Odisha Govt Plans to Convert Vacant Buildings into Affordable Rental Housing Under PMAY-U 2.0

Bhubaneswar: The Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department of Odisha has initiated steps to transform vacant and unutilised government buildings into affordable rental housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0 scheme.

In this regard, the department has written to several state departments — including Home, Finance, Agriculture, Panchayati Raj, Health, SC/ST Development, and Co-operation — requesting them to identify unused government buildings and houses located in urban areas that can be repurposed as rental income-generating assets.

The move aims to address the housing needs of the urban poor, migrants, industrial workers, and working women by creating affordable rental accommodation in cities and towns across the state.

Officials said the scheme provides for two implementation models. Model-1 focuses on converting existing vacant government-funded buildings into affordable rental housing through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode or through public agencies. Model-2 allows for the construction of new rental housing units by private or public entities on available land.

The initial rent for these units will be determined by local authorities based on local market surveys. The rent may be revised every two years with an 8 per cent increase, subject to a maximum rise of 20 per cent over a five-year period.

The projects will be supported financially under the PMAY-U 2.0 scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India.

Departments have been asked to submit details of suitable vacant properties to the Odisha Urban Housing and Development Mission (OUHM), which is the state nodal agency responsible for implementing PMAY-U 2.0 in Odisha.