Ostrava would like to provide approximately 70 more apartments for people in housing need by the end of 2025. The city has been intensively focusing on social housing projects since 2017. Since then, 206 flats have been secured for these people. However, the city would need at least another 300 flats to solve the problem. Deputy Mayor Zbyněk Pražák (Spolu) told reporters yesterday.
“We have about 3,000 people in residential hotels and shelters who deserve some kind of housing change. There are also many children among them and it is very important that children learn to live in a standard way and do not experience childhood in a hostel, which is why we launched a social housing project in 2017,” said Pražák. The city acquires suitable flats not only from some municipal districts, but also cooperates with private owners of housing stock, such as the Heimstaden company.
According to the deputy, those interested in social housing are assessed individually and must be willing to participate in the accompanying social programme. The city has 12 social workers assigned to work with these people to help them return to normal life. “It’s through the appropriate collaboration with the households that about 85 percent of them retain their housing and there is an overall improvement in their situation,” said Mayor Jan Dohnal (Together). The remaining 15 per cent of people had to leave their apartments.
So far, the city has placed 601 people – 323 adults and 278 children – in the selected apartments. Social workers work with people for a maximum of two years, and if they manage to manage the situation, they can stay in the apartment. Currently, the city provides support to 82 households. According to the mayor, the city is also trying to motivate districts to vacate their flats financially, as they can get money to adapt flats that are in a substandard condition through a subsidy programme.
Advice and the receipt of applications for social flats is provided by the Housing Contact Point, which is located in the municipal building. It opened in November 2022 and has since been visited by more than a thousand clients.
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) said in Ostrava today that similar contact points should be established in all municipalities with extended jurisdiction from 2025. “We should finance the costs of this point in the future,” Jurečka said. He added that cooperation with local governments is still envisaged.
Dohnal said Ostrava has an advantage in that it still has a relatively large housing stock, making it easier for the city to start solving the problem. “Ostrava today has some 120,000 housing units, more than ten percent, just over 12,000 flats, are owned by us, so to some extent we are able to sanitise the issue,” the mayor said.
He said the city’s project is a pilot and the mayor welcomes the fact that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Development are dealing with the issue. Housing policy has long been an unresolved topic and I don’t think it should be a topic that should be dealt with by local governments,” Dohnal said.
Source: Ostrava City and CTK
