More than 5.4 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of the war, according to figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published on Friday 29 April. Many of them have found refuge in neighboring countries. A forced exodus that can lead to difficulties in accessing housing. Direction Warsaw and Bucharest.
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In Poland, strong tension on the rental property market
Warsaw has seen its population increase by 15% since the start of the war, with the arrival and settlement of 300,000 Ukrainian refugees. The demand for housing has become much stronger in a city where supply is nevertheless limited. As a result, rents have soared by around 30 to 40%. “At the beginning of the year, it was possible to rent a two-room apartment for around 430 euros per month, emphasizes Marcin Jańczuk, Marketing Director of the Metrohouse agency. After the start of the invasion in Ukraine, prices rose for this type of property up to 640 euros.”
In Poland, the rental market was already very limited before the war. The country has 85% owners and about 15% renters. Nearly one and a half million homes were already lacking throughout the country. The supply of housing for rent is therefore even rarer today. “If we take last year and the figures of the number of offers published on the internet, there were 40,000 day apartments in Polandlist Nicolas Jerzyk, director of the Rent a Flat Poland agency. Today we have 8000 offers, knowing that out of the 8000, 30-40% are no longer relevant and 20-30% of these ads are scams. So in real life, there must be 1000 daily offers published on the internet for all of Poland.” High inflation in Poland – 12.3% in April – is also reflected in the real estate market. This can push landlords to increase rental prices because the charges are more expensive. In addition, loan interest rates have also risen sharply.
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In Poland, when you borrow, the interest rate is variable, that is, it can increase over the years. Some landlords therefore increase rents to be able to repay their monthly payments, explains Nicolas Jerzyk: “A couple who wanted to buy the apartment to invest and rent it out will not do so today, for the simple reason that in October 2021 the interest rates in Poland were at 2.2% with the margin of the bank. Today, we are at 8.5%”. These interest rates could deter potential buyers. In addition, the real estate construction sector has been very slow during the covid. In Poland, many Ukrainians worked in this sector before the war, and returned to Ukraine to fight, thus creating a labor problem.
In Romania, more than 900,000 Ukrainian refugees welcomed
A border country with Ukraine over more than 600 km, Romania has just passed the milestone of 900,000 refugees, who have entered the territory since February 24, according to figures communicated by the Border Police. Most of them stop in the big cities, such as Bucharest for example, where every day a dozen trains from the north, east and south-east of Romania bring them back to the capital. At the Bucharest North Station, several tents have been set up in one of the platform access halls, transformed into a makeshift camp. They are now part of the decor. The poorest find refuge there for a few hours.
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The volunteers are there to comfort and help them, like Natalia, Russian, married to a Romanian, has been living in Bucharest for 3 years. “I’m a translator and I help people who don’t speak English or Romanian. My name is Natalia. It’s a very popular name in Russia. I’m against Putin’s policy, she specifies. Putin started the war. He is the aggressor, and my country is too. I am desperate for what is happening in Ukraine right now and I just wanted to do something! It is a moral duty for me.”
Natalia welcomes two families in her country house, two mothers, with three children. And then she talks every day to her mother, who stayed in her hometown, 1000 km from Moscow. “My mother understands everything, she cries every dayexplains Natalia. What Putin says on television in Russia, that the Ukrainians are fascists and that it is a genocide against the Russians, is not true! It will take even more sanctions against Putin and those around him.” From now on, Natalia is thinking about adjusting her schedule, so that she can get to the Gare du Nord early in the morning, when most of the volunteers are at work. So far about 110,000 Ukrainians have chosen to stay in Romania, including 30,000 children.