BUSINESS
Heimstaden
Introduces Plentiful
Improvements
and the Concept
of Friendly Homes
Residomo, the largest private provider of rental housing
in the Czech Republic, became Heimstaden Czech
on May 27, 2020. The name changed when the new
owner, Swedish Heimstaden Bostad AB, purchased
the company. Heimstaden owns housing portfolios
in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands,
Germany, and now in the Czech Republic, too. It thus
became the fourth-largest rental-housing provider
in Europe. What can its current and prospective
tenants look forward to and expect from the change?
Let us check out the responses of Jan Rafaj, CEO
at Heimstaden Czech.
Mr Rafaj, with Heimstaden, a renowned company is
entering the Czech rental-housing market. What is it
bringing?
Heimstaden has operated in Europe since 1998, and
therefore has years of experience in the ownership and
administration of tens of thousands of flats. The principal
vision of Heimstaden is the offer of long-term, stable, and
affordable rental housing with the concept of Friendly
Homes. The emphasis is on social and environmental
sustainability, and a high standard of living for both tenants
and employees, who are looked after and respected. The
company invests in the buildings of their tenants but also
in the neighbourhood. I believe that the high standards of
Heimstaden in services and corporate values will inspire
other rental-housing providers in the Czech Republic, to
the benefit of all tenants.
The crucial values of Heimstaden include Care – Dare
– Share. What do these words represent?
Heimstaden will continue the high level of management
and maintenance of our current flats and has a vision
for the further development of our portfolio and future
investments. The quality of housing and our services has
increased in recent years, and with the new owner we
can expect even better standards. For example, on June
1, 2020, we started a free new helpline, a client service
online portal, and an app, Heimstaden “Můj domov“
(My Home), which will speed up the response to inquiries
of tenants without requiring them to have to go to the
client centre in person.
Within our services to seniors, we want to develop the
successful project “Haló, nejste sami!” (“Hello, You Are
Not Alone!”), whose operation during the COVID-19
crisis was supported by psychology students from the
University of Ostrava. Their assistance on the phone
helped tenants over the age of seventy overcome
loneliness and fear. We also intend to enhance our
Senior Community Centres, and start construction of
homes designed for seniors.
An important step towards better environmental
protection will arrive in the form of increased investment
in block insulation and speeding up the process. Within
five to seven years, we plan to stop using coal-furnace
heating and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Our
tenants will be provided attractive and comfortable
homes which will also be environmentally-friendly.
Heimstaden is a strong and trustworthy partner. Which
of the activities your company plans to introduce will be
the most remarkable and most obvious on the Czech
rental-housing market?
In my opinion, we put a much greater emphasis on
close contacts and communication with tenants, who
are always the primary focus of our interest. We want to
permanently increase the quality of our facilities and their
locations, and so improve our tenants’ quality of life. And
we are also struggling to make Heimstaden be perceived
as a provider of truly Friendly Homes.
Text a foto:
Heimstaden
Czech s.r.o.
Thank you for the interview.
www.heimstaden.cz
POSITIV 2/2020 ǀ 21