City to support the creation of dozens of new apartments
The City of Ostrava has launched a new subsidy programme to help tackle the local housing shortage. The programme supports the creation of new apartments in residential or non-residential buildings that have been vacant for a long time, which will help increase the range of rental accommodation on the market (including affordable housing options).
Illustrative photograph. Author: Ostrava City Authority
Six applications for the funding have been approved, and together they are set to receive a total sum of 8.1 million CZK. Dozens of new apartments will be created thanks to the City’s subsidies.
Deputy Mayor Hana Tichánková gave more details: “This brand-new subsidy programme will help applicants to renovate unused residential and non-residential buildings and make them available for rental. The funding (8.1 million CZK) will help create 32 new or renovated apartments which would otherwise not have been usable. The subsidy programme also motivates landlords to carry out necessary reconstruction, as it helps fund this work.”
The City is part-funding the renovation of 18 apartments on Nádražní Street in Ostrava’s city centre. They are in a building that has been undergoing reconstruction in recent years, and the municipal funding will enable the final work to be completed – plastering, fitting door frames and central heating systems, wall tiles in bathrooms, and floors. The City is providing 3 million CZK for this work, and the applicants are contributing an additional 4 million CZK.
Two new apartments will be created in a previously vacant non-residential building on Bohumínská Street. The applicant will carry out necessary construction work, electrical wiring and similar jobs, and will contribute over 1 million CZK, while the City will provide a subsidy of more than 500 000 CZK. New apartments will also be created on 28. října Street in the Moravská Ostrava urban heritage zone, where a previously vacant building will be converted to contain eight 3-room apartments. The owner and the City will each contribute more than 2 million CZK.
A City subsidy will also help transform a former office building in Hlávková Street into a complex of four apartments. The City will contribute over 900 000 CZK, with the owner providing the remaining funds. The project includes construction work, repairs to the floors, rewiring and other jobs. At Halasova Street in Vitkovice, eight apartments will be renovated in a building that has stood vacant for over 10 years. The City will contribute more than 1.4 million CZK, and the owner will cover the remaining 4.5 million CZK.
Interested parties were able to submit applications during March 2023, and the City authorities then assessed the proposed projects. Under the conditions of the new programme, the City’s subsidy has been set at 5 000 CZK per square metre of apartment space up to a maximum 350 000 CZK per apartment, and the total subsidy funding may not exceed 50% of the total eligible project costs; the remaining costs are covered by the applicant. The subsidies are released in two instalments – one half when the contract has been concluded, and the other half after the completion of the project.
The project must be completed within two years of the subsidy funding contract becoming effective. For a seven-year period, each apartment must be offered as rental accommodation, and 25% of the apartments must fall into the category of affordable housing – defined as residential units for which the rent per 1 m² does not exceed 70% of the average level of rent. The rent may be increased once a year on the basis of an inflation clause.