EBRD supports R4R Poland to address acute housing need
Summary
The loan will be used to build and operate a portfolio of rental apartments across the country, amid a chronic housing shortage exacerbated by inflation and an influx of refugees from Ukraine.The project falls under the EBRDs Resilience and Livelihoods Framework, which aims to support Ukraine and other affected countries by Russias invasion.The portfolio of rental apartments will focus on cities that have seen the highest number of Ukrainian refugees, such as Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Lodz and Poznan.Resi4Rent currently operates about 3,000 apartments in 11 locations, some of which have already been let to Ukrainian families. In 2023, the company plans to deliver 1,110 units in Warsaw and Wroclaw and, by 2025, to have a total portfolio of 10,000 operating units.The demand for medium- and long-term housing in Poland was already high prior to the influx of refugees from Ukraine. The national shortfall of residential units was estimated at 2-2.5 million amid rising prices due to the supply squeeze and inflation. While millions of Ukrainians from the initial wave of refugees have returned home, a second wave is possible over winter, due to the damage to the heating and energy infrastructure in Ukraine.Vlaho Kojakovic, EBRD Director for Property and Tourism, said: Poland needed an innovative solution to alleviate pressure on the housing market and we are thrilled to have created one. In the medium term, the Bank will also work with national and local authorities to increase the supply of affordable state and private housing, including by unlocking suitable unused land.