Czech social housing responsibility may shift to municipalities

Who should provide social housing? Should municipalities be obligated by law to provide social housing for their residents?

Social housing is a concern not only of some members of the Romani minority, but of all socially vulnerable people – the elderly, the homeless, those living with mental, physical and combined disabilities, those with low incomes, etc. "Housing is a fundamental human right, and municipalities should meet this need," Vice Mayor Pavla Brady of Opava said recently on Czech Radio’s "Pro a proti" (For and Against) program.

Mayor Brady is proposing the creation of conditions so that all disadvantaged people have an opportunity to find local housing. The state, however, must also participate in creating those conditions.

"The obligation to ensure housing can only be transferred to municipalities once we define what social housing is, who it’s for, and who will pay for it," says Mayor Petr Pospíšil of Zastávka, who chairs Working Group on Social Inclusion at the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic. Pospíšil believes municipalities in the Czech Republic are currently not capable of assuming this burden.