Czech town evicts two Romany families over debts

Litvinov authorities evicted two Romany families for not paying the rent during the weekend from the ill-famed housing estate Janov, town hall spokeswoman Margita Chalasova told CTK today.

The town hall has been checking inhabitants who violate rules and disturb their neighbours at the housing estate since November. Some 6000 people, mostly Romanies, live in Janov.

Both evicted families have three children. One family will move to the father of the children, based in Usti nad Orlici, east Bohemia. The children from the other family have been placed in an institutional facility in Liberec, north Bohemia.

Further nine families were moved out from a hostel for unadaptable families because they did not pay the rent and electricity for a long time.

The checks have already revealed 44 families that abused welfare benefits.

The town's authorities and the companies administering the flats plan to evict further people who do not pay the rent: 51 complaints demanding eviction were filed and 47 eviction orders will be handed to the rent defaulters soon.

Litvinov deputy mayor Martin Klika (Social Democrats, CSSD) said earlier that some flats were overcrowded, the Romany tenants violated sanitary regulations, had illegal connections to the grid and disturbed their neighbours.

Poor families from various parts of the country and from Slovakia moved to Janov in the past years. There are many unemployed people who have debts and no motivation to receive any education.

The relations between Janov's original inhabitants and the newcomers are tense. The original inhabitants who would like to move elsewhere cannot sell their flats because nobody wants to live in the locality.

The far-right Workers' Party (DS) has organised marches in protest against the unadaptable citizens. The party sent its monitoring guards to Janov. Last year, the extremists clashed with the police.

Litvinov Mayor Milan Stovicek (Civic Democrats, ODS) said the Workers' Party abuses the problems that the town hall has been dealing with.