A new regulation on renting municipal apartments has been drafted in Riga, which provides that from May next year the municipality will start charging rent to tenants – something that has not been done until now.
As the LETA was informed by the Riga City Council’s press office, the local government has prepared new binding regulations that will govern the renting of municipal apartments.
According to the explanatory note to the draft regulations, the average rent – depending on the apartment’s universal cadastral value and its area – is expected to range between EUR 15 and EUR 85 per month.
The municipality notes that until now no rent has been charged for the use of municipally owned apartments. Elina Treija (National Alliance), Chair of the Riga City Council’s Housing and Environment Committee, explained that this situation evolved historically: rent simply had not been collected, and councilors had lacked “the courage to resolve it”.
By not collecting rent, the municipality has had no funds to renovate its apartments, which have therefore been gradually deteriorating, Treija said. “This has been a major financial burden for the municipality, and often an unjustified one,” she added.
She also explained that while some tenants were initially granted low-income status and exempted from rent, this status was not reassessed when leases were renewed. Unlike other municipalities, Riga has not evicted tenants who later lost their low-income status – and will not do so in the future.
The draft regulation stipulates that social housing tenants will not be charged rent and will receive a 50 percent discount on heating bills. Under the planned rent system, social housing tenants will pay only a management fee, meaning no additional financial burden for them.
For other municipally owned apartments, rent equal to 2.5 percent of the property’s universal cadastral value per year will be charged starting in May 2026.
The municipality owns 6,300 apartments rented out under the housing support scheme, as well as 3,500 apartments whose tenants have been eligible to purchase them because they were not historically rented out as support housing.
Low-income tenants renting an apartment under the support scheme will receive a 30 percent rent reduction, while families with minor children, a child with disabilities, or a person with a disability since childhood will receive a 50 percent reduction. Treija emphasized that the maximum reductions will apply specifically to families with minor children.
Treija acknowledged that some tenants may find the new rent too high, but they will be able to apply to the Welfare Department for housing benefits.
However, since the municipality has not reassessed how many tenants currently qualify for low-income status, it is difficult to estimate how many might need such support.
It is assumed that a maximum of 10 to 15 percent of municipal housing tenants could apply for support. The municipality will therefore allocate funds to cover this assistance.
The new binding regulations are scheduled to enter into force in May 2026, after the end of the heating season.
Rental income will be earmarked for investments in the maintenance of the municipality’s housing stock, including payments related to future repair works on municipal apartments, as well as for a new support instrument aimed at improving housing affordability for families with children.
The draft regulations have been submitted for public consultation, and residents may submit their comments until December 8.
Source: BNS
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