Municipal Housing Agency

The MNA, by its nature, acts as an intermediary between homeowners and households in need of standard housing. The MNA guarantees the lease agreement, gives landlords assurance of a securely rented home and assumes the risks associated with the lease. Above all, the MNA seeks to become a responsible partner interested in long-term tenancies and to offer apartment management. The MNA will also offer social support, which is a key feature in preventing housing loss, to occupied households.

The MNA's primary goal is to reduce and overcome barriers to affordable housing that will lead to a better quality of life in Bratislava in the long term.

The positive impact on the private housing sector is also critical and, through further collaboration, could lead to an expansion of the city-managed housing stock, making housing more accessible to people at risk of housing need or excluded from housing available on the commercial market.

A social innovation like MNA has operated for years in many European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, France, but also in Poland and the Czech Republic. In recent years, social rental agencies have also developed among Slovak NGOs, and Bratislava is the first city in Slovakia to launch this innovative tool.

The Municipal Housing Agency project focuses on reducing and overcoming barriers to housing affordability, i.e. it is intended for all those who face a variety of obstacles in the commercial housing market. This can include single mothers, seniors, low-income households, people in housing need, as well as people with disabilities or families living in dormitories or other forms of unstable housing.

The pilot stage of the project will focus on people in the city's accommodation facilities, especially in the Fortuna dormitory. In the main, the flats will be offered to families who, without support, could not secure housing from the commercial offer on their own, are at risk of housing need or would have to wait too long for a city flat. The selection process in the pilot stage takes into account the family's situation, their duration of stay in a city accommodation facility, health conditions, overall level of need, and the ability to pay the rent. Clients will pay a discounted rent for the flats in comparison with the usual market price.

After the pilot stage, the MNA will function as a platform for landlords who are willing to rent their apartments to at-risk residents and will act as a "buffer zone" between a landlord, who leases his or her apartment to the city, and a household in need of housing.

The MNA assumes many of the risks associated with the lease and offers landlords guarantees, primarily in the form of rent paid in all circumstances and also the assurance that the condition of the apartment will be kept in good order.

** The city, through the MNA, will also take responsibility for addressing other housing issues.**

All this will be tackled by prevention, provision of social support that helps households not only to maintain their housing but also to prevent crisis situations.