Prague – Spending on housing allowances doubled last year compared to the previous year. Last year, the employment offices paid out 17.9 billion crowns, an increase of 9.4 billion crowns year-on-year. Almost a third of the amount for state social support went into this housing assistance. The Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) informed about this today. According to data from the Department of Labor, spending is rising again this year. In the first eight months, they are 18 percent higher than last year. People received 13.4 billion crowns in state benefits from January to the end of August, two billion more than a year ago.
Households that spend more than 30 percent of their net income on housing can receive a housing allowance. The state will contribute to their costs, but up to the set normative ceilings based on the size of the residence and the number of people in the family.
“The increase in spending on housing allowance occurred in connection with the legislative adjustment of this benefit in 2022 and 2023. More people then received the benefit and at the same time the normative costs, from which the entitlement to the benefit and the amount of the housing allowance are derived,” he said to last year’s expenses of the CZSO. According to him, the impulse to adjust the norms was a significant rise in the price of energy.
The government adjusted the regulations, so contributions increased, especially for small households. Support can also be obtained for subletting or recreational facilities. The conditions for applicants in Prague have eased. Previously, they had to spend at least 35 percent of their income on housing, now the limit is 30 percent like the others. Applications have become simpler and it is possible to submit them online via the Jenda portal from the summer of 2022.
According to the CZSO, the office paid an average of 248,000 housing allowances last year, an increase of 80,000 year-on-year. The Moravian-Silesian and Ústí Regions provided the most per capita, and the Pilsen Region the least. Seven out of ten beneficiaries were renting. A fifth were owners and the remaining nine percent were subtenants, members of cooperatives or those who lived in recreational facilities.
Last year, according to the CZSO, a total of 55 billion crowns went to state social support benefits, which include the housing allowance. Support for housing thus accounted for almost a third, the statisticians noted. On the other hand, spending on the housing supplement, which is part of the benefits in material need, fell by 144 million crowns year-on-year, i.e. by eight percent. 1.7 billion crowns were paid out.
According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Labour, over 13.4 billion crowns were paid in housing allowances until the end of August this year, i.e. roughly 18 percent more. Last year for the same period it was 11.4 billion. Last August, the employment offices sent 264,600 benefits, this year 290,300. The number in August was thus a tenth higher year-on-year. 1.1 billion crowns went to housing allowances in eight months this year, about 45 million less than last year.
According to the proposal, a single support should replace the housing allowance and the other three benefits from July next year. Its amount is to be graded according to income and work activity, applicants’ property will be assessed for entitlement to state aid.
CR flats economy social CZSO money
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
