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Many Polish citizens dream of living in the centre of cities where they grew up or where they work, instead of being forced to look for cheaper alternatives outside city centres. In 2015, more than 43% of Poland’s population lived in overcrowded households, a considerably higher rate compared with the EU-28’s average of 17%.

Statistics show that in 2015, in Poland, 9.8% of the population lived in overcrowded dwellings with extra discomforts such as inadequate plumbing and electrical installations. More than one third of Polish houses were built between 1961 and 1980 when the quality of construction and energy efficiency standards were usually lower compared to post-1995 constructions

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The social and affordable housing sector in Poland requires significant investment to cover the needs of the population and help revitalise city centres. So far, social and affordable housing has been funded through governmental programmes and direct municipal funding. However, the increasing restraints on public spending have led governments and local authorities to cut back or re-prioritise different public spending areas, such as social housing schemes. Polish cities and municipalities, which are responsible for affordable and social housing, have been forced to look for funding sources other than the (limited) State-funded programs or traditional bank loans to continue their social and affordable housing projects without increasing municipal indebtedness.

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A social housing agency delegated by the city of Poznan, needed specific advice including financial modelling for a complex project involving the construction and retrofitting of existing housing stock and ancillary infrastructure. The Hub mobilised different expertise within the EIB and through an external service provider to help accelerate the development of the project which has recently been approved as an EFSI operation in the context of a programme loan.

Thanks to the support provided by EIAH, the promoter will access EIB financing under EFSI to unlock the construction of approximately 700 housing units in several locations in the City of Poznan as well as retrofitting and improvement works in some existing housing units, benefiting approximately 2510 citizens.