Liepāja offers 70,000 euros to make old houses look less depressing

Liepāja municipality has unveiled a new concept in saving cultural monuments — they'll pay property owners money so their houses look less like abandoned ghost villas. While in Riga historic buildings wait decades for someone to notice them, in Liepāja they've figured out to simply give property owners money and hope they won't spend it on alcohol.

The program offers up to 50,000 euros per house, which is more money than many Liepāja residents see in a year. As local resident Maija from Graudu Street says: "If they gave me 50 thousand for my house, I'd start claiming it's a cultural monument myself." The offer seems particularly attractive to those whose houses are located by the Karosta canal — the bridge that divides the city and creates drama, just like these homeowners when they realize how much money a proper renovation actually costs.

Most delightful is the fact that co-financing can be received even for window and door inventory. Yes, that's right — the city will pay people to count their windows. While in Riga people pay others to count their doors, in Liepāja this service is state-funded.

The program has been running for 12 years, which proves — Liepāja has so many old houses that even with 70,000 euros per year, they never run out. But at least now homeowners have hope that their roof won't fall directly on their heads, but maybe just slightly to the side.