Raz: Registration of Applicants for Rental Apartments to Be Launched Soon

Bratislava, January 6 (TASR) - Those interested in state-supported rental apartments could be able to register themselves on the list of applicants soon, as the Agency for State-supported Rental Housing (ASPNB), falling under the Transport Ministry, plans to launch a registration system in a short time, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) has told TASR. Raz said that the Transport Ministry recently signed appendices to contracts with investors, who are supposed to provide 1,000 rental apartments at the first stage. "The state has signed appendices with them in which they've undertaken to provide 500 apartments each. However, this does not necessarily mean that they will build them; they can also, for example, buy a finished developer project and include it in this system. The location comes fully within the powers of investors," said the minister. The minister specified that the basic condition for registration will be a net income not exceeding eight times the subsistence minimum, i.e. some €2,200 per month. Applicants will be disqualified if they are undergoing distraint proceedings or if they owe taxes, social or health-insurance levies to the state. Two investors have shown interest in providing rental housing so far. Each of them should bring 500 apartments to the project. These are standard rental apartments that will be offered on the Slovak market under favourable terms. The state plans to reserve some 40 percent of rental apartments for its own needs; for example, as accommodation for nurses, doctors and teachers. ko/df