ZAGREB, Oct 11 (Hina) - The Croatian Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction on September 25 adopted regulations on priority in the provision of accommodation in line with changes to the Law on Areas of Special State
Concern.
ZAGREB, Oct 11 (Hina) - The Croatian Ministry of Public Works,
Reconstruction and Construction on September 25 adopted
regulations on priority in the provision of accommodation in line
with changes to the Law on Areas of Special State Concern. #L#
The regulations refer also to former holders of tenancy rights over
state-owned flats whom the Law on the Lease of Flats in Liberated
Areas stripped of those rights.
International organisations, Croatian Serb refugee associations
and political parties requested the government on several
occasions to allow the Serbs, who had not been able to do so
previously, to purchase the flats over which they had tenancy
rights. The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights joined
these requests, urging the extension of the deadline for those who
can prove that due to objective reasons they had been unable to
apply on time for the purchase of the flats.
In last year's report on Croatia's progress in fulfilling
international obligations, the OSCE Mission to Croatia said one of
the problems hampering the return of Serb refugees was their
tenancy rights.
The report mentioned 50,000 applications submitted by Serb
refugees claiming back their tenancy rights, stating that adequate
compensation should be ensured for the lost tenancy rights.
The government responded that tenancy rights were not property
rights and that the state was not obliged to compensate former
tenancy rights holders for anything.
The category of tenancy rights was abolished in 1996 with the Law on
the Lease of Apartments. Under the law, tenancy rights holders were
enabled to purchase socially-owned flats and those who had not
lived in them for more than six months lost that right.
According to the State Bureau of Statistics, there were 400,000
socially-owned flats in Croatia whose sale started in June 1991.
Between 1991 and the end of 2000, more than 314,000 formerly
socially-owned flats were sold at a single price of 10 billion kuna.
The average price of a flat with an area of 59 square metres was
32,000 kuna.
(hina) rml sb