The national defence minister says long-term leases are being sought from real estate developers. Projects already under development are also eyed for possibilities to use them as homes for the German troops.
According to Arvydas Anušauskas, “thousands” of civilians from Germany will come to Lithuania, suggesting “a huge need for that infrastructure”.
“The best model is renting. Long-term lease of all the blocks and the maintenance services in those blocks and all,” the minister said.
“The need will not be as grandiose as it was at the outset as Germans estimated the number of people coming to be lower than planned at first. Still, these are thousands of civilians,” Anušauskas told the CORE real estate conference on Thursday.
He said that buying housing and other civilian infrastructure for the German brigade would cost around a third of a billion euros, while renting would “significantly reduce” the need for funds.
Germany’s initial requirements concerning housing were “very high,” according to the minister.
“We have managed to lower their expectations a bi, regarding the type of infrastructure, space for each person, for everyone,” Anušauskas said.
The defence minister also noted that Germany “does not want to affect our property market greatly,” meaning that the arrival of German soldiers and their families should not cause a spike in house prices.
In the summer of 2022, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed that Germany will send a brigade-size military unit to Lithuania. After a year, Scholz announced the troops would be stationed here permanently.
The first Armoured Brigade unit and the organisational staff are scheduled to arrive in Lithuania in 2024, with the bulk of the brigade being deployed by 2026.