Local services
Chairman of the Debrecen General Assembly’s Ownership and Economic Development Committee, Viktor Papp, reported on the details at a press conference on the 20th of January, 2025.
He said, “The Főnix Housing Programme, launched by the Debrecen General Assembly in April 2024, is unique in our country. The main goal of the programme is for the local government to help young people under the age of 35 who envision their employment, career, and future in Debrecen with housing by assuming one-third of their market rents in the form of subsidies. The remaining one-third of the rent must be paid by the young people’s employers and a third by the employees themselves. The program’s goals include the construction’s somewhat mitigating effect on rent and real estate prices in Debrecen.”
Since the program’s announcement in April last year, several consultations have occurred between the municipality, property owners, property developers, employers, and workers’ representatives, allowing a thorough examination of the scheme’s justification. The experiences of this process showed great interest in this housing model among employers and employees. In November 2024, the target group of beneficiaries – private sector workers – was expanded to include young people working in the public sector.
The city also supports housing public sector workers, such as kindergarten teachers, with municipal rental apartments. Viktor Papp also said that the Főnix Housing Programme is a fixed-term, five-year programme, and tenants can live in subsidised apartments for a maximum of this time. This period also provides security for property owners and developers, as the contract to be concluded with them will also last for this period.
The Debrecen General Assembly’s Ownership and Economic Development Committee will discuss the first call for applications for the Főnix Housing Programme for property owners and property developers at its meeting on the 23rd of January. According to Viktor Papp, the reason they have waited so far to develop the exact call for applications is that the Government of Hungary launched a program on the 1st of January 2025, under which it also provides a maximum of HUF 150,000 per month in housing subsidies for young workers under the age of 35, which will further ease the situation of those affected concerning the Főnix Housing Programme.
If the committee approves the tender, it will be published by Cívis Ház Zrt. on the 27th of January 2025 for property owners and developers. After that, interested parties will have 60 days until the 28th of March to submit their applications. The tender aims to find good-quality, air-conditioned, unfurnished apartments of between 30 and 55 square metres, built after the 1st of January 2020 or with a building permit or occupancy permit issued after the 1st of January 2020, that meet the specified parameters and are available for rent under the Főnix Housing Programme. Applicants can apply by offering a minimum of 5 apartments. The rent can be in euros or foreign currencies and only increase annually according to the inflation rate.
The exact number of apartments available for rent for the Főnix Housing Programme will be determined based on the evaluation of the flats offered in the framework of the incoming application. It is hoped that this will reach 200, which may increase further in the future, also impacting the real estate developments in the city. As Viktor Papp said,” The next application for rental income will be announced once the exact number is known, then for interested employers, which will include multinational companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, since it is also essential for the latter to have suitably qualified employees who are worth supporting in this form. Employers will also have 60 days to submit their applications.”
As mentioned, on the 27th of January 2025, the detailed tender notice for the apartments offered for rent to property owners and property development companies will be published by Cívis Ház. The rental contracts will be concluded with the owners of the flats by Cívis Ház., and then Cívis Ház PLC will also conclude sublease contracts with the employers. The supported employees can then move into the apartments alone or with their families.
Finally, Viktor Papp emphasised that the goal of the Municipality of Debrecen with the Főnix Housing Programme is straightforward: the city wants to help and support young people who envision their future in Debrecen.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
