Czech Agency says evicted tenants must be housed in the same town

The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release on the situation in Ústí nad Labem – Předlice:

In the Předlice quarter of Ústí nad Labem, substitute housing continues to be sought for the families who must leave a building that was condemned at the start of October by the Building Works Authority because it is in disrepair. During the month of October, the Building Works Authority monitored several buildings in Předlice which have long been occupied by socially deprived residents and which are in a very poor technical state.

As many as 30 buildings were monitored, some of which are still occupied by tenants. One building on Beneše Lounského street is in such bad shape that the owner was summoned to provide substitute accommodations to all seven families in the building and to immediately start repairs once the tenants have moved out. The landlord has not yet taken those steps.

Shortly after the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion was informed of the crisis situation in Předlice, the Agency met with the mayor of the municipal department of Ústí nad Labem in which the Předlice quarter falls. "We agreed at this meeting that municipal department social service staffers and nonprofit organizations will actively collaborate on ensuring substitute accommodations are provided to the residents of the condemned building, that they will perform a social need investigation in the building, and that they will negotiate with the contact workplace of the Labor Office on providing support for the tenants in the form of extraordinary, immediate assistance – for example, so they can pay first and last month’s rents in their new housing," Agency director Martin Šimáček explained.

Director Šimáček asked the mayor of Ústí nad Labem to convene a Mayoral Action Group to address the situation in Předlice, in particular, the situation of this building on Beneše Lounského street. The Action Group, comprised of representatives of the town, the municipal police, the Agency for Social Inclusion, and several nonprofit organizations, met on 23 October, and the residents of that building were subsequently informed of their options for addressing the situation. The residents are in regular contact with staffers from the municipal department’s social services, with the town hall social affairs department, and with field social workers from People in Need (Člověk v tísni). The building has also been repeatedly visited by the local consultant of the Agency, who has spoken with representatives of all of the families on how they imagine the situation should be resolved.

At the meeting of the Mayoral Action Group, it was decided to create a smaller crisis group to ensure substitute housing is provided to the residents of the building on Beneše Lounského street. Leadership of that group was entrusted to the National Minorities Coordinator at the Ústí nad Labem town hall, Jan Husák. The other members of the group are representatives of the Building Works Authority, the head of the Aid in Material Distress agenda, the Municipal Police director, the social welfare departments of both the town hall and the municipal department, the Agency, People in Need, and a representative of the building residents.

After this group met on Thursday, 1 November, a meeting was held with representatives of all of the families living in the building on Beneše Lounského street. At that meeting, residents were familiarized with their options for substitute accommodations. The state of the building continues to be critical and there is a real threat that it may collapse. The building residents are therefore being recommended to leave the building as soon as possible.

"We are doing our best to find adequate substitute accommodations for these families. The priority is for them to have the opportunity to find apartments in Ústí nad Labem so they are not moved out of town against their will. However, the situation must be addressed quickly. We must limit the possibility of their lives continuing to be at risk should the building collapse. If substitute housing cannot be found, the families will live in residential hotels for a temporary period so as not to end up on the street," Šimáček said.

Jan Husák is currently collaborating with staffers from People in Need on seeking apartments into which the families can move after their time in the residential hotels. "The town also offered to arrange for automobiles to move the families into the residential hotels, for a container for garbage disposal, and to store things the families will not be able to take with them to the residential hotels for the time they will have to live there," Šimáček said.

Staffers with the Konexe association have recently been posting fliers warning the residents of other buildings in the Předlice quarter that a similar fate may await them. "According to our information, most of the buildings which might be condemned are no longer occupied. Only some of the currently occupied buildings may be closed," explains Šimáček. "It is not appropriate to spread panic among the residents of Předlice. There is a need to continue effective collaboration with the social services department, the field social workers, and other institutions. People who have been threatened with eviction must be informed of the need to move out in a timely fashion. They must be involved in deciding on where to seek substitute housing and for how long. They must also receive the support they are due so they can resolve their difficult situations."