MfD: A decision on the deregulation of rents should be made by the end of the year

    PRAGUE - Lawmakers will decide at the next session, which starts on Tuesday and may last up to two weeks, about the potential increase in regulated rents. Tenant representatives are preparing protests against dramatic rent increases, wrote today's Mladá fronta Dnes.
    Regulated rents are set to be relaxed for the first time in three years under pressure from the European court. Hundreds of lawsuits from landlords against the state are waiting there, seeking billions in compensation for price regulation. To avoid paying compensation, the state is rushing to pass a law on the deregulation of rents.
    The Social Democrats propose a rent increase of 9.3 percent per year, but they do not have unconditional support within their own ranks. For example, MP Stanislav Křeček, who has long represented tenants in legal disputes, is in favor of relaxing the rents but does not want to support the law in its current form. "I am in favor of a slower growth rate or a longer transitional period," says Křeček. The Christian Democrats, on the other hand, would like to shorten the transitional period to four years.
    Therefore, the ČSSD will have to seek help in voting from the opposition. However, the ODS demands a faster pace of deregulation. While it is willing to support the government proposal, it will only do so if it can simultaneously advocate for changes to the Civil Code. This is unacceptable for some MPs from the ČSSD. The Communists are also willing to raise their hands for deregulation but consider a maximum growth limit of nine percent.
    Tenant representatives also feel this is their last chance to influence the form of the government bill and are planning a demonstration for Monday. According to the Vice-Chairman of the Tenants' Association, Milan Taraba, they want a quality law that would allow owners to take care of their buildings, but they also demand boundaries that would ensure housing accessibility for young people.
    Young people looking for their first apartment, however, gain nothing from regulated rents. Regulation only applies to old decrees; new housing can only be obtained at market rent. And deregulation would likely lead to a decrease in market rents, MfD writes.