Slovak Developer Warns of Housing Crisis: 'Anyone Without a Home at 65 Will Be in Trouble'

Slovakia is manufacturing its own housing shortage through slow permitting processes and overly restrictive zoning rules, according to prominent Slovak developer Marián Dubec. In an interview, Dubec warned that the country's housing deficit is not the result of external forces but of systemic failures in urban planning and bureaucracy. He argued that local zoning plans need to be liberalized and building permit procedures significantly accelerated to allow enough new housing to be built. Dubec issued a stark personal finance warning alongside his structural critique, saying that anyone who reaches the age of 65 without owning their own home will face serious financial hardship — a concern increasingly relevant in Slovakia, where property prices in cities such as Bratislava have risen sharply in recent years while the pace of new construction lags behind demand. Slovakia, like many Central European countries, has seen housing affordability deteriorate significantly, with younger generations particularly struggling to enter the property market.