News server Znojemský týden has reported that rumors are circulating in the Czech town of Znojmo alleging that Romani families will be moving in. The rumors first mentioned that Romani families would be moving into the building of a monastery on Louce street, then into muncipally-owned apartments on Sokolovská street, and finally that they would be moving into building no. 3 on that street, which belongs to the Znojmo-based Agropodnik company.
Residents of nearby buildings fear disorder and unrest will result from having Romani neighbors. Both Agropodnik and the Znojmo town hall have sharply protested the rumors.
Whoever first authored the fabricated, ungrounded rumors first told the residents of Znojmo that a bus full of Romani people was heading for building no. 3 on Sokolovská street after having moved out of Cejl street in Brno. The next rumor said whole hordes of Romani families from Slovakia were heading into town. The final rumor specified that 300 Romani people would be moving into a building that the Znojmo town hall was allegedly selling to private owners.
"The leadership of Znojmo has thoroughly distanced itself from all of these rumors and speculations and has tried to reassure citizens that the information being spread has no basis in reality," emphasized Zuzana Pastrňáková, spokesperson for the Znojmo town hall. Jiří Herák, a Romani field social worker, also refuted the notion that new Romani families are moving into Znojmo.
The town is not selling any of the properties it owns. According to the spokesperson, the town hall only owns some apartments in some of the buildings on Sokolovská street and their sale could only take place on the basis of certain pre-approved criteria.
Agropodnik is also not planning to move Romani tenants en masse into its properties. "This is complete nonsense. When we rent apartments in that building, we do our best to determine prospective tenants’ reputations and solvency beforehand. We currently do not have any Romani applicants and the owner of the building is not considering including social apartments there in the future," explained Vladimír Lattner, who manages Agropodnik’s properties.
Building no. 3 features 40 apartments of different sizes, from one to three rooms. Some tenants pay regulated rents and others pay market rents, as is customary in Znojmo, and between 12 to 15 apartments are available there.
"We wouldn’t be against someone like that applying as long as they uphold the lease and the rules of the building," the manager said. The rumors are said to have been intentionally spread by a tenant in building no. 3.
The town basically has its hands tied on the matter of people moving into Znojmo. As a public administration entity, it can only do what the law permits. "Just as citizens have rights, so do landlords. Discrimination and restriction of freedom of movement are banned by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. European Union law bans discrimination on the basis of citizenship, and it bans the restriction of foreigners’ movements and residency on the territory of the Czech Republic," Pastrňáková said.
Residential hotel landlords to get less money
The landlord of a single-family home on the corner of Mičurinova street in Znojmo has rented that real estate to Romani tenants. According to the current decrees on state social support, social benefits designated for housing can be used to directly pay for rent or housing-related services without the consent of those receiving them (i.e., the socially deprived family concerned). All the disbursing benefit agency has to do is send the benefit directly to the landlord or the service providers.
"The situation in which residential hotels, whether established by municipalities or operated by private individuals as businesses, can charge disproportionate rents will be resolved in the future. Housing benefits will be unified into one disbursement and the maximum cost permissible for that type of housing will be reduced," said Táňa Kozelková of the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry.
