Tag Archives: Housing

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Housing in Slovakia

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Housing in Slovakia

The Slovak government has launched a €35.3 million initiative to support the construction, extension, and renovation of social rental housing aimed at increasing housing availability for young families, seniors, people with disabilities, and marginalized Roma communities.

Municipalities are required to maintain the rental nature of these apartments for at least 20 years and offer them at regulated rents, with a minimum percentage of units allocated for Roma communities based on their representation in the municipality.

Additional conditions include reserving 15% of the apartments for people with disabilities and establishing a maintenance fund of at least 0.5% of the acquisition costs to ensure long-term sustainability.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Stara Zagora

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Stara Zagora

Marin Tihomirov, a member of the Bulgarian parliament, called for assistance from relevant institutions regarding the demolition of Roma homes in Stara Zagora, affecting over 30 families.

He emphasized the need for a clear plan for the relocation of these families and criticized the lack of a humane solution, urging the government to respect human rights.

Tihomirov appealed to all parliamentary groups to responsibly address the issue and highlighted the historical neglect of Roma communities despite previous integration efforts and funding.

News Eastern Europe Romania

Housing in Romania

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Housing in Romania

The Cluj-Napoca Local Council approved a program worth over 400 million lei to purchase 350 homes for Roma and other vulnerable communities, aiming for social integration rather than segregation.

Mayor Emil Boc emphasized that the initiative will use the SIEG mechanism to legally facilitate the purchase of homes and provide social services to the relocated families.

The program aims to eliminate informal settlements like Pata Rât by 2030, with over 500 individuals already relocated to decent housing through previous projects.

This is a drop of water on a hot stone …

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Greece and Settlements

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Greece and Settlements

Two articles in the Greek press on Roma settlements. The first one, descriubes the living conditions of the Roma community in Heraklion which are dire, with as rodents, harmful insects, and inadequate sanitation being reported by residents.

The president of the Roma Association “Elpida” will address these concerns at the upcoming municipal council meeting, advocating for a clean and safe environment for families.

The second one states that the European Court of Human Rights is reviewing a case involving the threatened eviction of Roma community members in Thessaloniki, Greece, without alternative housing provisions.

The case highlights broader issues of housing, forced evictions, and discrimination against Roma communities, emphasizing the need for adequate housing solutions.

The Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, argues that the eviction threat violates the right to respect for private and family life, and the case could set a precedent for protecting vulnerable communities from forced evictions.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Housing in Slovakia

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Housing in Slovakia

The Slovak government has launched a call for proposals aimed at improving housing for marginalized Roma communities, with a budget of 30 million euros from EU funds.

The initiative focuses on socio-economic inclusion, particularly for low-income households and disadvantaged groups, emphasizing the need for accessible housing and services.

New requirements include the necessity of a valid building permit at the time of application and specific benchmarks for technical equipment and accessibility in housing projects.

The latter point will prevent this being implemented in most Roma settlements…

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Roma in Budapest

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Roma in Budapest

A research commissioned by the Józsefváros Municipality aims to explore the challenges and needs of the Roma community in Józsefváros, focusing on issues like housing, education, healthcare, employment, culture, and women’s status.

The study will utilize a combination of focus group discussions, surveys, and professional interviews, targeting around 300 participants who identify as Roma and are over 18 years old.

The research contract was awarded to TÁRKI and Uccu through an open tender, evaluated on methodological soundness, prior experience, research elements, and cost.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Really?

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Really?

A Slovenian Roma community representative in Brezje–Žabjak claims that a 19-year-old pregnant woman was left homeless after her residence was demolished without prior notice from authorities.

The representative is urging the mayor and local government to provide temporary housing for the woman and to clarify the legal basis for the demolition. The community seeks to legalize their homes and is willing to purchase land, emphasizing the need for cooperation and respect from local authorities.

Montenegro News Eastern Europe

Discrimination in Montenegro

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Discrimination in Montenegro

Roma in Montenegro face ongoing challenges, including housing conditions, education access, employment opportunities, and societal prejudices.

Activist Shejla Pepić highlights the discrimination faced by women in the Roma community and emphasizes the importance of education and activism.

Minister Fatmir Đeka notes improvements in the status of the Roma population, including reduced unemployment rates and increased educational enrollment among Roma children.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia and Housing

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Croatia and Housing

The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction, and State Property has announced a public call for financial support for spatial planning in areas inhabited by Roma for the year 2026. The total planned value of the public call is €79,634, aimed at creating spatial plans and technical documentation for construction permits in these areas.

Eligible applicants are local government units with over 1% of the Roma national minority, as per the 2021 census, with a minimum of 20 Roma residents.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Housing in Slovakia

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Housing in Slovakia

The city of Rožňava, Slovakia, has received 3.1 million euros for a transitional housing project that is intended to improve the conditions of the marginalized Roma community (MRK). As part of the plan, the municipality will reconstruct rental apartments in the Rožňavská Baňa district and build a new apartment building with ten apartments on Krátká Street. TASR was informed about this by the city’s PR manager Martina Beshirová.

There are currently 26 rental apartments in Rožňavská Bana, of which more than 20 do not have their own sanitary facilities. The residents of the apartment building, a total of 19 Roma families, use shared toilets and showers, which are located at the end of the corridor.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Michalovce, Slovakia

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Michalovce, Slovakia

In Michalovce, there is a significant Roma community facing several issues, with housing being the most serious problem.

The city plans to build rental apartments in the settlement, offering hope for change.

Many Roma students choose the Alexander Dubček Secondary Vocational School in Vranov nad Topľou for better opportunities, but not all manage to complete their education; a new scholarship program could help improve this situation.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Renting a Flat

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Renting a Flat

A Roma family in Hungary faces discrimination in the rental market, highlighting the challenges they encounter when landlords reject them based on their ethnic background.

Research shows that Roma applicants require significantly more attempts to secure viewings compared to non-Roma, and they often face higher rental prices due to perceived biases.

Despite existing anti-discrimination laws, societal attitudes remain largely negative towards Roma, with many Hungarians condoning discriminatory practices in housing.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Podcast

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Podcast

In the twenty-third episode of the SODAcast podcast, its authors Zdeněk Ryšavý and Patrik Banga return to the housing case of Minister for Regional Development Zuzana Mrázová, the debate on the Agency for Social Inclusion, the May Day march against fascism and the vocabulary of some politicians. They also discuss the Sudeten Germans’ congress in Brno and the violence of some football fans.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenia

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Roma in Slovenia

A review of land owenership in one of the largest settlements in Novo Mesto shows that the largest share of land is still owned by the state (44.1%). 13.2% of the land is owned by Roma, and 22.3% is owned by others. The municipality of Novo Mesto owns 20.4% of the land.

Why they put a picture of poor Tuskish Roma from Istanbul as a picture is somewhat strange …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: New Housing

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Slovakia: New Housing

In early February, the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities approved three more projects aimed at improving housing in municipalities included in the Atlas of Roma Communities, totaling over 6.6 million euros. The investments are directed to Rudny, Chminianske Jakubovy and Gemerská Hôrka, where new or renovated housing is to help almost three hundred residents.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Fire

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Fire

A fire burned in the Soifia “Lyulin” district at night. Accirding to the article, “It houses a temporary accommodation center. Socially disadvantaged Roma families are accommodated there. People from the area have been complaining for years about numerous problems related to crime, poor hygiene and aggressive behaviour of some of the residents. The place has become a ghetto.”

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Housing in Bulgaria

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Housing in Bulgaria

79% of Roma live in overcrowded housing compared to 34% of the entire Bulgarian population, experts announced at a national roundtable on the topic “From data to action: Conclusions on the situation of Roma in Bulgaria from the study of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights” in Sofia. Organizers are the Centre for the Study of Democracy and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The first and most visible problem for our society regarding Roma citizens is forced eviction from their homes, said Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva during a the National Roundtable.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Housing in Slovakia

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Housing in Slovakia

We take care of our Roma because they are decent people. They want to work and live at a high standard, says the mayor of Buzica in the Košice-okolie district, Jozef Mohňanský (SMK), about a project to improve the quality of housing for the Roma community.

Buzica is one of 13 municipalities that received a non-refundable financial contribution from the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities.

The money is to be used for the reconstruction and construction of rental apartments worth a total of more than 26 million euros. This will create or reconstruct housing capacities for 1,193 people.

Nice, but not sustainable … It means over 20’000 euros per relodged person, this in a region where the house prices are often lower than that.

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