1000 PLN per month for an apartment. Krakow starts renovating empty buildings

Krakow is returning to the idea of ​​reclaiming vacant properties for residents. It will make such premises available for renovation. In return, it offers cheap rent. The fee for a 40-meter apartment is to be around PLN 1,000. Who will be able to count on such a solution?

Krakow is a city where apartment prices have been rising by as much as 25 percent annually in recent years. Renting is also becoming increasingly expensive. However, the local government is trying to reverse this trend. The "Mieszkanie za remont" (Apartment for renovation) program, based on the "recovery" of vacant properties, is supposed to help.

Over the past five years, the city has renovated over 1,700 apartments, which is about 11 percent of the municipal stock. This year, PLN 17.6 million has been earmarked for further modernizations, with EU funds covering over 1/3 of that amount.

Officials are offering to rent premises for an indefinite period of time in exchange for renovations within 12 months. This option is available to people who:

• they do not own real estate,
• they are also not co-owners of an apartment in Krakow or in the nearby counties: Krakow, Wieliczka or Proszowice.
• The income of household members is also taken into account when qualifying for the program.

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The most needy residents will be able to move into the renovated vacant properties. However, they must meet several basic criteria. These include, among others, having a job and an income not exceeding PLN 4,666 net . Additionally, the lessor cannot be a tenant of an apartment on the free market at the time of signing the agreement.

- We want to reach people with this program who cannot afford to rent on the market or to take out a loan - emphasized Maria Klaman, deputy mayor of Krakow.

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What will be the compensation for the renovation costs incurred? The tenant of a nearly 40-meter apartment will be able to count on a rent of just over PLN 1,000 - informs Agnieszka Molęda, a reporter for "Wydarzenia".

Priority will be given to

• disabled people,
• single mothers
• young people with low incomes.

- I would be interested, but the renovated vacant buildings are a drop in the ocean of needs. Housing policy in Poland is completely inadequate - said Filip, one of the young residents of Krakow.

There is a shortage of about two million apartments in Poland. Almost half of Poles aged 18 to 34 live with their parents because they cannot afford to buy or rent.

Other cities have already taken a similar step to Kraków. This has been a common method of operation in Poznań for years. When the program started, there were 700 ruined empty apartments, now there are less than 400.

Video: 1000 PLN per month for an apartment. Krakow starts renovating empty buildings

The "Renovate and Move In" program has just started in Rybnik. Although it is still early days, there is no shortage of people willing to participate.

- For the first six months, the contract concluded for renovation is based on the fact that the tenant does not pay rent, only pays utilities - explained the rules that apply to tenants, Joanna Fojcik, director of the Housing Management Plant in Rybnik.

Krakow officials want to provide tenants with vocational training in the apartment package, similar to that provided by the city's labor office. This may prove useful, because the unemployment rate is still rising.

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- Our career advisors help you navigate the labor market and instruct you on how to look for a job - said Magdalena Żuchowicz from the Municipal Labor Office in Krakow.

Krakow's empty buildings are to be renovated from June. The city estimates that more than 70 people will live there.