OECD to study housing affordability in Latvia for EUR 280,000

  • 2019-05-19
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The Economics Ministry plans to conclude a EUR 280,000 agreement with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to conduct a study on housing affordability in Latvia.

The ministry’s representatives informed LETA that such comprehensive analytical materials comprising the whole range of housing affordability-related issues are currently unavailable in Latvia.

Under the agreement, the OECD is expected to analyze housing affordability in Latvia to provide a better insight into residents’ ability to obtain high-quality housing. One of the aims is to clear the obstacles preventing people from accessing high-quality rental housing and buying homes.

The research project will consist of two interconnected parts, the first of which will provide the assessment of housing affordability and the other will provide policy instruments promoting housing affordability.

The OECD is expected to launch the study in June this year and complete it in March 2020.

In February 2019, Economics Minister Ralfs Nemiro (KPV LV) told LETA that Latvia needs a new housing policy.

The minister said that most dwelling houses in Latvia have been built in Soviet times and are in poor condition, with crumbling balconies, etc.