Η Social Housing Strategy announced by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, from the TIF, will be presented in detail at 10:30 at the General Secretariat for Communication and Information.
The presentation will be made by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skreka, the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Niki Kerameos, the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos and the Governor of the Public Employment Service (PES), Spyros Protopsaltis.
The presentation will be moderated by the State Secretary to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesman, Yannis Oikonomou.
It is recalled that the Prime Minister announced a six-point plan for the major problem of housing, especially for young people, which is being implemented immediately. The €1.8 billion programme will target more than 100,000 beneficiaries with a series of initiatives to help them acquire or rent a cheaper home.
Specifically:
-Starting immediately the construction of 8,150 seats in five modern student residences at the Universities of Crete, Thessaly, Western Macedonia, Thrace and Western Attica. The sites have already been identified and the projects will be carried out through PPPs.
-Inauguration of a special loan programme EUR 500 million in principle, co-financed with EUR 375 million from the State and EUR 125 million from the banks. The aim is to ensure a near-zero interest rate for the purchase of first homes by citizens up to 39 years old, in areas with older buildings. In practice, a couple, with a minimum contribution, will buy a house worth 100,000 euros with monthly instalments of 275 euros.
-To increase home ownership and renovate older homes, a targeted «Save and Renovate» scheme is being set up for 20,000 young people. Each beneficiary will receive up to €20,000 for energy improvements to their property, together with an additional €3,000 grant and a low-interest loan of up to €7,000. At the same time, as an incentive, at least 10,000 owners of closed properties will be given a state subsidy of up to €10,000 to renovate them. But with the obligation to rent them out on long-term leases. The State thus covers up to 40% of the renovation costs of each closed apartment.
-Allowed for public land and buildings is the «social consideration». The state will offer its idle assets to private developers and they will build modern housing at their own expense. Half of them will be rented at low rent to new tenants, while the remaining space will be commercially exploited by private developers.
-In addition, in order to increase the available properties for Greeks, the investment limit for the Golden VISA license is increased from 250,000 euros to 500,000 euros.
-From December the «Hestia 2» programme starts. Under this programme, the State will lease 1,000 private properties in the first phase. It will then make them available on an express basis and at very low rents to vulnerable households.
Finally, it is noted that the Prime Minister also spoke about the growth rate this year, stating that the GDP growth will be above 5% (the budget forecasts a growth of 3.1%), after the rise of about 7.8% in the first half of the year.
