Increased assistance for covering housing bills. What amounts are we talking about?

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On Thursday, the Saeima adopted in the final reading the amendments prepared by the Ministry of Welfare (MW) to the Law on Social Services and Social Assistance to help residents pay high housing bills and prevent the accumulation of debts, as the current housing benefit is already insufficient for many residents, LETA reports.

The changes provide for an increase in the coefficients used to calculate housing benefits during the current winter period — from January 1 to April 30 of this year.

For example, if a pensioner's income is 500 euros and their housing expenses are 300 euros per month, under the current system, the benefit amount would be 192 euros; however, after the changes are adopted, they will be eligible for a housing benefit of 267 euros per month, as previously explained by the authors of the bill. Furthermore, these changes will ensure that some households that previously did not meet the criteria for receiving housing benefits under the current coefficients will now be able to apply for support.

Households that are already receiving housing benefits will have their amounts recalculated automatically, while others will need to take action themselves — contacting the social service of their municipality, which will assess the household's financial situation and make a decision on the allocation of benefits.

Also, considering the potential increase in workload for employees, the amendments provide for the possibility for municipalities to establish an additional payment for workers involved in the assignment and recalculation of housing benefits, up to 30% of the established monthly salary, from March 1 to June 30.

The proposal from deputies to expand the eligibility for housing benefits has also been supported — households with children under 18 years old, as well as with young people up to 24 years old who continue to receive general, vocational, or higher education, will also be able to apply.

At the same time, the state targeted grant to municipalities will be increased to help cover expenses related to benefit payments, including providing support to municipal employees for additional work.

The adopted changes will come into effect the day after their proclamation.

As reported, discussions about increasing housing support were initiated considering that after a cold January, many residents faced significantly higher heating bills.