The Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFLA) has received 27 project applications in two open calls, in which municipalities could apply for European Union (EU) funding for social housing construction. The planned investments from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in these projects total nearly EUR 40.5 million.
The EU fund program, developed by the Ministry of Economics, is intended to provide socially and economically vulnerable people with access to housing that meets decent living standards and to reduce waiting lists for municipal social housing rentals.
The submitted project applications plan to create or modernize a total of 1,121 social housing units.
The largest investments for the renovation or reconstruction of individual room groups in the first call’s second round are planned in the Kurzeme Planning Region:
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Kurzeme Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for five projects – EUR 3,609,181
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Riga Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for three projects – EUR 3,364,115
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Vidzeme Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for five projects – EUR 2,103,250
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Latgale Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for four projects – EUR 1,160,247
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Zemgale Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for two projects – EUR 729,500
The largest investments in the second round of the “Renovation of Social Housing or Construction of New Social Housing” program, for the construction of new residential buildings or the completion of unfinished and unoccupied new buildings, are planned in the Vidzeme and Riga Planning Regions.
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Vidzeme Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for four projects – EUR 10,182,150
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Riga Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for one project – EUR 10,000,000
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Kurzeme Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for two projects – EUR 6,294,420
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Latgale Planning Region: ERDF funding requested for one project – EUR 3,054,645
In projects aimed at the renovation or reconstruction of individual premises, the requested ERDF funding exceeds the available amount by 37%, whereas in the part of the program intended for the construction of new residential buildings and the completion of unfinished new buildings, there is a funding surplus of EUR 1.7 million.
To ensure that all submitted projects can receive support if approved, the Ministry of Economics (MoE) plans to soon submit amendments to the support rules for Cabinet approval. These amendments would allow for the reallocation of funding within the total budget of this program. This step would enable more efficient use of the available resources and ensure that all eligible projects can receive funding if they meet the evaluation criteria.
The CFLA accepted project applications from June 10 to September 10 of this year. Municipalities can plan project implementation until the end of 2029. Project selection documentation is published on the CFLA website: Round 1, Call 2; Round 2.
EU fund support for social housing is provided under the EU Cohesion Policy Program 2021–2027, specific objective 4.3.1: “Promote the socio-economic integration of socially excluded communities, low-income households, and disadvantaged groups, including persons with special needs, through integrated actions, including provision of housing and social services,” under measure 4.3.1.3: “Renovation of social housing or construction of new social housing.”
Information about projects approved in the first selection round is available here: approved projects.
Information on all project selections is available in the “Project Selection” section of the CFLA website.