MP Gintautas Paluckas, Chair of the Social Democratic Political Group in the Seimas, has registered amendments to the Civil Code and the Law on the Local Self-Government proposing that municipalities would be allowed to limit the maximum housing rent prices. He believes this would give the local self-government more powers and help solve the shortage of housing.

The politician says the demand for housing for rent has soared quickly in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda, forcing tenants to accept all conditions set by property owners. The MP notes that rapidly growing electricity, district heating and tap water fees must also be taken into account, which may reduce people’s purchasing power and increase the risk of poverty.

According to Paluckas, the Civil Code stipulates that the Government may set the maximum rent fees for residential housing leased under commercial conditions, but the central government does not take advantage of this and otherwise has limited possibilities to intervene in the rental market.

The MP argues that if municipal councils were allowed to set the maximum rent fees, the problem of expensive rent would be addressed where it exists, for instance, in Vilnius. Paluckas notes that similar regulations already exist in Western European cities like Berlin, Copenhagen and others, and are widely supported by citizens.

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