Liberec wants to build 300 new rental apartments, it has too few of them

Liberec – The hundred thousand strong Liberec aims to build approximately 300 new rental apartments in the coming years, and is also investing millions in the renovation of neglected apartment buildings. However, it is still not enough. At the beginning of the 90s, the city received around 18,000 housing units from state-owned housing, but through gradual privatization, the number of municipal apartments has decreased to the current approximately 1200 apartments. This is lamentably few for a city of a hundred thousand; at least double is needed, said Ivan Langr (mayor's deputy for the Starostové pro Liberecký kraj) to ČTK.

Almost half of the apartments available in Liberec belong to the category of special purpose housing, which includes apartments in care homes or barrier-free apartments. "So our active housing policy is minimal, all the apartments are occupied and only become available when a tenant moves out or dies," added the mayor's deputy. Consequently, the city practically has no way to offer housing for professions it would like to attract, such as doctors or police officers.

According to Langr, it would be optimal for the city to own about 2000 to 3000 apartments, but at least some of them should be vacant. "Because only with vacant apartments can an active housing policy be pursued; otherwise, it's just waiting for an apartment to become available," he added. In recent years, the city hall has been gaining new apartments through the renovation of neglected buildings. This year, it completed 22 apartments in buildings on Orlí and Proboštská streets, with renovations costing 58 million crowns. Another nine apartments will be in a building on Dr. Milady Horákové Avenue, with renovations currently underway costing more than 17 million crowns.

The city hall is also preparing new construction. On Wednesday, it will begin building three houses with 49 social apartments on the site of the former primary school on Na Žižkově Street in the Rochlice district of Liberec. For the project, which will cost 140 million crowns including VAT, the city is applying for subsidies from European funds. According to city hall spokesperson Jana Kodymová, the first of the houses should be completed next year, and the entire project is expected to be finished in the summer of 2023. The new construction was preceded by the demolition of the old school. The city plans to build more apartments in the area of Papírového náměstí in the coming years.

Liberec has long been plagued by a housing shortage, with demand significantly exceeding supply, but the situation has been improving in recent years. "In recent years, apartments in Liberec increased only by dozens, at most up to a hundred per year, but now comes a moment when we will have an approved zoning plan. Just in Liberec, the construction of 2500 apartments is being prepared, so statistics should finally improve," said Mayor Jaroslav Zámečník (Starostové pro Liberecký kraj). According to him, only about 5000 new apartments have been added to the city in the last 20 years, bringing the total to approximately 35,000, but around 4500 apartments remain unoccupied for various reasons, as the mayor stated.