At its session on February 6 of this year, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Assistance in Solving Apartment Issues in its final reading. These amendments grant municipalities the right to decide on the disposal of certain residential premises they own and rent out within the framework of housing assistance, allowing them to transfer ownership to tenants currently renting these units.

Currently, the law restricts municipalities from privatizing, transferring ownership before the privatization of the entire residential building, selling, or otherwise disposing of rented residential premises under this law. However, several municipalities have pointed out that in certain cases, they are willing to allow such units to be transferred, emphasizing that the maintenance of some currently rented residential spaces imposes a significant financial burden on municipal budgets and that these units will no longer be required for providing housing assistance as stipulated by law.

Thus, the amendments grant municipalities the right to decide on transferring certain municipally owned rental units to tenants as a means of housing assistance.

To proceed with this, the municipal council must first adopt a resolution approving the transfer of the residential unit. At the same time, municipalities are prohibited from disposing of units that are rented to qualified specialists or designated as social housing.

Once the municipal council has made the decision to transfer ownership, the municipality must offer the tenant—who holds a valid rental agreement—the opportunity to purchase the unit. If the tenant agrees to purchase the residential unit, the disposal process will follow the procedures outlined in the Law on Disposal of Public Property, which governs the disposal of municipally owned single-family houses and apartment properties. If the tenant declines the offer, the municipality will not proceed with the disposal, and the tenant will continue to rent the unit under the existing rental agreement.

Additionally, the Saeima has supported amendments to the law that will allow municipalities to allocate funding—through the adoption of local regulations—to property owners or apartment owners for the replacement of elevators in residential buildings and the construction of shelters to ensure resident safety. Currently, the law permits municipalities to co-finance activities such as energy efficiency improvements, landscaping of land attached to residential buildings, and other related purposes.

Ministry of Economics
Public Relations Department
prese@em.gov.lv