Most political parties want changes in housing policy

Prague - The housing policy in the Czech Republic primarily lacks a new civil code, a law on property ownership of apartments, and a law on social housing. This emerges from discussions of the Tenant Association of the Czech Republic with representatives of most major political parties, said Milan Taraba, deputy chairman of the association, at a press conference today. Changes should also be made to building savings. The money from it should only be designated for construction purposes.
    "Building savings must be adjusted so that the state contribution is conditional on investments in construction work and that the state does not support the savings of the wealthiest people," stated the deputy chairman of the association. Similar changes in building savings are also being considered in the planned amendment to state housing policy tools by the Ministry of Regional Development.
    The association itself also called on politicians to adopt a law on locally customary rents. This law aims to address the situation regarding the determination of rent after the deregulation of rent has ended.
    Commercial director of the real estate agency Lexxus Peter Višňovský is skeptical about significant changes in the field of housing after the elections. According to him, it is likely that the new cabinet will again rely on a "fragile majority." "Given the probable entry of new parties into the parliament, agreement within the government is even less likely," the manager argues.
    According to Taraba, the Tenant Association would most prefer to see representatives of the Social Democracy and the Communists in the parliament. However, Lexxus analyst Ondřej Diblík holds the exact opposite opinion. "If the left, with the participation of communists, comes to power, it will not provide certainty for property owners," stated the expert. The chairman of the association is the ČSSD MP Stanislav Křeček.
    In the case of the Civic Democrats, the Tenant Association finds it important that they have allegedly begun to talk about the need for a law on social housing for the first time. Representatives of Public Affairs praised the "good ideas" for housing policy in cities and municipalities, but they reportedly lack more general knowledge.
    All meetings with the Tenant Association were attended by representatives of the ČSSD, KSČM, and Public Affairs. The ODS and KDU-ČSL had a two-thirds attendance, while TOP 09 and the Party of Citizens' Rights - Zemanovci had one-third participation. The Green Party reportedly did not participate in the discussions.