00:00I'm Alexandra Skura and I need a new apartment.
00:05Poland has a program to combat its housing shortage.
00:08Cheap rent in return for renovation.
00:11It must have been nice here once, years or more likely decades ago.
00:16But no matter, Alexandra is thrilled.
00:19She wants to rent this neglected apartment in the city of Kielce at half price and renovate it herself.
00:25Walls, floors, gas, water, electricity, almost everything needs work.
00:31But the 30-year-old pastry chef is optimistic.
00:34This place is frozen in time and I want to breathe new life into it.
00:40Evelina Jostrebska from the city government accompanies Alexandra as she takes stock.
00:45She had no trouble finding a tenant.
00:47There are many more brave applicants than there are vacant apartments.
00:51I believe that every tenant who takes on this challenge and participates in the program will succeed.
00:59I want to do most of it myself.
01:04But there is installation work that I don't want to tackle.
01:08I'll leave that to the experts.
01:10Alexandra wants to invest even though it's a rental.
01:15These are rare here.
01:17Almost 90% of Poles own their homes.
01:25Krakow is Poland's second largest city.
01:30I'm Ula Wronska.
01:32Happy we got this apartment near the kids' school.
01:36They have five children.
01:40The youngest isn't in school yet.
01:42Construction in the apartment finished only recently.
01:45Officials also look at family size when selecting tenants.
01:49The more children you have, the better your chances of turning a ruin into a home.
01:57We still smile when we think that our kids helped us get this apartment.
02:00As in many Polish cities, apartment prices in Krakow have skyrocketed by around 30% in 2024.
02:09Most young people can hardly afford them.
02:15Rental prices are ridiculously high.
02:17And the apartments aren't worth it.
02:19If I had to find one, I'd be out of luck.
02:25A new round of allocations is beginning today.
02:28And applicants are lining up for an apartment in need of renovation.
02:32The program has been running for four years.
02:34And it's still like a lottery.
02:36I have two small children.
02:38And this is my last chance to change my living situation.
02:43Wealthy people buy 50 apartments and drive up the prices.
02:47So there's no hope for us to buy one.
02:55This year, a total of 180 apartments are being offered in Krakow.
03:01This one, for example, has to be completely gutted.
03:04Everything needs to be replaced.
03:08Edita Pavluczek in Kielce shows us what it's like to renovate a rental apartment yourself.
03:13My name is Edita and I've waited for this apartment for 27 years.
03:20Given that, living with dust and cement for a few more months is no big deal.
03:24Did she know that the project would be so much work?
03:27No.
03:29But at some point it did dawn on me.
03:31The program is called Renovate to Rent, after all.
03:34She's invested around 70,000 euros in an apartment that she doesn't own and pays rent for on top of that.
03:42Although much less than market value.
03:44The mayor calls it a win-win for the city and its residents.
03:47They live in them, and of course they pay low rent.
03:53So these apartments serve both a financial and a social function for the city.
03:57The mayor's dispassionate analysis is one thing.
04:02But in this building, Anna Pajak has a very emotional relationship with the housing program.
04:06My name is Anna Pajak and this is my dream home.
04:12She's proud that she designed everything herself.
04:17She lives in her model apartment with her son, spider and dog.
04:22But the journey to her dream home began with a nightmare.
04:26The house had long been vacant and almost nothing could be salvaged.
04:29When I got the keys to the apartment, I went to church and prayed that I would have the strength to do all this.
04:42With or without divine help, the Polish model could set an example for many places where housing has become a luxury.
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