The Kroměříž town hall is preparing a significant increase in rents in city apartments. Tenants now pay CZK 65 per square metre. From 1 July, the city flats will be divided into three categories, with tenants paying 100, 120 or 150 crowns per square metre. The decision was made by the city councillors, said Jan Vondrášek, a spokesman for the city hall.
The city, which has about 28,000 residents, now owns 489 apartments. The current rent levels, according to Mayor Tomáš Opatrný (ANO), fall far short of covering the cost of repairs the city will have to incur. “The city is subsidising the tenants at the expense of other citizens who do not live in the city flats. We did not consider this fair,” the mayor said.
The flats are managed by the city-owned company Kroměříž Technical Services (KTS), which includes classic city flats, flats in special-purpose houses for the self-sufficient elderly and disabled, and flats for income groups. “The flats, or rather houses, are in various conditions. The interiors are maintained, but in the near future it will be necessary to repair the facades, roofs, boiler rooms or balconies of the buildings,” said Jan Hebnar (ODS), deputy mayor and managing director of KTS. According to him, KTS will postpone part of the increased rent and save for these investments.
Tenants of the flats at 1422 Lutopecká Street, 520 náměstí Míru Street and 31 Jánská Street will pay CZK 150 per square metre from July. People renting apartments from the city at 4265 Nitranská Street, 3303 U Sýpek Street, 3209 U Sýpek Street, and in special purpose buildings at 4091 Nitranská Street, 4092 Nitranská Street and 4264 Nitranská Street will pay 120 crowns per square metre. One hundred crowns per square metre will be the rent in the houses Kotojedská 1064, Kotojedská 1065, Kotojedská 1011, Kotojedská 1012, Bílany 33 and in flats for income groups at Lutopecká 1410 and Lutopecká 1411.
According to Councillor Jiří Kašík (ZVUK 12), the aim of the city administration is not to put tenants in a difficult situation. “Citizens who would be unable to make ends meet due to higher rents can apply for state social support. The current rent price was unsustainable. In fact, the city is replacing the state’s social policy with this support for a certain group of residents,” Kašík said. According to Deputy Mayor Pavel Motyčka (KDU-ČSL), residents can contact the town hall’s Department of Social Affairs and Health to request assistance.
Kroměříž also has flats in Kollárová Street, which it uses to help the hospital with accommodation for doctors. “The council decides on the rent. Contracts were previously concluded for the amounts corresponding to the increase in the other flats from 1 July,” said deputy mayor Karel Holík (ČSSD), who is also the managing director of KTS. The city will also lease the now completed apartments in the former military administration building in Havlíčkova Street, for which special conditions apply. Most of these flats will be so-called starter flats for people aged between 18 and 35.
Source: CTK
