Watered-Down Housing Act Still Unacceptable for Many
On the heels of loud debate regarding the sale of council-owned rental flats, Fidesz has eventually moved to take one step back from the original proposal. As of now, mandatory sell-off would be restricted to Budapest’s world heritage sites, in addition to some other changes. The bill is, however, still a matter of criticism and unacceptable to many.
As we previously reported, Fidesz MP László Böröcz proposed a bill that would let tenants of council properties buy the apartment they are renting (without needing any approval from the municipalities) for not more than 30% of the market price (something that could easily go further down to even 10-15% with additional discounts). This would have potentially affected more than 100,000 of such properties across the country.
Hungary's ruling party has proposed legislation that would force municipalities to let tenants buy tens of thousands of municipally owned rented apartments at deeply discounted prices, a move that NGOs and mayors say could deepen a housing crisis.