SDP against amendments to the Rental Law; Grbin: A home cannot be taken away by administrative measure

The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) announced on Thursday that it will not support the proposed amendments to the Rental Law, which would require protected tenants to vacate their homes at the request of the owners within five years, as it believes this will lead to violations of human rights and generate numerous disputes and lawsuits, from which only lawyers will profit.

SDP members of parliament Peđa Grbin and Franko Vidović stated at a press conference that the proposed law could turn Croatian citizens into social cases.

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Grbin emphasized that this is a matter of fundamental human rights, property rights, and the right to a home, so it is unacceptable for the ruling party to view such an issue technically. He believes that such a law would only generate numerous lawsuits and disputes, and the only ones who would profit would be lawyers.

– SDP is aware of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, especially the ruling in the Statileo case, but there are also provisions that guarantee the right to a home. According to the case law of the European Court, a home is not a legal but a factual issue. That home should not be taken away by administrative measure because after five years people will find themselves on the street, he said.

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The state created the problem, it must solve it

The state has created the problem and it must solve it, Grbin assessed, stating that the problem should not be shifted to the local level or left to owners and tenants to resolve, as this could open thousands of lawsuits.

– We need to know what the current real situation is, how many apartments are involved, and what their value is. The law must also include a housing care program, and there is the issue of existing state apartments that are not being used and could be useful for providing to a user or owner, if they agree to it. The second program is a compensation plan, either for the owners or the tenants, he emphasized.

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When asked what SDP has done during its mandate to resolve this issue, Grbin and Vidović said that they tried to resolve it in 2002, but neither the owners nor the tenants were interested, and later the ruling party also showed no interest in resolving the issue.

– Unfortunately, after winning one mandate, we were unable to achieve a second in which we would probably have resolved the problem. Here, even from this conference, it is evident that we were working on it, and we would certainly have found a fair solution for both sides, said Vidović.

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– An injustice has been done to both sides. Instead of the Minister of State Property Goran Marić announcing tenders for the sale of state property, it would be wiser to direct potentials towards solving the problem. Such a proposal will not solve anything; it can only produce other injustices, so we will not support it in parliament, Vidović emphasized.