Government Support For Commune Housing Investments in Poland During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may be a reduction in investment expenditure of communes, including those allocated for the implementation of tasks in the field of commune housing. Taking this risk into account, the Government Housing Development Fund (Rządowy Fundusz Rozwoju Mieszkalnictwa – RFRM) was established in 2020. It is a temporary, i.e. a 3-year mechanism of financial support for communes with the aim of strengthening their share in the share capitals of social housing initiatives (SIMs), which function in the form of limited liability companies, joint stock companies or cooperatives of legal entities. Support is provided at the request of the interested communes. Once an application is positively verified by the competent minister, the amount of support is transferred to the commune by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, which serves the RFRM, supported by contributions from the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund. In this study, an analysis and assessment of the applicable legal provisions was carried out in order to establish the legal status of the RFRM and the essence of the support provided to communes. The thesis about the public status of this fund as well as the temporary and purposeful nature of the support provided therefrom has been verified as true. Support provided by the RFRM may not be used for any purposes other than the acquisition of shares or stocks in SIMs by the commune. The study uses the legal-dogmatic method and, additionally, the analytical method, to present specific numerical values reflecting the importance of the RFRM support.