Another step towards increasing the availability of housing in the capital

The capital city currently manages 978 rental flats. An additional 1,000 are managed by the city districts; however, this is still too few to say that the housing problem in Bratislava has been solved. In just under a year, Bratislava City Hall has received more than 1,000 applications for a rental flat. Currently, about 300 applicants are on the waiting list for rental flats and about 400 people are waiting for a replacement rental flat. These numbers clearly show that Bratislava needs more rental flats.

Therefore, the capital city has launched several measures to support housing, which include the reconstruction of neglected city flats, the construction of rental flats themselves or the founding of a city rental agency that can help people find affordable and stable housing. At the same time, Bratislava was the only city in Slovakia to transparently agree with developers that in return for changing the zoning plan in favour of increasing the density and intensity of construction in a given area, they would transfer ownership of five percent of the flats that they would build as a result. Thus, hundreds of flats are already on the way.

In April of this year, the capital city completed the construction of a residential building with 103 rental and replacement flats located on Muchovo námestie in Bratislava’s Petržalka district. The building is already lived in by the first families, and other tenants are moving in. The second stage of the project with a second such building means about 50 more rental flats will be added to this location.

Lenka Antalová Plavuchová, the deputy mayor of the capital city said:

“The residential building on Muchovo námestie is an exceptionally important milestone for the development of rental housing, and with this project, Bratislava has initiated a new era of systematic construction of rental housing after years of trampling on the site and not solving the issue of affordable housing."

The construction of another such residential building on Terchovská ulica in Bratislava’s Ružinov district and on Žitavská ulica in Bratislava's Vrakuňa district is also being prepared.

The steps to which the signatories of the Memorandum of Cooperation in Supporting the Construction of Rental Housing made commitments could now also help improve the accessibility of housing, which is one of the most important factors in the success and development of any city. The aim of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed by the Agency for State-Supported Rental Housing, its investment partners (KOOPERATIVA poisťovňa, a.s. Vienna Insurance Group, WBG Wohnen und Bauen Gesellschaft mbH Wien and Slovak Affordable Living SICAV) and representatives of the capital city is to increase the share of affordable housing in the rental market through mutual cooperation, focusing especially on the important and thus far not covered category between social and commercial rental housing. Focusing on this category could significantly help improve the accessibility of housing for city residents who do not meet the criteria for the provision of a city rental flat and whose salary is also not sufficient to pay commercial rent. This group includes, for example, employees who provide public services in Bratislava, be it employees of the Social Security Service, the City Police, health workers or teachers.

Eva Lisová, Director General of the State-Supported Rental Housing Agency, on the occasion of signing the memorandum, said:

“I greatly appreciate the mutual, regular, highly effective communication and cooperation with the municipality of the capital of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava. It is here in the capital city that the greatest interest in state-supported rental housing prevails; therefore, it is very important to combine forces in finding solutions to make housing in Bratislava and throughout Slovakia more accessible."

The move in this area is also welcomed by the KOOPERATIVA insurance company, which has long been one of the largest investors in the construction of rental flats in Slovakia and was the first private partner to join the state-supported rental housing system. It took part this year in the first project in Bratislava’s Trnávka area and plans to continue financing construction with this intention in other cities in Slovakia.

Vladimír Bakeš, Chairman of the Board and CEO of KOOPERATIVA Insurance Company, at the signing of the memorandum, said:

“We are pleased that we can join the initiative, which brings a new impetus to increasing the availability of rental flats. We welcome the forming of a new strategic partnership in Bratislava, thanks to which we can together bring a solution to a long-term problem for many residents of the capital."

The role of the capital city in this cooperation is to identify suitable locations for the implementation of rental housing projects and to provide assistance in land-use planning processes and permitting procedures. In line with the memorandum, the investment partners of the Agency for State-Supported Rental Housing are responsible for securing the financing and ensuring implementation of rental housing projects. Finally, the contribution of the Agency for State-Supported Rental Housing is to create conditions, tools and control mechanisms for the development of state-supported rental housing in line with the Act on State Support for Rental Housing.

The Memorandum is also an open document to which other entities and institutions interested in the development of state-supported rental housing can also accede.

The full text of the Memorandum of Cooperation in relation to the development and support of construction projects by the state is available at CRZ - crz.gov.sk ↗︎.