Housing Subsidies in Slovenia in the Light of Austerity Measures

Housing subsidies in Slovenia have been introduced in 2000 with the amendments of the 1992 Housing Act. However, these were reserved exclusively for tenants in the non-profit sector. Due to their positive results, the Government also introduced the subsidies for tenants in market rentals. Apart from the subsidies for rentals, there were several other subsidies offered, especially for purchases of dwellings by young families resolving their housing issues for the first time and for other categories of citizens. However, the present economic crisis has put a major pressure onto the budgetary means of the Government. Therefore, some austerity measures were introduced in the last few years, which took its toll on the subsidies as well. The purpose of the paper is to present the positive effects of subsidizing households’ housing expenses, especially those renting under the market conditions. The number of applications by young families for both purchases and rentals (over 26,000 in six years) indicates that the need for this type of assistance is huge. At the same time, the paper will strive to indicate the possible side effects of the austerity measures in the resent housing situation in Slovenia. According to the analysis of the National Housing Fund, this step tends to deprive over 10,000 young households in the years to come.