The Together Coalition wants to set conditions for the construction of 40,000 apartments per year.

Prague – The Spolu coalition, which brings together ODS, TOP 09, and KDU-ČSL, wants to establish conditions for the construction of at least 40,000 apartments per year. It aims to improve, for example, the possibilities for construction on brownfields, reduce VAT for the reconstruction or construction of standard apartments from 15% to 10%, and provide advantages for mortgages for purchasing first homes, including state loans. Representatives of the individual parties informed about this at a press conference today.

According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, more than 40,000 apartments, including extensions, infill constructions, and guesthouses, were completed in the Czech Republic only in the pre-crisis year 2007, totaling 41,649. Last year, there were 34,412, with an average of 30,153 over the last 23 years. Experts believe that the insufficient supply of apartments is one of the reasons for the high price increase in housing in recent years. They also mention rising land prices, construction costs, and materials, high tax burdens, or unnecessarily strict technical regulations as additional reasons for the increased prices.

According to data from development companies, the selling prices of new apartments in Prague have risen by 113% over the past six years to 118,480 Czech korunas per square meter. A 3+kk apartment with an area of 70 square meters thus costs 8.3 million korunas.

"What is happening in the housing market recently is a big tragedy. Some parties are also proposing completely nonsensical solutions, such as fines for unoccupied apartments, taxing apartments, or even scrutinizing whether you are living in an apartment that is too large. We will not support any of these absurd ideas," said ODS Vice-chairman Martin Kupka.

According to him, the Spolu coalition wants to emphasize rental housing but does not want to neglect ownership or cooperative housing. A high share of ownership housing compared to most Western countries is not considered a problem.

"We know that inaccessible housing after eight years of Andrej Babiš's (ANO) government has brought many young families into really serious problems. They are concerned about where they will live. We have a remedy for this. We will adjust the conditions so that 40,000 new apartments can be built each year. We will not allow the creation of a new state housing enterprise, as proposed by Andrej Babiš. Many of us can recall how poorly the state OPBH functioned. We will also not allow plans for prefabricated housing units," added TOP 09 Vice-chairman Lukáš Otys.

According to Kupka, green spaces are currently unnecessarily being halted, and brownfields are not being utilized, where residential construction could be intensified. "To this end, speeding up changes to the zoning plan would help, ideally within six months. Furthermore, we want to ensure easy transfer of property to municipalities and cities under the condition of building apartments or offer high-quality project models for apartment buildings to municipalities and cities. The state will commission these through architectural competitions," Kupka further stated.

The Spolu coalition also proposes, for example, shortening the depreciation period for rental housing construction, fundamentally simplifying state support for the construction of municipal and city apartments, or easier conditions for cooperation between local authorities and private companies in the construction of rental apartments.

"In any case, we want to amend the building law immediately after the elections. In its current form, it does not accelerate construction; it only increases bureaucracy. Moreover, there is a risk that there will be no one to approve the constructions. The digitization of building procedures is absolutely essential. We also want to introduce a transparent price map for usual rents and stable conditions for investors and families," added Kupka. The new building law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in July. Its effectiveness is set to gradually come into effect by mid-2023.

According to leader of the Prague candidate list for KDU-ČSL Tom Philipp, it is also important to reduce VAT on reconstructions and the construction of standard apartments or to provide preferential mortgages for purchasing first homes. "The deposit for first housing should not be 20% as it is now, but lower, ideally 10%. The state should also enable these families to take out a loan roughly equal to ten percent of the mortgage," added Philipp.