The housing fund will change its name and expand its activities

Prague - The current State Housing Development Fund (SFRB) will be renamed the State Investment Support Fund and will expand its scope to include, for example, sustainable development of municipalities, cities, and regions as well as tourism. The Chamber of Deputies today overruled the Senate's veto of the government amendment that anticipates this. Senators were mainly concerned that the main purpose of the fund, which is to support housing, would be diluted. The bill will now be forwarded for the president's signature.

The current main task of the SFRB is to support private and municipal investments in the construction, repair, and modernization of apartments. The amendment will newly focus the fund on regional development, spatial planning, tourism, and building regulations. In the future, according to the Ministry for Regional Development, it should also serve as an alternative to European funds.

Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (ANO) repeatedly emphasized that support for housing will not be limited. On the contrary, she stated that support for cooperative housing will be newly added.

According to the amendment, the investment fund will gain access to basic state registers. This should reduce the administrative burden on applicants for support. More accurate records should prevent them from repeatedly receiving state support for the same activity. The fund's ability to recover debts should also improve, for example, in cases where the debtor changes their name.

The proposal only modifies the framework for providing support. The conditions of specific programs will still be determined by the Cabinet on a case-by-case basis in the form of government regulations.

The renaming of the fund and the associated expenses will cost approximately 880,000 crowns, according to the ministry. The costs include, for example, the exchange of forms, stamps, payment orders, or adjustments to the website.

The housing fund is expected to have expenses of 3.02 billion crowns this year. For last year, the fund initially had approved expenses of 2.73 billion crowns, but during the year they increased to 3.48 billion crowns.