Housing policy Hungary

Housing of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe: Options for Long-Term Solutions

The prevailing form of tenure in Hungary is homeownership, amounting to 89% of the inhabited stock, while private rental accounts for about 7-8% and municipal rental 1.5%. The share of private rental housing is growing, especially in bigger cities. However, there are no exact data about this as it partly operates in the grey sector. House prices and private-sector rents have substantially increased in the last ten years; in Budapest, they have doubled, resulting in an affordability crisis that affects not only the poor but the middle class as well, which has lately been exacerbated by the energy price increase and inflation.

Key features

  • Home-ownership subsidies mainly target families with children.
  • Innovative housing schemes have been implemented primarily by NGOs, but some municipalities have also started new initiatives, although they remain small-scale.

Challenges

  • There is diminishing municipal housing sector because of a lack of financing, and dilapidated conditions.
  • EU funds were not used to improve the quality of the housing sector and expand the social housing sector.
  • There is no housing subsidy scheme that supports access to affordable housing.
  • There is a lack of a centrally financed housing allowance program. The general “utility cost discount” program tends to favour households that are more affluent.
  • There is poor energy performance of the housing stock; no schemes are available to promote refurbishment on a large scale.
  • The private rental sector is still not adequately regulated.

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