The Central Financial and Contracts Agency (CFCA) has received 32 project applications in the open call for proposals, where municipalities could apply for funding from the European Union (EU) for social housing. The available European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding for this selection round is €32.86 million, which would be sufficient to implement all the projects if approved.
The Riga planning region is expected to invest the most in the EU funds programme developed by the Ministry of Economy to ensure access to decent housing for socially and economically vulnerable persons and to reduce the queues in municipalities for renting such housing:
- In the Riga planning region, the requested ERDF funding for four projects amounts to EUR 11 348 500;
- In the Vidzeme planning region, ERDF funding requested for eight projects - EUR 2 909 125;
- ERDF funding requested in Latgale planning region for six projects - EUR 2 366 361;
- In the Kurzeme planning region, ERDF funding requested for eight projects - €5 159 880;
- In the Zemgale planning region, the ERDF funding requested for six projects is €3 702 392.
As previously reported, the first round of project selection will be open to projects renovating or reconstructing individual groups of premises or buildings owned and not rented by a municipality, an institution established by it or a municipal capital company. The projects are expected to result in the provision of upgraded social housing for 1 360 people by the end of 2029. EU funds will be invested in construction works and associated landscaping, as well as in equipping kitchens and sanitary facilities with functionally necessary equipment and appliances.
The maximum ERDF funding available for the renovation of groups of rooms is €650,000, compared to €2.5 million in Riga, while the maximum ERDF funding available for the renovation of social buildings is €2 million, compared to €7.65 million in Riga. The minimum investment limit is €200 thousand. The available ERDF funding for this round of project selection for the creation of social housing groups is €15,034,603, of which €8,641,401 is currently requested for project implementation, while €16,844,856 is requested for building renovation out of the €17,826,744 available. The available ERDF funding is sufficient to approve all the projects, provided they meet the conditions of the EU funds programme.
The CFLA accepted project applications from 1 December 2023 to 4 March 2024, and plans to assess them by 4 June this year, while municipalities can plan to implement projects until the end of 2029. The project selection dossier is published at cfla.gov.lv.
The EU funds support for social housing is foreseen under the EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 under the Specific Support Objective 4.3.1 "Promote the socio-economic integration of socially excluded communities, low-income households and disadvantaged groups, including people with special needs, through integrated actions, including housing and social services", Measure 4.3.1.3 "Rehabilitation of social housing or construction of new social housing". The construction of new social housing will be eligible for support under the second round of the EU Funds programme.
Information on all project selections is available on the CFLA website under "Project selections".
Information prepared by:
Ieva Luste
Public Relations Officer of the Central Finance and Contracting Agency
Phone. 26019685, ieva.luste@cfla.gov.lv; www.cfla.gov.lv