The planned legislative changes to rental conditions, which were presented on Monday by representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) and the Ministry of Justice, are not balanced, according to the Association of Rental Housing (ANB). According to the MMR, the proposal should serve to straighten out the relationship between landlords and tenants in apartments and houses. Newly, it would not be possible to conclude a lease agreement for a period of less than three years more than twice in a row, the landlord could increase the rent by 3.5 percent after reconstruction, and the process of evicting non-payers would be resolved in a shortened court process. The association believes the proposal puts landlords at a disadvantage and will have no real impact on the issue of evicting non-payers.
“The current arrangement brings the greatest difficulties in terminating tenancies due to unpaid rent. Evicting non-payers is very complicated, costly for both parties and, most importantly, very long. As a result, landlords’ fears about the complexity of evicting defaulters lead to short-term leases,” ANB said.
The upcoming change to the Civil Code should change the repeated issuance of one- to two-year contracts. According to their proposal, a tenant and landlord would be able to re-enter into a contract for a period of less than three years at most twice in a row. However, this restriction, according to ANB, will affect families in crisis situations and socially vulnerable tenants in general. “The second renewal, which according to the proposal should be for a minimum of three years, will require the landlord to carefully examine whether the current tenant is potentially risky, including their past behaviour. If he is found to be a risk, he will not offer an extension,” the association said.
According to the association, landlords are currently circumventing the impossibility of terminating longer-term contracts with one-year fixed-term contracts.
Last November, the ANB drew up a proposal under which indefinite-term contracts could also be terminated without giving a reason. The tenant would then have a 12-month notice period to find new housing.
According to the MMR, the court should decide on the eviction of the property in a summary procedure. The tenant would have to vacate the apartment or house and pay the costs of the proceedings within 15 days of receiving the order, or appeal the judgment. But this will not speed up the process with the defaulters, according to ANB. Citing Ministry of Justice data, the association said that 40 percent of similar applications for a payment order actually result in a reduction in court proceedings. Thus, the association said, the eviction should be decided by a special administrative body or arbitration court.
According to the MMR, the increase in rents in connection with the reconstruction of houses could motivate owners of flats and houses to reduce the energy consumption of housing. According to the current wording of the law, a landlord can increase the rent once a year as a result of reconstruction, but not by more than ten percent. ANB therefore does not expect the proposal to have any practical use.
The MMR proposal is now in the preparatory phase and the authorities will continue to discuss it. According to ANB media representative Tomáš Carba, the association will be able to officially comment on the proposal by 22 October.
Source: CTK
