The new housing policy and measures taken by the government to support property and increase the supply of housing were presented by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaking today at the annual conference of the Panhellenic Federation of Property Owners.

According to the message, “the minister stressed that today, after many years, the state is becoming more active in the housing sector with the help of the My Home program, which was established at the end of last year.”

“We believe that the housing shortage is being addressed by housing construction, not by restrictions that ultimately lead to a further aggravation of the problem. We refused to impose administrative measures, ceilings, forced deferrals and leases of past decades that prevent the market from functioning and effectively solving problems,” he stressed. He pointed out that the government does not claim that the My Home program solves the problem, but is a substantial restart with a budget of 1.775 billion euros and will be supplemented after the elections with other measures that will address the problem on a larger scale.

Introducing the My Home program, Mr. Hatzidakis said:

– In interest-free or low-interest first home loans (subsidized by DYPA for low-income young people to be made available for the purchase of existing homes up to €200,000, up to 150 sqm, and at least 15 years old. The program will be effective by early March, with an initial budget of €500 million, with the possibility of doubling if the funds are spent.

– In the Coverage program, under which young people aged 25-39 years old, recipients of the minimum guaranteed income, will be placed in private homes. This program is basically based on the hostels that participated in the Estia program to accommodate asylum seekers in city apartments, which, as you know, has been completed. Willing owners can continue to participate in the new program by continuing to collect rent from the state. Next week there will be a corresponding meeting with KEDE with the aim of launching this program in March.

– In the “Renovation – Rent” campaign, which is addressed directly to the owners of closed houses with an annual income of up to 40,000 euros and real estate up to 300,000 euros. This program aims to integrate vacant homes into the rental market by subsidizing owners to upgrade them. The property must have an area of ​​up to 100 sq.m. and is located within the city limits, and the program provides a subsidy of 40% of the cost of repairs and reconstruction up to 10,000 euros, provided that the property is rented for at least three years.

– In social compensation, whereby individuals undertake to build residential buildings in exchange for their operation for a certain period of time and a parallel obligation to rent out part of them at affordable prices.

“These measures, as he pointed out, to a certain extent solve the problem of young couples and demographics, supporting the housing market and owners in a healthy, modern and European way,” the minister said.

Mr. Hatzidakis finally recalled a number of activities that have been implemented in previous years in his areas of responsibility, such as the “Excoionamo” programs that were launched in 2009 and today are the central pillar of the European energy saving strategy, the recent recognition of legal private rights and progress in the field of forest maps and land cadastre, as well as the issuance of new commercial lease agreements that took place in 2014.