The Law on Affordable Housing will be presented by the MMR in a year

Prague – The Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) will prepare the law on affordable housing within a year. It is set to be submitted to the government in December of next year. The regulation is expected to come into effect nine months later in September 2021, just before the parliamentary elections. This follows the approved government legislative plan for the upcoming year. Minister of Labour Jana Maláčová (ČSSD) has previously stated that her department will take over the preparation in case of delays.

"The aim of the proposed law (on housing affordability) is to create a legal framework to ensure housing for middle-income households, simplify and financially facilitate housing construction, strengthen alternative forms of housing, and enhance the enforceability of rights and obligations in the rental housing sector," states the legislative plan of regulations to be prepared by MMR.

Its head, Klára Dostálová (ANO), previously told ČTK that the Chamber of Deputies is unlikely to approve the law in the three-quarters of a year before the autumn elections in 2021, so it would need to be re-discussed and approved by the post-election cabinet and new deputies. It could be adopted in the first year of the next electoral term, Dostálová stated.

The government of Babiš, consisting of ANO and ČSSD with the support of the Communists, promised a law on social housing in its program statement. Last year, it abandoned this and replaced it with a grant program for Construction. According to experts on social issues, housing hardship in the Czech Republic cannot be resolved without legal regulations.

The ANO movement and social democrats have been in government together for the second electoral term, now governing together for six years. In the first four years, the Ministry of Labour, led by ČSSD, prepared the law on social housing. It did not reach an agreement with the Ministry of Regional Development under ANO for a long time regarding the form of the regulation. The Chamber of Deputies then failed to discuss the proposal before the elections.

Maláčová has previously described the housing situation in the Czech Republic as a crisis and stated that it is necessary to act quickly. She said that if the draft law is not presented at the beginning of next year, its chances of approval before the elections are slim. In mid-September, she told members of the parliamentary social committee that if MMR does not present the proposal, her department will take over the preparation.

"We are prepared for this alternative. We are ready to come up with our own proposal," said David Pospíšil, director of the Department of Social Services, Social Work, and Social Housing at the Ministry of Labour, today. According to him, a survey showed that people have more of a conception of social rather than affordable housing. "In general, we perceive that there is a need for affordable public housing with regulated rents," stated Pospíšil.

The Ministry of Regional Development has established a working group regarding housing issues. According to Pospíšil, it should meet next week. "We expect MMR to present us with its concept, philosophy, and how the law should be focused. We are ready to cooperate as much as possible," stated Pospíšil. He added that the Ministry of Labour could also use its proposals from the previous electoral term. "We have several different variants prepared. We can present some proposals that did not make it into the final version in the previous term. We are very flexible in this regard," added Pospíšil.