Daugavpils to more than double rent for municipal housing
The municipality of Daugavpils has decided to raise rent for its housing stock from 30 to 70 cents per square metre per month. Officials call the move unpopular but unavoidable because maintaining aging apartment buildings costs hundreds of thousands of euros every year.
The Daugavpils city council has approved a new rent rate for apartments owned by the municipality. The fee per square metre will go up from the current 30 cents to 70 cents a month, which is an increase of more than two times. The local government admits the decision is unpopular, but says there is no alternative because keeping the ageing housing stock in good condition costs the city hundreds of thousands of euros each year.
The change will heavily affect tenants’ payments. For example, a 50-square-metre apartment that used to cost 15 euros per month will now require 35 euros. That means many households will see a sharp rise in their housing costs. However, the municipality cannot yet say how much extra revenue the higher tariff will bring to the city budget.
Daugavpils’ municipal housing is technically outdated and needs growing investment. The council explains the increase by the need to cover maintenance expenses that were not fully met by the old rent level. Although the new rate applies to all tenants of municipal apartments, the city has not yet assessed its full impact. For now it is clear that many residents will face housing costs more than twice as high as before.
