from three to five years.

A new regulation on assistance to Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also presented, setting rules for the donation of construction materials for the renovation or construction of houses for returnees and Croats planning to return to their pre-war places of residence.

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