President Milanović: the State Has Put Protected Lessees in a Difficult Position, that Is Discrimination
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović has received a delegation of the Croatian Federation of Associations of Tenants, which represents around ten thousand protected tenants in the Republic of Croatia. The delegation informed President Milanović of their objections to the amended Housing Lease Act which entered into force in 2018 and which, according to them, discriminates against protected lessees.
They advised that the implementation of the Law would leave many protected lessees without a roof over their heads, and they singled out the pensioners who are already unable to pay the rent as it has been increased manifold by the new Law and will continue to grow. They noted that the Law has mostly affected the pensioners who are the most vulnerable group, and that the only solution was to suspend the Law until a new model to deal with the issue of protected lessees was found. The Federation believes that the State should have given protected lessees the right to substitute housing instead of shifting that obligation onto local government units.
“The State should have given the same possibility to all however, protected lessees were systematically prevented from legally being equalized with the majority. What has been made possible for my family and hundreds of thousands of other people, including many who were or are members of the executive authorities, should have also been made possible for protected lessees. Although initially this looked like an oversight, it now seems more and more that this was done on purpose. The State has put a group of people in a very difficult position, this is blatant discrimination. This is a serious problem for a part of our citizens and only the state can find a lasting solution to it,” President Milanović said at the meeting.
Attending the meeting on behalf of the Federation of Associations of Tenants were Jasna Kovač Goričan, Marko Fak, Jasminka Domaš, Bojan Goričan, Zoran Pamić, Gorana Miše, Vladimir Severinac and Nada Boban.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas