The objectives and specific targets of the Fund have evolved, but remain focused on the construction, renovation and maintenance of apartments and residential buildings, targeted at groups with particular needs such as families, young people, the elderly, and Roma populations. The main instruments used to achieve this have involved co-financing with long-term favourable loans and interest rate subsidies, and investments in new innovations and international research. The Housing Fund is a public authority and actively invests directly in housing and also co-invests in local community housing programmes, complementing the efforts of municipalities and non-government organizations. It also purchases land and houses directly on the market. Since 2006, non-profit dwellings regulated under the Housing Act have been let at relatively regulated low rents. Consequently, they are in high demand among prospective tenants, but have proven less attractive to investors. With its own construction and purchase projects on the market, the Fund provides an additional quota of publicly available rental housing, tying rent calculation to the real estate investment or purchase value. It offers eligible tenants a stable rental relationship under pre-known conditions for an indefinite period. In 2019 CEIB (also discussed in this chapter) provided the Fund with a long-term loan of EUR 50 million.

Issues tackled

Currently the Fund directly owns 3,042 non-profit rental-housing units and a further 787 dwellings which are let at cost-based rents. Two companies owned by the fund own another 2,056 apartments, which they rent out at non-profit rent. These dwellings are located throughout Slovenia. The Fund is intensively building affordable rental apartments throughout Slovenia, and by 2023 it will provide 2,194 new public rental apartments.

The Fund is now focusing on effective administration for public rental dwellings. Thus, between 2017 and 2020, its activities have included:

Co-investment in new public rental housing units, including residential units, under a co-financing programme
Establishment and operation of the Public Service for Rental Management and Records system
Management of mixed portfolio of formerly non-profit, commercial, and sheltered housing
Providing new public rental housing units for young people, young families and the elderly, the utilization of rental buying-in and shared ownership instruments
Development of new projects on land owned by the Fund
Financial incentives for housing in the form of soft loans
Sustainable construction and complete renovation of the housing stock for all products and programmes of the Fund
Technical standards for the home-building industry
Cooperation in development projects in housing construction
Strengthening and implementing the Fund’s development role in housing
Efforts to obtain funding from EU funds
Acquiring assets for and in the framework of partner projects.