The City of Helsinki renounces the much-criticized price-regulated housing construction, i.e. Hitas - system. The political parties have reached an agreement. The current Hitas system will only last for the next couple of years. The city government is going to approve a new housing and land use program for the coming years.
The Hitas apartments are owner-occupied apartments with an upper limit of the selling price and whose market and prices are controlled by the city. Apartments within the Hitas system have a maximum selling price that may not be exceeded when selling the apartment afterwards. The price regulation is valid for at least 30 years after the completion of the housing cooperative.
The debt-free maximum price tied to the market index is now EUR 4,450 per square meter.
The Hitas system has been criticized practically from the beginning. The homeowners are selected mainly through a lottery process today, and this model is said to have also benefited the well-off people. Hitas apartments appeared on the rental market at a high price.
Hypo's (credit institution in Finland that specialises in housing) chief economist Juhana Brotherus has criticized the Hitas models, according to which the city's property is being sold «to well-off people at a discounted price».
According to the last year's Helsingin Sanomat survey, 700 apartments were in possession of owners who had more than one Hitas apartment. Nowadays, the aim is to start preparations for a new model creation that will ensure affordable owner-occupied housing in different residential areas but allow to avoid the problems associated with the current system.
The aim of the new system of affordable owner-occupied housing is that a single owner cannot have several apartments. The new model also has to prevent the possibility of buying Hitas apartment for further lease. Although, the apartment can be rented for justified reasons: in case if, for example, the owner is on a work assignment abroad for a specified period.
The new goal is to streamline the city's overall process related to residential construction. The political parties want to raise the annual housing construction target by one thousand dwellings to a total of 8,000 dwellings from 2023 onwards. The previous target was recorded for 7,000 apartments per year.
The full information and the source text can be found at Taloussanomat website.
Published 07.11.2020, FINREPO