The demand for flats is growing steadily and invariably every year. The demand applies not only to large cities such as Warsaw, Wrocław, Poznań or Kraków, but also to smaller district towns. It is worth bearing in mind that purchasing a flat using only one's own funds is not the only alternative in this case. Dwellings owned by the municipality are becoming more and more popular. This is why I will offer a few tips in today's article, jak to get council housing.
In addition to this fundamental question, many people today - especially young people - are still asking themselves additional questions:
- Can I get a housing subsidy?
- what forms of assistance does the state offer?
- Am I entitled to a council flat?
- what is the process of buying a flat like?
- what to look out for when concluding a lease agreement?
These and other questions will soon be answered in detail. I invite you to read a series of articles on this very important and topical issue.
How to get your own M.?
The diagram below shows ways of obtaining your own home to enjoy your own proverbial 'four corners'.
In today's article, we will discuss the problem of municipal housing. The next article will be devoted to the issue of flats built within the framework of a Social Building Society (TBS) and the state support for obtaining one's own flat (the Mieszkanie+ programme). The last article in our series will address the issue of renting a flat and purchasing a flat from the secondary and primary market.
I already invite you to read all the entries in this series:
Communal housing
Municipal housing is municipally owned and the right to live in it is granted to persons who meet certain criteria. The requirements for obtaining this type of housing are determined by the respective municipality. It is therefore advisable to familiarise yourself with the information in this respect - relevant to the location of the housing you are applying for. To do this, check the local resolutions of the municipal council. Relevant information should be posted on the website of the municipality concerned.
First of all, it should be noted that there have been significant changes in the area of the topic of public housing in recent times. As of 21 April 2019, new regulations introduced by the Act of 22 March 2018 amending the Act on financial support for the creation of social housing, protected housing, night shelters and homes for the homeless, the Act on the protection of tenants' rights, the housing resource of the commune and amendments to the Civil Code and some other acts (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 756) are in force. However, it should be emphasised that the changes introduced apply only to new contracts, i.e. those concluded after the date of entry into force of the amendments in question.
The amended legislation grants the municipality the power to investigate the financial situation of a potential tenant.
The application procedure for obtaining council housing is as follows:
- You must first submit an application for the premises, together with the relevant attachments referred to below.
- The municipal authority assesses the applicant's financial and family situation.
- If the application is successful, entry is made on the waiting list for the allocation of housing.
- The municipality is presenting proposals for the premises it has at its disposal
- Once the housing proposal is accepted, the lease agreement is signed.
If you wish to receive a council flat, you must submit the following documents to the municipal authority:
- a declaration of the income of the members of the household for the three months preceding the submission of the declaration (as at the date of submission);
- a statement of the assets of the members of the household (as at the date of submission of the documents).
How do I get council housing? Formalities
In addition, according to the new regulations, the municipal authority will be able to request a declaration that the applicant for municipal housing does not have legal title to another premises located in the same or a nearby locality. A nearby locality is to be understood as a locality located in the county where the premises are located or in a county bordering that county.
A declaration of income, a declaration of assets and a declaration that we do not have legal title to other premises will be submitted under pain of criminal liability for making a false declaration. Submission of the above-mentioned documents is therefore a prerequisite for the municipality to consider our application for a municipal housing lease agreement. However, the municipality will refuse to enter into a municipal housing tenancy agreement in a situation where there is a gross disproportion between the low income indicated in the declaration and the assets shown in the declaration. The purpose of such a regulation is probably to eliminate the situation in which persons applying for municipal housing conceal their actual income in order to acquire rights to such housing.
Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that, as the law currently stands, the municipality has the power to demand a declaration of income from the tenant of a council dwelling. The municipality has the right to make such a demand no more often than every 2.5 years. The tenant, on the other hand, will be obliged to submit such a document within one month of receiving the request. After verifying the income, the municipality will be able to decide on a possible rent increase. The amount of the increase will be the difference between the amount of the average monthly income per person in the household and the criterion amount set by the municipality.
Rent
Undoubtedly, the advantage of council housing is its rent, which is a much lower amount than the average rent for a non-council flat. In council flats, a base amount of rent per square metre is set by local authorities. It is linked to the amount of the so-called replacement value of the premises. This is a theoretical amount that allows for one metre of usable floor area of a residential building at any given time. In various cities, the rates currently vary from a few to several zlotys per m2. The rent amount must therefore take into account the statutory criteria and is not set arbitrarily by the municipality.
How do I get council housing? Buying out your flat
Few people realise that it is possible to buy a council flat with a high discount, i.e. a rebate. However, for this to be possible, the relevant criteria must be met. If you are interested in privatising such a flat, you are welcome to use the services of our law firm. We will guide you smoothly through the process.
How do you get council housing? Municipal housing "for renovation"
A very interesting alternative for those looking for their own four corners are also so-called council flats for renovation. What is covered by this term? It is a communal flat owned by a municipality, whose condition does not allow for habitation. The municipality, on the other hand, does not have the funds for renovation and decides to hand over the flat to those who declare to carry out the renovation. Upon completion of the renovation, such a tenant can buy the premises from the municipality for an amount significantly lower than the real market value. The rules for applying for an apartment "for renovation" are set by the municipality. It is therefore worthwhile to familiarise oneself with the information and conditions for obtaining such flats in the specific city of interest. However, the basic condition for applying for a flat for renovation is that the applicant does not have a legal title or ownership right to a dwelling or other premises used to satisfy housing needs.
Social housing vs public housing
As an aside, it should be noted that council housing should not be confused with social housing. Social housing is housing granted only to persons without rights to other housing - cooperative, proprietary or communal housing. Therefore, they are flats intended for the poorest people or people who have received a court eviction order. In addition, they meet the relevant income criteria set by the municipality. These criteria are lower than for municipal housing.
The right to social housing is available:
- pregnant woman,
- a minor, a disabled person or an incapacitated person, as well as a person having custody of and cohabiting with such a person,
- bedridden,
- to pensioners who meet the requirements for social assistance benefits
- a person with unemployed status,
- to a person who meets the prerequisites established by the municipal council by resolution.
Of course, the above-mentioned persons are not entitled to social housing if they are able to live in a unit other than the one previously used.
Advantages and disadvantages of council housing
Anyone who has read the article in depth and carefully has certainly already formed an opinion regarding the attractiveness of public housing. Below, for the purposes of systematisation, we present our summary.
Pros:
- lower rent;
- possibility to buy the flat with a discount;
- certainty about the landlord.
Disadvantages:
- the discretionary nature of the granting of the right to rent;
- the need to meet the relevant criteria;
- Lack of free choice of housing offers.
I hope that, after reading this article, you have obtained the necessary information you need to make a decision on applying for council housing.
19 comments
How can tbs be confused with council housing?
No one confuses housing owned by a housing association in which the municipality participates with council housing. The above article refers to council housing and the next to TBS housing.
The article is misleading.
Cheap rent?
Certainly not in Warsaw .
I pay about £700 for 36 m2
When my friends are incurring such costs with twice as much private housing.
Flats to be renovated ?
Also probably not in Warsaw.
The daughter applied for such a flat - the municipality replied that there was no such thing.
Buying out your flat? With a high discount?
Maybe when that was the case. After the 2014 law came into force, there are no such discounts anymore.
You don't get the discount immediately with the current state of the law only after several years you are due 75%.
Some will say but that's as much as 75 %.
Please consider that these municipal housing units are of poor quality . The renovations carried out by the municipality leave much to be desired.
The lucky ones will be able to buy the flats as long as there are no claims to the building, land, etc.
Regards.
The article is not misleading. Rents in municipal housing tend to be lower due to the fact that the number of component rents of cooperative or community rents is higher. But the municipal authorities themselves set rents within the limits indicated by law. This is a power of the municipality. Housing for renovation also exists and can be purchased. The article refers to the whole of Poland and not to specific municipalities. If there is a shortage of flats for renovation in a municipality, how would they necessarily be distributed to residents? Not every flat can be bought - the municipality must be willing and able to sell it.In Warsaw, the discounts are: 80% - for people who rent the flat for at least 5 years 90% for people who rent the flat for at least 10 years.
Do you provide a service to help people get a council flat? In the maze of documents, it is often difficult for an ordinary person who works from morning to night to break through the wall of bureaucracy with the reluctance of officials
We are not in the business of arranging council housing. We don't have the capacity to do that, unfortunately. We know very well how difficult it is to obtain such housing, especially as there are many people waiting. This is why we have the idea to describe all the possibilities for obtaining housing in the following articles.
Currently, it is not possible to buy a council flat in Warsaw because the city does not sell these units.
As I mentioned in my comment above, the issues of buy-outs and also discounts depend on the specific municipality. However, it is worth keeping your hand on the pulse, as the Municipal Council can adopt a resolution on the buy-out of municipal flats at any time.
in our municipality, after the death of my mother-in-law, the flat was given to her sister who lives abroad and the husband became a homeless person we have a good mayor instead of giving to a family with children he gave to a rich single lady
It is difficult to respond to this comment in a substantive way. We do not know why this happened and what caused the flat after the mother-in-law to be given to a person who did not live with and care for her mother-in-law.
I live in Koszalin I have a 50 square metre communal flat I pay rent of 850 zl for 2 people. I have lived there for 10 years before I lived in an old building. In order to get this flat, I had to pay 10000 (10 years ago it was not so little). In this flat, all the electrics have to be changed, because I only have 3 sockets working. Of course, I wanted to do this myself after buying the flat.I went to the building society to ask about this possibility. They said that of course I can buy the flat with 30%znizka . The metre of the flat is calculated as on the free market, i.e. in Koszalin it is about 4000 per metre and it doesn't matter that the flat is to be renovated and that I have paid the debt doesn't count. So I still live in zbm and pay 300 zl more rent, who bought flats 30 years ago with a discount 90%. I would like to thank the Mayor of Koszalin for the change .
It is difficult to respond to this comment, as it is not entirely clear to us for what reason you were repaying the debt. Was it a loan or another debt and to whose benefit? Please feel free to contact us by e-mail or telephone. We may be able to help you.
I am a single mother with two children, can I apply for this type of housing? Where can I apply and how long do I have to wait for an answer? Unfortunately, I live on my income from my children, and I have over €3,000 in credit to pay for my children. What are my chances of getting social/communal housing?
It all depends on the municipality you live in. Ask your municipality, municipal department, they will certainly help you. The amount of income is different in every municipality. You should familiarise yourself with these conditions.
How does the authority verify that the asset declaration completed by the applicant is factually correct?
It is a statement. The authority may or may not verify the data in the statement, unless it doubts the truth of the assertions made in the statement. Usually, it is obliged to provide documentary evidence of the facts stated in the statement.
I am a co-owner of a flat with a mortgage, what are my chances of getting a flat from the municipality?
Each municipality regulates these matters a little differently. I suggest that you go to your municipality's housing department and ask around. In general, the condition for being granted a council flat is that you do not live in the municipality where you are applying for a flat and that you live in the municipality at the same time.