On November 7, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis visited Jelgava for a working visit, where he participated in the ceremonial opening of low-rent housing and met with representatives of the company “Bite Latvia” at their Jelgava office.
At the start of the visit, V. Valainis attended the ceremonial opening of the first low-rent residential building in Jelgava, located at 54 Ganību Street. Currently, a project is underway to construct two identical buildings, which will together house 116 apartments – 18 one-room, 68 two-room, and 30 three-room units. One residential building has been completed and will soon be rented out (58 apartments), while the construction of the entire project, including the second building, is planned to be completed by June 30, 2026.
“It is truly gratifying to see the results of this program and that the project is being implemented right here in Jelgava – a city facing a significant shortage of new housing. Initiatives like this are especially important in regions where insufficient housing limits city development, population attraction, and local economic growth. Currently, interest in the program is very high: nine loan agreements have been signed for the construction of 536 apartments, one project has been approved, and nine more projects involving 734 apartments are under review,” emphasized Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis.
To address housing affordability issues by providing long-term loans and capital discounts to property developers, the Ministry of Economics has developed and, since November 2022, has been implementing a low-rent housing support program. Its goal is to promote the construction of affordable rental housing for households with insufficient income. Initially, the program’s funding was set at EUR 42.9 million, but after refining the program conditions and responding to growing developer activity and funding demand, it was increased to EUR 84.4 million.
The project developer is SIA “Jelgavas Īres Nami,” while construction works are carried out by SIA “Ropex Building and Construction.”
The total cost of the Jelgava multi-apartment project is EUR 13.13 million, of which EUR 10.31 million will be provided from the Recovery Fund, EUR 0.54 million is the developer’s contribution, and EUR 2.28 million is a loan to finance VAT payments.
Within the framework of the rental housing program, a Housing Accessibility Fund has been established – a self-financing fund in which the repayment of loan principals and part of the rental income (50% of rental revenue) are returned. Once sufficient funds have been accumulated, additional projects can be supported.
At the end of the visit, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis met with representatives of “Bite Latvia” at their Jelgava office to discuss planned investments and challenges the company faces in the region. They also discussed overhead line regulations, which include solutions for reorganizing overhead utilities in Riga, as well as the implementation of the credit directive in Latvia.
