In the Czech Republic, according to the Constitutional Court, there is a lack of a law on social housing; it is said to be an unsustainable situation

Brno/Praha – The uncertainty associated with housing can, according to the Constitutional Court (ÚS), jeopardize people's trust in a democratic legal state. The Czech Republic lacks a law on social housing, the court stated. According to it, this is a long-term unsustainable situation that contradicts the country's international commitments. Although the court today dismissed the complaint of tenants in municipal apartments in Olomouc, it simultaneously criticized the systemic deficiencies related to housing in the Czech Republic. The court pointed out the trade in poverty, which it characterized as an immoral exploitation of human distress. The Ministries of Labour and Regional Development report that they are currently finalizing a law on housing support.

According to Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš, his ministry is currently completing the law on housing support alongside the Ministry of Labour. It is expected to come into effect in 2025. According to Minister of Labour Marian Jurečka, if the legislative process goes smoothly, it could be even six months earlier.

The court urges lawmakers to take active steps toward the adoption of a social housing law, said reporting judge David Uhlíř. "Otherwise, there is a risk of exacerbating the crisis in the area of social housing. It is evident that these difficulties will affect not only those at risk of poverty in the future, but also the middle class, seniors, single parents, students, and young people, given the inflation and rising energy prices," states the ruling.

The attorney for the complainants, Maroš Matiaško, believes that the ruling may help improve the situation. According to him, international human rights organizations are also drawing attention to the problems. "The court dismissed the complaint on the merits, which is negative news for the complainants, but it emphasized the systemic problem that people in vulnerable situations are experiencing, which is the absence of a social housing system," Matiaško told ČTK.

According to ÚS, social benefits are not a solution if there is no actual and effective access to decent housing. The court pointed out the trade in poverty, where benefits are drawn by people who actually live in completely inadequate and undignified housing. Housing benefits then end up in the hands of landlords whose true intention is not to provide adequate housing, but to draw maximum possible state benefits.

"According to ÚS, this phenomenon represents an immoral exploitation of human distress and exceeds the bounds of decency; it is undoubtedly possible to envision a more purposeful direction of public assets into the realization of residents' right to housing,” the ruling states. A wealthy society, such as the Czech one, cannot leave people to live on the streets, without shelter, or in daily uncertainty about the roof over their heads, unless that is their free choice. Vulnerable people cannot also be left solely in the care of charities, volunteers, or non-profit organizations.

The court addressed the situation based on a complaint from tenants of Romani origin from Olomouc. They filed a lawsuit in the regional court alleging that the city committed an unlawful intervention by failing to take steps to desegregate the excluded locality and that its housing policy contributed to the maintenance of social exclusion. They were unsuccessful in both the regional court and the Supreme Administrative Court.

The actors lived at several addresses in municipal apartments in Olomouc. They pointed out the poor technical and hygienic conditions of the apartments. The administrative courts focused primarily on whether the plaintiffs had the public subjective right to housing. According to the regional court, they did not, as the law does not explicitly enshrine such a right.

According to ÚS, it can be inferred from the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms that anyone in material need has the right to such assistance as is necessary to ensure basic living conditions. However, the right to reside or the right to adequate housing cannot be directly asserted in courts. Social rights can only be claimed within the limits of laws. The absence of a suitable law is viewed by ÚS as a serious shortcoming of the Czech state.

"The path is not in individual complaints or individual disputes; it is necessary for the Czech Republic to take specific steps to fulfill its commitment," said Uhlíř.

The three-member panel of ÚS was not unanimous. Judge Ludvík David proposed that the complaints be upheld. According to him, the courts erred by not paying sufficient attention to the possible discrimination of Romani tenants. "I find it unacceptable that the general courts did not even address the issue of possible discrimination," David stated. Matiaško also aligns himself with David's dissenting opinion, and he, on behalf of the complainants, will likely turn to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The law on social housing had already been planned by previous governments in earlier electoral terms. The cabinet of Bohuslav Sobotka (ČSSD) could not agree on the regulation and did not pass it. The government of Andrej Babiš (ANO) quickly replaced the promised legislation with a grant program, from which, for example, 70 apartments were built in 2020. The current government of Petr Fiala (ODS) states in its policy declaration that it will prepare a law on housing support. "The law has been a long-time debt. The state has owed it to its citizens since approximately the 1990s," Bartoš recently told journalists. According to him, his office, along with the Ministry of Labour, has prepared a textual draft that is now being reviewed by the relevant departments of both ministries. It includes the establishment of contact points in municipalities that would provide counseling, help find housing, or mediate guarantees to landlords. A financing system and rules for social and affordable housing are also to be set up.

According to the legislative plan, the government should receive the law in October, and it is expected to come into effect in 2025. "If the legislative process goes well, effectiveness could be as early as July 2024," Jurečka told journalists today. According to him, the regulation will also address support in social housing, with social workers focusing on tenants.