In the last five years, the waiting list for housing provided by the Riga Municipality has been reduced by half - while in 2020 there were 3186 persons (families) on the waiting list, at the beginning of 2025 only 1656 persons (families) were registered on the waiting list. Currently, the housing owned by the Riga Municipality consists of about 11 000 flats, which are used for housing support. Of these, around 1 700 are social flats and the rest are city council rented flats.
“Riga City Council is continuously expanding the provision of housing support services, especially for the socially and economically disadvantaged. Currently, more than 11 000 people in Riga benefit from housing support programmes. This year, we plan to start implementing the most significant investments in recent years to improve the quantity and quality of municipal housing services. The projects involve the renovation and modernisation of 196 unrented flats owned by the municipality, as well as the renovation of three buildings, providing accommodation for at least 155 households, thus reducing the waiting list for flats by a further 20%”, says V. Zeps.
In 2021, 307 municipal or social flats were rented out, compared to 405 flats last year, and by mid-February this year, 65 families had already found a new home.
Riga Municipality plans to significantly expand access to housing for vulnerable groups by building new social flats and renovating existing ones. The Housing and Environment Department of Riga City Council has signed contracts with the Central Financial Contracts Agency for the implementation of two projects to receive more than EUR 10 million in funding from the European Union for the construction of 351 flats.
The housing renewal programme is planned to start in spring, with 196 unrented flats owned by the municipality to be renovated by the end of 2027. Meanwhile, the renovation of three residential buildings - 1 k-10 Lielupes Street, 1 Dolomīta Street and 25A Prūšu Street - is planned to start in the summer. The project is planned to be implemented by the end of 2027 and as a result 155 households will receive municipal housing assistance. In total these projects will cost EUR 24 million to rebuild and renovate houses and flats, of which EUR 6 million will be spent this year.
This year, it is also planned to introduce a special rental programme to attract young teaching professionals to the capital. The necessary provisions will soon be put out to public discussion and could be adopted this summer, allowing teachers to cover part of their rent or dormitory accommodation in the coming school year.
Together with the Ministry of Finance, State Real Estate and other municipalities, work has been started on a public-private partnership project to build 1 000 rental flats for professionals and their families who are employed in professions essential to the performance of municipal functions.
Information was prepared by: Mārtiņš Vilemsons, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department, email: martins.vilemsons@riga.lv.