The Ministry of Housing's practice of granting state subsidies to social housing associations was the focus of the parliamentary commission on housing's discussions on Monday.
The law which determines the subsidies will be reformed. Minister for Housing, Sam Tanson, attended the session on Monday to discuss various options with the committee, as the framework will need to be amended.
The current state of affairs of the legislation provides different subsidy conventions for different actors, which have varied conditions. The Housing Fund and the SNHBM receive around 70% in subsidies for the purchase of land and construction fees whereas non-profit associations are subsidised for 75% of costs. As for private actors, they receive government subsidies for a maximum of 50% of construction costs. Rent prices are also calculated differently.
Given the fact that demand is increasing and the ministries are keen for more actors to get involved in constructing affordable housing, the minister believes there is a need for a general framework. This framework should provide parameters for rent costs and the length of the convention, and should be adapted along the lines of the investors' needs.
Tanson estimated that it should take around two years to complete the reform and reach the objective of making housing subsidies more transparent.
