Prague’s second city district has developed a revolutionary innovation in rental housing. Through an auction, they will offer apartments for modification at their own expense to interested parties, saving time and money and speeding up the circulation of municipal flats.
The first five units needing repair in Nové Město and Nusle will be offered in a public electronic auction on June 19. It will be a single-round public electronic competition, with the starting price being the same for all units at 158 crowns per square meter.
“At this time, we are releasing the first five apartments to auction as part of a pilot project. Interested parties will be able to modify their future apartment on their own. I expect that such tenants will live in our apartments for a long time, so they will also be interested in caring for and maintaining the house with others,” said Jitka Urbánková, Prague 2 councilor for housing issues.
The apartments will be in such a condition that the future tenant will not have to interfere with engineering networks. Thus, electrical pipelines, domestic water, or waste pipelines will be ready. The list of necessary modifications will be known before the auction itself. The expected amount of additional investment will also be stated. The tenant will then negotiate the specific specification of the apartment modification with the apartment manager before signing the lease agreement.
If the auction is successful and tenants and the city are satisfied, it will release more free apartment units. In addition, the city district will save time and money that would have been invested in apartment repairs.
Auctions for apartment rentals are popular in Na Dvojce. The city hall has been offering its vacant apartments for several years. The bidding system lets interested parties directly influence the final rent price. In addition, they don’t even have to attend in person, thanks to electronic auctions, which provide a more pleasant presentation of the offered properties through photos and virtual 3D tours.
Prague 2 is one of the most sought-after residential areas in Prague. Therefore, the city hall wants to respond to the massive demand from tenants with more frequent auctions.