Crisis Assistance and Temporary Housing: How Residents of the Bauskas Street Building Are Being Helped 0 16

According to him, a significant number of applications were received after the general meeting of residents that took place on Monday evening. Kleinbergs added that not all applicants will likely be able to receive crisis assistance. At the same time, speaking about temporary housing, he emphasized that it is available to both apartment owners in the affected building and tenants registered in Riga who can prove that they lived in that building before the incident.

The Mayor of Riga expressed hope that none of those entitled to assistance from the municipality missed the opportunity to apply, as city services did everything possible to inform the affected individuals. The senior resident of the building was also actively involved in this.

In response to a question about why the municipality does not insure all its apartments, Kleinbergs noted that it would be quite expensive and could lead to criticism from the State Audit Office for unreasonable spending — as the money spent on insurance could be used to build a new residential building in a few years.

"There were discussions about the necessity of insuring high-risk housing, for example, with heating stoves or gas cylinders, but this apartment [where the explosion occurred] does not fall into that category," the mayor noted.

He added that he had seen photographs of the building inspection taken two years ago and can confirm that the specific apartment was in proper condition — clean and well-maintained.

Kleinbergs emphasized that there are no universal solutions to the problems that people who have lost their sanity can create.

As reported earlier, the first meeting of representatives of the Riga City Council and apartment owners in the affected building took place on Monday, where further steps were discussed.

Acting Director of the Housing and Environment Department of the Riga City Council, Dace Ziediņa, stated that the next meeting will be held on January 14, where the issue of further security for the building and the review of its maintenance fee will be addressed.

She reported that an opinion from the Department of Urban Development regarding further actions concerning the building has been received — a technical report on its condition needs to be prepared. The municipality promised to purchase and pay for this service from its own funds.

According to the Riga City Council, the procurement procedure has already begun, and a contract with a suitable contractor is planned to be concluded within this week.

Access to the building will be prohibited until the report is received.

The municipality promises to make a decision about the future of the building within a month.

Residents are offered temporary housing for up to one year. As explained by the municipality, apartment owners at Bauskas 15 who are not registered as residents will not be eligible for temporary housing, while tenants will be eligible if they have a rental agreement and registration in that housing.

Low-income residents, especially pensioners, may qualify for permanent housing in the social housing fund.

Owners who have other properties in Riga will not be eligible for social housing.

Security for the affected building will be provided by the Municipal Police until January 14. After that, the apartment owners will have to decide on the continuation of security.

It is planned to involve a security firm and assess the possibility of using technical means to secure the building.

As reported, an explosion occurred on Friday in a five-story apartment building due to a gas pipeline rupture, resulting in the collapse of the fourth and fifth floors, as well as the roof. Two people died, and two were injured.

The building has been declared unsafe, and its operation is prohibited.

The building is managed by SIA Latvijas namsaimnieks, which has 74 apartments, four of which belong to the municipality. According to unofficial information that has not yet been confirmed, the explosion occurred due to an illegal gas connection in one of the apartments owned by the municipality.

The Riga City Council's Housing and Environment Committee will make a decision on further actions after the explosion in this building on Tuesday.

At the committee meeting, it is planned to assess the assistance already provided to residents and determine further steps to support Riga residents who have lost their homes. "It is also necessary to urgently address how to improve the municipality's ability to check rented apartments more frequently and require tenants to sign civil liability agreements," emphasized the committee chair, Elina Treija.