TALLINN - About one-third of Estonian families suffer from poor dwelling conditions,
and accessibility of mortgage loans for such people has decreased, according
to a survey presented by the nation's Ministry of Social Affairs on Sept. 2.
The size and the level of housing comfort tend to be more and more connected
to the income of the population, more people are under threat of being
kicked out of their homes for outstanding debts and the number of homeless
people has increased, according to Anneli Kahrik, project manager of Praxis,
the think-tank that carried out the survey.
Pensioners, unemployed, families having many children and disabled persons
face limited options when it comes to receiving a mortgage loan to buy a
better place to live. Although government guarantees have given young
professionals favorable mortgage loan options, the state must still consider
the dwelling problems of the population's risk groups, Kahrik said.
Commercial banks operating in Estonia offer quite favorable interest rate
conditions starting from 3.9 percent but require a stable monthly income of
at least 4,000 kroons (255 euros) after taxes.
Estonia's Ministry of Social Affairs said that currently only young
professionals and the so-called forced tenants people living in restored
apartment housing receive additional guarantees from the state when taking
mortgage loans. Those are provided through the state-managed KredEx credit
guarantee foundation.
"We definitely need cooperation between the private and public sectors. But
it would be necessary to establish minimum standards for dwelling conditions
and develop new laws to provide support in case of eviction," said Sigrid
Tappo, head of the ministry's media relations.
In EU countries the housing rental sector constitutes roughly 39 percent of
all residence real estate and almost half of those are the so-called social
or municipal apartments built for the needy, according to Sampo Ruoppila,
social policy researcher from the University of Helsinki.
"The private sector's active participation in provision and development of
municipal housing is now a trend within the EU," Ruoppila said.
Ene Margit Tiit, a Tartu University professor who also worked on the survey,
said 0.5 percent of Estonian families, or about 3,000 households live in
totally inappropriate conditions.
"Although all the places marked as totally inappropriate do have heating,
they have no restroom, no shower or bath, no electricity and no cooking
options," Tiit said.
About 4,000 families live in places that are heated, have washing options
and a restroom, but no other conditions necessary for supporting normal
life.
Up to 34,000 families have less than 8 square meters per adult family member
in their place. About 18 percent of Estonian families have no shower or
restroom inside their home.
Tiit added that the current housing distribution in Estonia does not match
the needs of local families. "A family can live in one and the same place
for years regardless its size and income level."
"Yet it is important to mention that Estonian families are relatively
satisfied by their dwelling conditions and consider them sufficient," Tiit
added.
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, the right to proper housing is
one of the basic human rights that determine person's health, education and
work opportunities.
There are about 3,500 homeless persons in Estonia, mostly between the ages
of 50 and 60. The primary cause behind housing loss is unexpected
unemployment, which in turn leads to unpaid expenses bills. In Tallinn alone
some 38,500 people have difficulties paying their bills, according to the
survey.
Ain Kivisaar, marketing director of the Uus Maa real estate company, said
unemployment and alcoholism were slated in the survey as the main reasons
why people in Estonia lost their homes.
"It is a purely social problem, and both municipalities and the national
government have to contribute to solve it," Kivisaar said.
He added the help from the private sector should not be overlooked in
forming a solution to the problem.
"Abroad it is common practice that the state supports low-cost rental
housing projects targeted to [aid] the risk groups. In Estonia nobody has
done that yet," Kivisaar said.
The state neither has to own the real estate pieces nor manage them, but
should create favorable conditions for the private sector to offer cheap
homes, Kivisaar explained.
"In Tallinn construction of the social houses is in progress at full speed,
but to solve the whole problem a state approach of a larger scale is
necessary," Kivisaar added.
