Apartment and house renovation in Jaunmīlgrāvis - for historic low-rise buildings and apartment buildings

A part of Mīlgrāvis with private houses and historic low-rise buildings

Jaunmīlgrāvis is the western part of the Mīlgrāvis neighbourhood. After 1874, when the Nobel brothers opened an oil refinery, simple workers' houses were quickly built alongside the factories, and Jaunmīlgrāvis was incorporated into the territory of Riga in 1899. In Soviet times, dormitory-type apartment buildings were built in Mīlgrāvis, usually close to the railway. The neighbourhood has both historic low-rise buildings and apartment buildings, and a renovation can range from refurbishing a single apartment to the interior work of a whole house.

In a historic low-rise building or an old private house you first need to find out what the walls and floors are made of and what has been changed in the installations. That determines whether a cosmetic renovation (walls, ceilings, floor covering, doors) is enough or whether a full renovation is needed, with demolition down to the structure and replacement of wiring and pipes. If a building is divided into apartment properties, the external walls, the roof and the load-bearing walls are the common property of all the owners, while non-load-bearing partition walls, the finishing and the doors are part of your apartment, which you may renovate without the other owners' approval, as long as the work does not affect common property.

If in a former dormitory-type building you want to change the apartment layout and remove a non-load-bearing partition wall or move a wet room, it is a simplified renovation, for which a construction notice with a plan of the room group, prepared by a construction company or a construction specialist, is submitted in the BIS before the work. An opening in a load-bearing wall requires an explanatory memorandum and, if the building is divided into apartment properties, the consent of more than half of the apartment owners. See replanning in Jaunmīlgrāvis.

In Riga, for buildings older than 50 years that are not state-protected, the City Development Department can determine the cultural and historical value and the permissible action when reviewing a construction proposal. In a historic building, take this into account if you change windows, facade details or the volume of the building.

Mīlgrāvja iela, the railway and what to write in the form

Jaunmīlgrāvis is separated from Aplokciems by the Riga-Saulkrasti railway line and the route of Viestura prospekts and Mīlgrāvja iela. Residential development in Mīlgrāvis occupies 26.8 ha, including the plot between Viestura prospekts and Ostas prospekts, Mores iela and the Mežaparks forest. That is why in the request the exact address is useful, along with a note on which street the building can be approached from and whether it is in a courtyard behind another building.

• type of building: a private house, a low-rise building or an apartment building;
• approximate year of construction and wall material, if you know it;
• area in m², the floor or the number of floors;
• which rooms you will renovate and whether you will change the wiring and pipes;
• whether the renovation is after flooding and whether there is a report;
• whether a person with a mobility or visual impairment lives in the apartment;
• the condition of the rooms and any damage.

A private house: interior renovation and a new bathroom

In a private house the order of a renovation can be as follows: first the utilities, then floors and walls, then the finishing. If a bathroom is fitted out from new or moved, first decide on the pipes and sewage, then apply waterproofing and tile. For a cement screed under tiles, the manufacturer Ceresit requires an age of at least 28 days and moisture below 4%, so a new screed is poured early. If the private house has several floors, write on which floor the bathroom is and what is under it.

For finishing work only, such as painting or changing the floor covering, no construction documents are needed. If the volume of the house changes or load-bearing elements are reinforced, it is a reconstruction; replacing worn load-bearing elements is a renovation. Approval of a reconstruction in Jaunmīlgrāvis goes through the Riga municipality's City Development Department (formerly the Riga City Building Board). See private house renovation, private house renovation project in Jaunmīlgrāvis and bathroom renovation.

If a neighbour flooded your apartment

In an apartment building water can come from the apartment above or from the shared riser. An apartment owner is liable for the losses he or she has caused to others, and the Civil Law requires compensation for losses caused by action or inaction. The regulations do not directly oblige the building manager to draw up a flood report; the injured person has to collect the evidence.

In practice: immediately ask the building manager in writing for an inspection and a report, photograph and film the damage, and keep the estimates and invoices. If the dispute is about whether the damaged place is in common property, in 2023 the Senate of the Supreme Court held that the inlet valve is part of the building's shared water supply system. Start the renovation after drying out, because for new tiles the manufacturer requires screed moisture below 4%, and under laminate the moisture of a cement base must be no more than 2% without underfloor heating. See renovation after a flood in Jaunmīlgrāvis and neighbours flooded the apartment.

Adapting an apartment and the Riga benefit

If a person who uses a wheelchair or a person with a visual disability lives in the apartment, the Riga municipality pays a benefit for adapting the home: up to €6,000 for a person in a wheelchair and up to €2,250 for a person with a visual disability. The benefit can be received by a person declared in Riga with a group I or II disability who uses a wheelchair, a child with a disability who uses a wheelchair, a person with a group I or II visual disability and a child with a visual disability; it is awarded by the Riga Social Service.

The benefit covers the adaptation work and the necessary documents, but it is not awarded if unauthorised construction has previously been carried out in the home. Adaptation can include, for example, a shower without a threshold, wider doors and handrails; exactly what is needed is determined by the person's needs. In an apartment building the benefit does not cover adapting shared areas, but the owner, after informing the association or the building manager in advance, may install a lift or build a ramp in the stairwell. See renovation for seniors.

Prices in Jaunmīlgrāvis

• Cosmetic renovation: from €100/m² of apartment area
• Full renovation: from €280/m² of apartment area
• Installing a floor drain: from €100 per drain
• Installing interior doors: from €100 per door

Prices are for labour. Materials are calculated separately in the estimate. Example: a 2-room apartment of 50 m², cosmetic renovation: 50 × €100 = from €5,000 (labour). If three interior doors are changed in an adaptation: 3 × €100 = from €300, the doors themselves separately. For a private house renovation the price is by estimate, and it is determined by the area, the number of rooms, the condition of the walls and floors and the chosen finishing. An exact estimate can be made after seeing the apartment. All prices: renovation prices.