site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria to Begin Developing New National Housing Strategy with Focus on Social Housing, Says Regional Development Minister

Bulgaria will begin developing a new national housing strategy, which will focus on the issues of social housing and informal settlements, Regional Development and Public Works Minister Nikolay Naydenov announced on Wednesday. He participated in a meeting in Bucharest, where experts from both countries shared their experience in regulating informal settlements. 

Romania's Minister of Development, Public Works and Administration, Attila Cseke, stressed the need for the state to start a social housing project, given that more than 96% of housing in Romania has been bought or built by private individuals. He added that funds from the European Affordable Housing Plan would be allocated to providing housing for those in need, as well as for elderly people with limited financial resources.

The meeting was also attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador to Romania Radko Vlaykov.

Minister Naydenov pointed out that the strategy in Bulgaria will emphasize the problems of marginalized settlements, and additional efforts will be needed for their development and improvement of living conditions. The strategy will be based on various data and research, including socio-economic, statistical, territorial, and sociological factors, the minister added.

During the meeting experts recalled that over the past 10 years, Romania created legal norms that include informal settlements, with recent estimates indicating that about 72,000 people live in such areas, with the actual number expected to be higher. Romania has also adopted a National Housing Strategy until 2050, with a primary focus on vulnerable groups, with the aim to ensure affordable housing and conditions for social inclusion.

Housing and social inclusion programmes in Romania for the 2021-2027 period have a total budget of EUR 500 million, with part of the funding earmarked for the renovation and modernization of housing, as well as the regulation of informal settlements. As a result of the efforts in Romania, the first informal settlement, Resita, has already been regulated, the press centre of the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry said.

Naydenov noted that Bulgaria also faces the challenge of illegal housing, with more than 200,000 such properties in the country, mainly in neighborhoods with a Roma population. The Home Equals project by Habitat Bulgaria aims to improve housing conditions in these neighborhoods by taking concrete steps to create urban planning and provide basic infrastructure. The project is part of the global campaign to improve living conditions in informal settlements, aiming to influence national policies and create sustainable solutions to the housing issues in informal settlements.

The meeting for exchanging experiences on national housing strategies was organized by the Habitat Bulgaria Foundation.