Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Association of Tenants will launch today a new project, the Montenegro Rent Index, the first systematic indicator tracking changes in apartment rental prices in the country.

“This index monitors average rents in Podgorica, Budva, Kotor, Niksic and Bar, and compares them with the average salary so that citizens and institutions can gain a realistic picture of the housing market,” the Association said in a press release.

According to the Association, preliminary data shows that rents in the capital have been rising faster than salaries, and that a large number of citizens have been spending more than half of their monthly income on housing. 

“In the current political situation in Montenegro, where social issues and housing security are barely mentioned, the Association points out that social insecurity and the economic problems of citizens continue to grow day by day,” the press release reads.

In parallel, the Association is launching the campaign “Velje Brdo and Housing Accessibility”, in connection with the announced housing construction project in Podgorica, where the construction of new apartments is planned exclusively for sale. 

The Association raises a key question: who will be able to afford those apartments, according to which criteria, and whether they will ever reduce the rise in rents for tenants?