The City Council in Starachowice, during the session on December 15, 2023, adopted the Strategy for the management and development of housing in Starachowice until 2035, taking into account the challenges resulting from demographic changes, developed by the Warsaw University of Technology as part of the project entitled "Direction for the Future - Starachowice Local Development Program", financed under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism for 2014-2021.

The full document can be read at THIS address.

The strategy contains references and proposals for the rational development of all housing sectors, in particular related to improving the technical condition and adapting resources to the requirements of the green transformation and increasing the activity of some economic entities, e.g. Starachowice TBS or developers. The issues of the new strategy particularly concern the need to retain and attract young people to the city, the separation of apartments for specialists from the municipal housing stock, and the housing needs of the elderly and disabled people.

The document was developed in close cooperation between UM employees, students and employees of the Warsaw University of Technology specializing in housing issues. Residents, seniors, the social housing commission and representatives of STBS, housing communities and cooperatives were included in the discussion and work on the strategy.

The document was subject to public consultations, during which comments were received from stakeholders, which were taken into account in the study

Main conclusions:

• NSP 2021: 2,600 apartments in Starachowice are uninhabited (10.3% of the entire housing stock).

• Among cities of similar size (35-55 thousand inhabitants), Starachowice stands out with one of the largest population losses in 2012-2021 (11.6%) and one of the lowest values of the housing production index (an average of 1.36 apartments put into use per 1,000 inhabitants per year).

• Starachowice is characterized by a relatively high value of the number of apartments in the stock per 1,000 inhabitants - 445. However, the vast majority of these apartments are located in old resources requiring renovation.

• As many as 60.8% of residential units put into use in 2012-2021 are located in facilities built by natural persons for their own use. Only 5% of the apartments in this period were provided by the commune, 9% by TBS.

• The advantage of individual single-family housing over institutional multi-family housing means that the average living area per
per person in Starachowice is growing slower than in cities of similar size.

• The Study of Conditions and Directions of Spatial Development gives priority to single-family housing. This leads to expensive suburbanization and a very slow increase in the housing stock.

• Compared to cities of similar size, Starachowice stands out with a very low degree of coverage with local spatial development plans (34%).

• There is both a qualitative and quantitative deficit of apartments in Starachowice.

• 1,500 apartments are in poor technical condition. Some of them are vacant. By 2035, we propose the demolition of 800 apartments unfit for habitation

• By 2035, 2,000 apartments of appropriate size and standard should be built in Starachowice.

• Almost half of them (900) should be built by TBS.

• Almost 1,000 apartments currently occupied by single seniors may return to the market by 2035. Some of them will have a low technical standard and will require
removal or significant renovation costs

• 200 apartments should be rented through SAN in 3035 (utilization of vacant buildings)

• The base rent rate for municipal apartments should be gradually increased

• 50 supported housing units should be built (municipal sector)

• The area of land for multi-family development should be increased

• Construction of 200 apartments in the housing cooperative formula in Starachowice by 2035

• Creation of a land data bank by 2026 that the commune will be able to sell to cooperatives

• Inventorying the municipal resource of developed real estate and indicating which properties can be used by housing cooperatives. Making this data available on the city-wide website by 2026.