Vsetín will demolish the tenement house, relocating the Roma outside the city

Vsetín - The Vsetín city hall will soon demolish the tenement house in the city center, which is predominantly inhabited by Roma. Due to the appearance of the building and the lifestyle within it, local residents refer to it as an embarrassment to the city. Doctors and patients from the nearby clinic also frequently complain about the noise from the house. According to expert assessments, the tenement house is life-threatening, and the city hall no longer intends to invest a single koruna, let alone millions, into repairing the electrical installations and other utilities. This was stated today by city hall spokeswoman Eva Stejskalová. Most of its tenants will find a new home on the outskirts of Vsetín, in the Poschlá area.
The problematic house currently houses 42 families, predominantly Roma. Their behavior is the subject of constant complaints from doctors and patients of the neighboring clinic. Additionally, the house is in such a technical state that any collapse could suddenly render it uninhabitable, and in such a case, the city would be legally obliged to find accommodation for more than 150 Roma until the issue is resolved. "Unfortunately, such a literally catastrophic situation could occur any day now, and given that we have no vacant apartments, the only option would be a hotel, which we would have to pay for these tenants from city funds," stated Mayor Jiří Čunek.
Despite protests from some human rights advocates, the city has recently begun construction of apartments in the Poschlá district. Housing for tenants from the tenement house will be created from iron containers, near already built temporary housing. In the city part located on the outskirts, two buildings with 18 housing units each will be erected within six weeks. "The apartments will primarily be allocated to those tenants who fulfill their civic duties, meaning, for example, that they take their children to school and do not support criminal activities, and pay rent properly. We will try to get the others out of the city," declared the mayor, who admitted that achieving 100% fulfillment of this goal may take a matter of several dozen months.
"Unfortunately, the laws in this country are rather on the side of the citizens who do not comply with them, so those whose eviction has already been decided by the court can appeal indefinitely. And if the judgment does not become final, we cannot definitively get rid of the tenant," Čunek added. Despite these legislative difficulties, the mayor remains optimistic. He believes that the city will succeed in implementing this strategy to the end, and all those who do not want to comply with the laws and regulations of the city will end up on its outskirts or beyond its borders. The tenement house near the clinic will be demolished by the city this fall. The construction of new apartments in the Poschlá area will cost approximately 40 million korunas, of which 30 million korunas will be obtained by the city as a grant.