Does Rental Housing In Slovakia Have A Future?

The National Council of the Slovak Republic approved a new Act No. 222/2022 Coll., on State Support for Rental Housing and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts (the "Act") on 5 May 2022. Having entered into effect on 1 July 2022, the Act contains a framework for how the rental housing system should work.

Since Slovaks typically own their dwellings, rental housing is rather marginal. Slovakia is among the four countries in the European Union with the highest share of owner-occupied housing, mainly due to the sale of state flats at the end of the Communist era. Rental housing should fill the gap between social housing and commercial housing, while providing housing with regulated rent. However, the Act contains obstacles both for future tenants and future investors.