The Social Housing Act could be adopted sooner than in 2.5 years

Social housing in Paris

Prague - According to Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Zuzana Jentschke Stöcklová, the law on social housing could be passed sooner than the 2.5 years planned by the government. Non-profit organizations and people who have lost their housing will also assist in the preparation. This was the consensus reached today among participants in a discussion held in the Senate.
    Both municipal politicians and President Miloš Zeman want to accelerate the preparation of the law due to its relevance and necessity. "The law on social housing should be approved as soon as possible," was the stance conveyed by the president's spokesperson at the end of March. According to him, it is likely that Zeman will address the topic at a government meeting, which he will probably attend in May.
    The debate in the Senate was organized by its vice-chair Miluše Horská in cooperation with the Platform for Social Housing. According to her, an interdepartmental group must be established to process the materials gathered so far on this topic, and a schedule for discussions needs to be set. Representatives from ministries, the Public Defender of Rights, the Agency for Social Inclusion, non-profit organizations, and municipalities should then find a consensus on the basic parameters of the law on social housing.
    According to Ombudsman Anna Šabatová, one of the main principles of the law should be that housing is a basic right. The right to housing should be derived from needs, not from categories of people, and social housing should be standard accommodation in apartments at a reasonable level, not in dormitories.
    According to the spokesperson for the Platform for Social Housing, the law should concern not only those who have lost their housing but also those who are at risk of such fate, namely seniors and families with small children. According to a representative of the Agency for Social Inclusion, issues related to losing or maintaining housing affect approximately one million people in the Czech Republic.