The building renovation plan pending in the European Parliament is necessary in its nature, but support measures unfortunately do not reach those who need it the most, said Jana Toom, member of the European Parliament, during the debate in the Riigikogu.
“In terms of counties, apartment buildings in Ida-Virumaa are in the worst condition, after regaining independence, some buildings have been renovated there and some new apartment buildings have been built,” stated Jana Tom. “I am quite familiar with what is happening there and I know that many depreciated buildings are half-empty and the majority of the remaining population is made up of elderly people. First of all, it is extremely difficult for the residents of Ida-Virumaa to find their own contribution for renovation, because unemployment is the highest there and people’s income is one of the lowest. Second, they need support from the state in doing business, such as submitting applications and taking out bank loans. Unfortunately, no attention has been paid to these questions.”
The goal of the ambitious plan is to renovate 14,000 apartment buildings in Estonia, but to date, approx. 3,000 buildings have been modernized. If we continue at the current pace, i.e. repair 200 buildings a year, it will take 70 years.
“I agree that we need to significantly increase the pace of renovation of apartment buildings and commercial buildings, but in order for the project to succeed, we need to ensure more effective state support for those interested. The fact that the annual grant rounds have filled up within a day shows that there is a great interest in the modernization of buildings,” said the vice-chairman of the Estonian Center Party. “But what will happen to the houses in rural areas, which are in poor condition and the apartments are very cheap? Banks will not give loans to such an apartment association, and special solutions must be developed to solve such situations.”
During the discussion, it was pointed out that in the period 1961-1990, nearly 70 percent of the living spaces in apartment buildings have been completed and about 50 percent of Estonian residents live in apartments that need renovation. In apartment buildings built during the Soviet era, as a rule, it is not enough to replace the windows, it is necessary to carry out a full renovation, which provides the greatest energy savings.
“In a situation where the Estonian economy has declined for almost two years in a row and unemployment is increasing, people do not have the confidence to take a long-term loan, and it is therefore extremely difficult to reach an agreement in apartment associations,” said Jana Toom.
