Estonia, Legislation, Real Estate

The State Audit Office will have to start paying 73% in rent next year for its building in the centre of Tallinn – while this year, the rent amounted to 3.26 million kroons, in 2010 it will be 5.65 million kroons.

"The rent payments for the State Audit Office will indeed increase," confirmed a member of the management board of the State Real Estate Company Elari Udam. "We have previously agreed on that in the contract; while thus far, the State Audit Office paid cost-based rent – zero kroons plus utilities and services – now they will start paying rent on the basis of the market prices," he explained. Udam stated that the company has already lowered the rental prices by half in comparison to what was agreed upon earlier.

Public relations director of the State Audit Office Toomas Mattson confirmed that this is indeed so – the previously agreed full price would have been nearly eight million kroons per year.

The State Real Estate Company also wants to increase the rental payments of the Ministry of Justice next year – by 18.06%. The Ministry of Justice has stated that if the company will indeed raise the prices, they will need nearly 30 million kroons more for their budget next year.

Udam said that this year, the State Real Estate Company has lowered the rental payments of its 111 lessees by a total of 20 million kroons, mostly due to the falling prices of maintenance and cleaning, guarding and of heating energy.