Prague, which has long been suffering from a lack of financially accessible housing, has approved investor guidelines for housing construction that defines parameters and conditions for the preparation of municipal rental housing projects. The document was jointly drafted by the Prague Development Company (PDS) and the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). The document is binding for all Prague’s municipal organizations and recommended for the city districts. It defines the key objectives of municipal housing construction, its principles, structure of municipal apartments, and details the project preparation and delivery process.

One of the capital city’s most pressing problems is a lack of financially accessible housing. To address the problem, the city established PDS last year to prepare projects primarily for city-owned rental homes. Currently, Prague owns only 31 thousand apartments and one of the PDS tasks is to expand the housing assets.

Until now, however, the city lacked a document that would define standards for municipal housing construction not only for PDS but also for other relevant entities - City Hall departments, city-owned businesses and organizations, and city district authorities - as a basis for new projects. That is why the Prague City Council has approved the investor guidelines today in which the city as an investor defines the objectives of its project, and requirements and preferences for the design.

The document addresses general requirements for projects, such as the price of construction works, quality of apartments, floor area etc. It also refers to more detailed specifications, such as choice of location, building utilization, architecture, parking, and other aspects.