PROGRAMME FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL HOUSING UNDER LAW NO. 114/1996

1. Programme presentation

The purpose of this programme is to build social housing - housing with subsidised rent, for certain categories of disfavoured people, as provided by law, whose level of living does not allow them access to a privately owned dwelling or to rent a dwelling under market conditions. The objective intended to be achieved is to ensure decent living conditions for disfavoured social categories. Promoting social housing investment is incumbent to the local public authorities.

The financing sources for this programme come from local budgets and the state budget. The development of the investment process for the construction of social housing is in charge of the local public administration authorities, with financing from their own budgets. The state supports financially the construction of such housing, by allocating funds from the state budget to supplement funds from the local budgets, through the budget of the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, upon substantiated requests from the local councils. The programme for financing social housing construction is a multiannual programme, which has been running from 1997. For each year, the funds from the state budget for this purpose are approved by the state budget law for the respective year.

2. Specific Conditions

Programme characteristics

• General characteristics:
  • Housing allocation is done by local councils, following proposals from social committees that analyse the applications for housing at the local level.
  • Access to social housing is granted to families or individuals with a net monthly income per person, earned in the last 12 months, below the average net monthly earning per total economy, announced by the National Institute of Statistics in its last statistical bulletin prior to the month when the application is analysed and before the month in which the dwelling is allocated.
  • The nominal rent is subsidised from sources of the local budgets, the maximum rent level for social housing being 10% of the net monthly income per family.
  • The social housing units belong to the public domain of the administrative-territorial units, and cannot be sold.
  • Social housing can be achieved through new constructions or by rehabilitating existing constructions.
• Main characteristics:
  • They are carried out according to the investment programmes promoted at local level, the city halls having the capacity of beneficiaries;
  • Social and necessity housing is made without exceeding the minimum requirements of equipment and comfort at a medium degree of finish, as provided in Annex 1 to Housing Law No. 114/1996, republished.

3. Eligible area: This programme is addressed to city halls.

4. Stages of submitting projects

The programme development stages are:

• Transmission to the local councils of the lists including the social housing proposed for financing, as well as the documents showing the stage of promotion of the proposed social housing investment (feasibility study and Local Council decision approving the study, execution contract etc.);
• Inventory, by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, of the lists including the social housing proposed for financing, submitted by the local public authorities;
• Elaboration of the proposals for the Annual programme, based on inventory and prioritisation of investments;
• Approval of the Annual programme and its approval by Order of the MRDT;
• Elaboration and approval of the lists of financing by counties, cities and investment objectives;
• Elaboration of the financing contracts between the MRDT and the administrative-territorial units included in the programme;
• Transmittal to the administrative-territorial units of the financing contracts together with the lists of financing;
• The funds approved from the state budget are only for the settlement of the construction-assembly works executed;
• Monthly centralisation of the requests of the Local Councils regarding the production achieved and unsettled at the end of each month, as well as the preliminated production  for the current month;
• Monthly distribution per locality and investment objective of the funds allocated from the state budget, based on applications from Local councils, and elaboration of the Substantiation Note for opening budget loans;
• Monthly approval of the Substantiation Note for opening budget loans;
• Monthly transfer of the amounts in the City Hall budgets;
• Follow up the payments to fall within the quarterly and annually approved limits;
• Programme monitoring;
• Observance of deadlines for commissioning the objectives, according to the approved Annual program.

5. Involved authorities and their role: The authorities involved in the development of this programme are the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism, together with the Local councils.

6. Financing sources: State budget and local budgets.

7. Legislative framework

• Housing Law no. 114/1996, republished, with further amendments and completions
• Methodological Norms for applying Law no. 114/1996, approved by GD no. 1275/2000, with further amendments and completions, amended by GD no. 1097/2008

8. Contacts

• Mihaela Constantinescu, Adviser, Directorate General of Public Works,
  e-mail: mihaela.constantinescu@mdrt.ro
• Stanasila Anca, Adviser, Directorate General of Public Works, e-mail: anca.antonese@mdrt.ro