‘We do not help banks, but citizens and the construction sector’

Minister Anka Mrak-Taritaš appeared on the Dnevnik of Nova TV. She discussed with Mislav Bago the new program to encourage apartment sales, POS plus, and the legalization of illegally built structures.

Minister Anka Mrak-Taritaš emphasized that the Ministry will provide additional funds if the interest in purchasing apartments through the ‘POS plus’ program exceeds expectations.

If tomorrow citizens decide to start with ‘POS plus’, where and how can they find out the timeframe for purchasing an apartment?

On the APN website, they will see all the conditions, and they will also see which banks are our partners. Therefore, we are starting from tomorrow.

So, it is a matter of a couple of weeks if they find an apartment?

Absolutely, first they find an apartment, go to the bank that assesses their creditworthiness, and proceed from there.

That 15 percent guarantee, namely, people lost money during the crisis. Do you think it will be difficult for them to secure that 15 percent for the apartment?

Fifteen percent indicates that the person who approaches the apartment purchase project in this way is serious. We are engaging quite significant state funds here and expect citizens to engage equally.

This year you have secured funds in the budget for 900 apartments. What if the interest is greater?

If the interest is greater, we will provide additional funds.

Approximately when?

In the fall, we will already see the results of this POS plus project, which is the first of its kind in our country. If we see that the project is going well, we will reallocate certain funds that are in our items, and there will certainly be opportunities to seek additional funds as VAT, which is currently not in the state budget, will automatically enter.

People are already buying so-called Baćić apartments, what is the difference between ‘Baćić’ and ‘your’ apartments?

The big difference is that ‘Baćić apartments’ offer security for the first four years, and after that, citizens are left to the banks and the changes that banks make, while with us, from the first to the last day, there is a secure interest rate, secure annuity, and repayment method.

When those ‘Baćić apartments’ started, there were criticisms that the then government was helping banks. Are you afraid there will be criticism from citizens in the sense that the government is helping banks to resolve 20,000 unsold apartments?

Well, we need to see that this is not the case. We primarily help citizens and the construction sector. When you look at the model, if you want a loan from the bank, the difference in the monthly annuity with this model is about 100 euros. Ultimately, with this model, you pay 23 to 27 percent less than if you only go to the bank.

You have another major task or problem, which is the legalization of illegal construction. Over 140,000 applications, and you told me a couple of months ago: ‘July 1st, no mercy, we are not moving the date’. What guarantee do citizens have that this will be resolved in a reasonable timeframe, and we know how slow our administration is?

Well, we know that the administration is slow. Twenty percent of the funds we receive from legalization goes to office operations. I am waiting for the local elections to pass, and with the current and some future mayors and county heads, we will have discussions, or they will activate offices with the funds we receive and employ additional staff to do this, or we will take those funds and do it as a Ministry.

So, you will form your special teams if they do not do the job and resolve this?

Exactly. So, 20 percent of the funds is for the work to resolve cases; if certain cities or counties do not do this, we will do it as a Ministry.

Finally, I must ask you, farmers in Slavonia have the biggest problem – barns, pigsties, and chicken coops are not legalized, and if they are not legalized by July 1st, there will be no support from the European Union. Is this a priority at this moment?

Well, this certainly needs to be a priority. I repeat once again, a priority for those counties and cities. If they do not recognize this as a priority, we will recognize it at the state level.