Czech town to buy out rental units in excluded, mostly-Romani locality to stop trafficking in poverty
The situation on the housing estate in the Czech town of Šluknov in the Děčín area, which is an excluded locality, should be improved by the local authority purchasing the properties and transferring them to the local administration for management. The town hall has reached an agreement with the Agency for Social Inclusion and the Ústecký Regional Authority to undertake the purchase.
Deputy Governor Jiří Kulhánek (Civic Democratic Party – ODS) told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today that this is a unique project. Mayor Tomáš Kolonečný (Mayors and Independents – STAN) informed ČTK that the town, which sees annual revenues of approximately 190 million crowns [EUR 767,000], would need an estimated quarter of a billion crowns [EUR 10 million] to buy out all the apartments from their private owners.
The money should be contributed by the Regional Authority, the state, and the town itself. The prices of the apartments will be determined through an estimate, for which local councilors have already allocated funds from their budget.
“The estimate will be used as a basis,” said Kulhánek. The aim of the project is to aid the locality.
After the purchase, the apartments will be managed by the town, which means it will also decide on their tenants. “This is a unique project. Unique in the Czech Republic,” added Kulhánek.
According to the mayor, there are about 400 apartments on the housing estate, with about 1,000 residents living in them. The town has a population of just under 5,700.
In the past, tenants have complained about a lack of heating and hot water on the housing estate in the winter. The buildings are mostly inhabited by Romani renters.
Some of the tenants are under collections proceedings and the buildings are not clean. Last fall, bedbugs and cockroaches were reported by residents there.
There is also a high turnover of tenants on the housing estate. The common goal of the Agency for Social Inclusion, the local authority, and the Regional Authority is to get the situation on the housing estate under control, to buy out most of the apartments, transfer them to local authority administration, and stabilize the number of tenants on the housing estate.
“Our interest is to protect the interests and dignity of people living in difficult conditions, to offer them stability, security, and a chance to change their unsatisfactory life situations. Our goal is also to prevent the trafficking in poverty from further intensifying and destabilizing entire communities and towns,” said Martin Šimáček, Director of the Agency for Social Inclusion.
Not only will the apartments be bought out, but the construction and technical condition of entire buildings will also be improved. The goal is also to reduce the capacity of the housing estate and to create housing opportunities for seniors, young families, and other residents of Šluknov.
Tenants who already occupy the apartments will be given an opportunity to resolve their situations. The housing estate is the largest excluded locality in the district.
Excluded localities range from entire neighborhoods to just one building or street where social problems are concentrated. An excluded locality is often home to a group of residents with limited access to education or employment.
It is precisely such persons whom the Agency could allegedly aid in Šluknov, should they be interested.
