The Czech Republic has the second-lowest affordable housing in Europe, but a new project is now hoping to solve this issue with affordable cooperative housing (DDB).
Middle-income groups will soon benefit from up to a third of cheaper flats from the first Prague project of this type which will initially be built in Radlická Street in Prague 5.
The city is also already negotiating construction in other parts of the city.
“Cooperative housing is the fastest way to provide more affordable housing for Praguers – not only for young families or the elderly but also for representatives of professions key to the city’s operation and development, such as teachers, paramedics, firefighters or police officers,” said the Legislative Councilor and housing support Hana Kordová Marvanová, who has long been striving for affordable housing for the inhabitants of Prague.
The main advantage of the project is that the city will provide land for the construction of apartment buildings.
Thanks to this, the builder’s margin savings compared to the involvement of a commercial developer will save the people of Prague up to a third of the cost of purchasing housing.
The procedure for specific DDB residential projects consists first in selecting suitable land by the city and recruiting those interested in joining the cooperative.
Citizens must meet several conditions, including not having their own housing. Each member will then have to pay 25 percent of the cost of building the allocated apartment in advance and pay the rest of the share in the form of monthly rent.
In the future, the cooperative can buy the house, including the land, and the cooperatives can take ownership of the flats.
The advantage for those interested is that the construction loan is taken out by the cooperative and the cooperatives do not have to prove their income and do not become debtors.
Thanks to the involvement of the city, the cooperative will also receive more favourable interest in construction.
