It is necessary to introduce a cadastral tax on the third apartment owned, with exclusions depending on the number of children for owners – says the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
“We need a cadastre for the third apartment. (…) There is an understanding that this affects less than 1 percent of Polish citizens. It is not like this will hit everyone in the pocket,” the minister said.
“Why is this cadastre needed? Not because the state budget will suddenly benefit greatly from it – it discourages people from investing in apartments , and if so, people look for another investment object. Capital is released for the development of Poland, for start-ups, for innovations, for areas where we need this capital very much, and it is sitting in concrete. This capital must be withdrawn from concrete and invested in development,” she added.
In the minister's opinion, if the owner of the flats has at least two children and declares that their flats will be intended for their offspring, then these properties should be exempt from cadastral tax , i.e. one flat per child. According to Pełczyńska, other properties, not intended for offspring, should be covered by the cadastre.
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According to Pełczyńska, it is not a good idea to introduce REITs for residential real estate in Poland, because according to research, it leads to an increase in housing prices and rent.
The lack of subsidies for housing loans, investments in social housing and cadastral tax on the third apartment are the most important elements that should create the state's housing policy – assessed on Wednesday the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
According to the head of the Ministry of Funds, for many years Polish housing policy has been focused on the profitability of building and investing in apartments. This should be changed, and the most important goal should be to increase accessibility.
“Apartment prices are rising faster than wages, which is causing their availability to deteriorate. Two years ago, a 50-meter apartment in Warsaw cost 84 average salaries, and now it's 92,” Pełczyńska-Nałęcz noted during the conference “Own or rented apartment? Housing policy in the era of climate and social change,” held at the Warsaw School of Economics.
The Minister listed the key elements of such a policy, in her opinion, aimed at increasing the availability of housing. First of all, as she pointed out, one should not pay extra for housing loans, because this stimulates the increase in housing prices.
“Research in Poland and around the world clearly indicates this. We have tested this in the +Safe Credit 2%+ program, when on average in the whole of Poland the prices of apartments increased by 13%, and in Warsaw and Krakow – over 20%. The program was used by a small group of people, not the least affluent, who bought apartments cheaper, and for everyone else they were more expensive in the end” – the head of the Ministry of Funds.
According to the ministry , social housing should be built first and foremost , especially in small and medium-sized towns, which will help keep young people there. She added that the premises in the social housing stock would be intended for those who cannot afford to buy an apartment, but can afford to pay rent, which is slightly cheaper than commercial rent.
“We should also stop selling municipal flats, especially with a discount. It makes no sense, because we are building on one hand, and at the same time flats are flowing out of the municipal stock as if from a leaky bucket. Instead of selling municipal flats, they should be renovated,” the head of MFiPR stressed.
