In 2017, those residents of Poznań who were in a difficult living situation could benefit from different forms of assistance provided by the City.
These forms of assistance included:
- housing allowances
- rent cuts
- lump sum payments for the purchase of fuel
- lump sum housing allowance.
Housing allowances
Housing allowances are a form of the City’s assistance intended for people who are in a difficult living situation, who use a flat, but do not have sufficient funds to maintain it. The allowance is granted to people who live in flats to which they have legal titles, meet the income criteria and live in dwellings fulfilling the size criterion.
Beneficiaries of this allowance are non-affluent people, yet their income exceeds poverty thresholds that qualify them for social assistance benefits. With such allowances, the City helps its residents to pay their living expenses.
In 2017, 54.2 thousand housing allowances in the amount of PLN 16.1 million were granted, and as part of the entitlement to the housing allowance, 36.1 thousand lump sums for the purchase of fuel were paid. All funds allocated for housing allowances were paid out from the City budget.
The average amount of the housing allowance granted in 2017 was PLN 297.74. The scope of provided assistance was 7% lower than in 2016 and concerned 9,000 households. In the structure of granted allowances, their largest part was addressed to individuals and families using private-rent and municipal housing stock.
Rent cuts
Another form of assistance, namely rent cuts, is granted to tenants using the housing stock of the City of Poznań, whose average monthly income per household member in the three months preceding the date of submitting the application does not exceed 175% of the lowest retirement pension in a single-person household, and 125% of this amount in a multi-person household, applicable on the day of submitting the application, and occupying flats whose area does not exceed a specified limit.
In 2017, 27 requests for a rent reduction were filed, of which 24 were accepted.
Lump sum energy allowance
A lump-sum energy allowance is granted to individuals who have been granted a housing allowance and who are also parties to a comprehensive agreement or contract for the sale of electricity concluded with an energy company, and reside in the place of electricity supply.
In 2017, 5,090 applications for a lump-sum energy allowance were submitted. In 4,688 cases the allowance was granted, 294 applications were rejected, 27 applications were left without examination and in 23 cases the administrative proceedings were discontinued.
The total amount of lump-sum energy allowances paid in 2017 was PLN 406 thousand.