Renting is more common in Western countries, while Czechs have long preferred to own property. In recent years, however, home ownership has become less affordable for many people. The younger generation places greater emphasis on flexibility, which is why renting is more attractive to them.

Approximately 22% of Czechs currently live in their own homes, but this proportion is gradually declining. According to Jiří Vajner of Creditas Real Estate, high property prices and high mortgage interest rates are the main barriers to home ownership. Surveys show that 82% of people living in rented accommodation plan to remain in rented housing in the long term. The key factor in their decision is price – the increase in costs has been particularly noticeable in the case of energy, where a significant proportion of households have seen prices rise by 10-25%, or even more.

Most rental housing is still provided by private landlords, but developers are responding to growing demand with institutional rental housing. People looking for long-term rentals demand higher quality, security, and professional management. Institutional landlords are therefore gradually strengthening their role, especially in large cities. Typical examples are projects in attractive locations in Prague and Brno, which mainly target the younger generation and offer fully equipped apartments.

The Ministry of Regional Development has proposed changes to the conditions for the construction of parking spaces at apartment buildings. The new rules should allow developers greater flexibility in planning parking, but this may lead to higher housing costs in the long term. The costs of building parking spaces are very high, especially for underground garages, where they can range from hundreds of thousands to millions of crowns per space.

According to experts, the need for parking varies depending on location and the availability of public transport. Nevertheless, they agree that increased demand for parking spaces usually leads to higher real estate prices. Developers often build more parking spaces than required by standards because demand for them is high. One possible way to reduce costs is to reduce the average size of apartments, a trend that is particularly noticeable in Prague.

The proposed MMR decree does not apply to Prague, which is pursuing its own approach. The capital city wants to reduce the minimum number of parking spaces in new developments and leave their number more to the discretion of investors. According to the Prague City Hall, this step could lead to a reduction in apartment prices. However, developers' experience shows that most clients still require a parking space with their apartment.

In addition to adjusting parking standards, Prague is also considering economic regulation of parking, such as higher fees, with the aim of easing traffic congestion on the streets. The planned amendment to the Prague Building Regulations should comprehensively regulate the rules for parking in the capital.

Source: newstream.cz, seznamzpravy.cz