Czech town offers Romani family accommodation in uninhabitable residential hotel

The Gorol family of the Czech town of Slaný recently requested an apartment from local officials after their previous rental arrangement came to an end. The local council approved a place in its residential hotel for them, which is comprised of three adjacent buildings.

The family was surprised to discover that the state of the facility, without any exaggeration, is completely decrepit. In addition to being unimaginably dirty, the walls in the unit are damaged and graffiti-covered, the toilet is Turkish-style without running water, and there are not even intake pipes for hot running water anywhere.

"My wife and I requested accommodation in Slaný. The municipal council approved a place for us in its residential hotel. We were glad the town approved housing for us even though we are Romani. Now take a look at where they want us to live," Michal Gorol posted to the Facebook social networking site along with photographs of the devastated municipally-owned property.  

In a reportage by TV Barrandov, which traveled to the scene to cover the news, the couple makes no secret of their consternation. "I wouldn't house an animal there," Gorol said.  

Vice-Mayor Milan Grohmann gave a brief statement to TV Barrandov on the situation to the effect that while investment into the property is allegedly underway, "it is not highly sustainable." Public health officials from the nearby town of Kladno who are tasked with working in Slaný said they had actually never seen the conditions in the facility.

Those same officials however, asserted that owners or operators are not the ones responsible for the condition of such accommodations, but that the tenants who rent units there bear sole responsibility for upkeep. "This was the first time I have ever applied for anything [from local government] and it is the last time I ever will," Gorol said. 

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