Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis mentioned the housing crisis in a new TikTok, saying in particular that 7 out of 10 Greeks live in their own home, but 3 out of 10 are forced to rent and they face a big problem.
The Prime Minister noted that rental prices had risen sharply in recent years and his government was exploring ways to address the problem.
@kyriakosmitsotakis_ Η σκληρή αλήθεια για τα ενοίκια❗️
He said the video “talks in very simple terms about what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what we can do.” He explains that Greece has an advantage: 7/10 Greeks live in their own home, but 3/10 have to pay rent. He notes that for many years during the crisis, property prices and rents were “frozen”. “But as a result of economic growth (!?) we are seeing a sharp increase in property values and a very sharp increase in rents,” – he notes.
The Prime Minister emphasizes that although the minimum wage has increased by 20%, rent has increased even more (approximately 2 times), and therefore those who are forced to rent housing pay a large part of their salary for rent, “and that’s the problem.” As a result, many young people are forced to live with their parents until they are 30-35 years old, he notes.
The Prime Minister goes on to explain why this is happening with rents. According to him, the rule of supply and demand also works in the rental market, and demand significantly exceeds supply. But he also examines the reasons why the supply of rental housing is currently low. One reason is that hundreds of thousands of homes remain vacant, mostly older apartments that have not been renovated. Secondly, many apartments are now heading to AirBnB. And another reason is that the Golden Visa has played a role in increasing prices in many areas, especially in Attica.
“What are we doing?” explains the Prime Minister. First – We help owners open their closed houses and apartments with programs such as “Renovate-Economy” and “Renovate-Rent”, and with generous tax deductions that can reach up to 16,000 euros for home renovations, we encourage owners to renovate their closed houses. How much does it cost? We estimate that this will house 770,000 people.
Second: The government has land as well as buildings that are in disrepair. In collaboration with the private sector, we can use them. Institute of “social rent”. We will build new houses, part of which will be used by developers, the second part will be rented out at a low price.
Third: we have already taken action and introduced restrictions on short term rentals, i.e. AirBnB, and increased golden visa limits. And if necessary, we will do even more in this direction.”
But he notes that “at the same time, we have to help people who want to own their own home, and that’s what the My Home program does.” He explains that it is essentially a subsidized home loan for young people and details the program to date.
The Prime Minister then turns to what is already being done but, as he points out, may not be well known. He mentions rent subsidies through OPEKA, increasing student housing benefit and building many new student homes. He adds that “over the next three years we will acquire state-of-the-art student accommodation for 8,000 students.”
“So, is the problem solved?” he asks. “No, it’s too big to solve overnight,” replies the Prime Minister, emphasizing that the problem worries many other European countries. “But I can assure you, that we will continue to do everything possible to limit its influence,” the prime minister concludes.
PS Of course, he did not say that while Greeks cannot find cheap housing, foreign “orphans” and “unaccompanied” who entered the country illegally receive a subsidy of up to 1,590 euros per month under a semi-autonomous subsidies for accommodation and up to 4,400 euros for furnishing the apartments they rent!
How does a Greek citizen and voter feel when he sees that the notorious Ministry of Immigration is spending millions of euros on illegal immigrants, while the government does not give a penny to the Greeks themselves?
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