With the help of the Housing Fund, at least 4,000 dwellings are planned to be built by 2035

With the help of the new Housing Fund, it is planned to solve the problems of rental apartments in the regions, the Ministry’s representative Ilze Oša said in the online discussion “Availability of housing – the key to attracting labor in the regions” organized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM). The planned amount of the housing fund is currently 100 million euros, it is planned as a support tool for local governments, so that they can attract labor to fulfill the functions defined by law. As Osha explained, first of all, this foundation’s housing is intended for educators, doctors and other specialists, and secondly, as a housing fund, with the help of which the municipality will be able to attract entrepreneurs, providing rental apartments for company employees. The fund will be available to every municipality, and it is planned to build at least 4,000 dwellings by 2035. The 100 million euros allocated to the fund is money from auctions of emission quotas, explained the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Artūrs Toms Pleš (AP). For the further operation of the fund, funds will be attracted from other sources outside the state budget. The country is evaluating borrowing opportunities from the European Investment Bank. According to Pleš, it is planned to build modern and energy-efficient apartments. It will be thought about using the domestic wood industry to produce products with high added value, such as modular houses, right here in Latvia. Representatives of Valmiera, Liepāja, Jelgava and Jēkabpils municipalities took part in the discussion, who agreed on the necessity and usefulness of the Housing Fund. In each region, people who would need such housing are from different population groups, but the problem is obvious and needs to be solved.

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