There were long queues for state apartments at one time – there was a shortage of apartments, some enterprises built their departmental funds, and in the 1960s, cooperatives emerged that took out loans for housing construction, which residents then paid off over 25 years.
Contracts for state/municipal housing were indefinite.
Now, a procedure for paying rent for municipal apartments has been developed in Riga. It stipulates that starting from May 2026, the municipality will begin charging rent for apartments owned by the city.
According to reports, the rent for a municipal apartment, depending on the cadastral value and area of the apartment, may range from 15 to 85 euros per month. Such a "tax" cannot be covered by any salary or pension increases.
At the initial stage, some tenants were checked for low-income status to exempt them from rent, but when extending rental agreements, this information was not re-verified.
Unlike other municipalities, Riga did not deprive individuals who lost their low-income status of the provided municipal housing. Starting from May 2026, a rent of 2.5% of the universal cadastral value of the property per year will be charged for the use of apartments owned by the municipality.
Currently, Riga owns 6,300 apartments that are rented out as part of assistance, and another 3,500 apartments whose tenants historically had the opportunity to purchase them.
For low-income individuals renting apartments from the municipality as assistance, a 30% discount on the rent is planned, and for families with children and people with disabilities – a 50% discount on the rent.
The collected rent is planned to be directed towards the maintenance of the municipality's housing stock, including payment for repairs in the municipal property, as well as supporting housing accessibility for families with children.
It is still unclear what amounts are being discussed.
The city council is also considering residential premises that were rented out before the start of the privatization of residential buildings – before July 25, 1995. It is planned to conclude rental agreements for 5 years with those tenants who could have privatized their apartment but did not do so. During this time, people will have to either privatize their housing, move to private rental housing, or buy another apartment.
The previously concluded lifetime contract will lose its validity. Such a situation did not occur even in East Germany, where state rental apartments were not transferred for privatization, and tenants remained as renters.
Residential premises that tenants do not privatize by the end of the rental agreement will be available for the municipality to use in fulfilling its functions, providing residents with assistance in resolving housing issues.
The final decision must be made by the plenary session of the Riga City Council.
