February 7, 2022
News
The issue of housing affordability is a fundamental and long-term issue in the Czech Republic, which, together with the insufficient amount of minimum wage limit, puts us among the worst countries in Europe. Stable and decent housing is crucial to the solution of other undesirable phenomena, such as unemployment. However, even solving the housing problem alone is not enough. Without parallel social work ensured by municipalities and non-profit organizations, it is ineffective.
We are happy to be approaching the brighter days – at least it appeared so on December 3, 2021, at the meeting of politicians, representatives of ministries, municipalities, experts, and non-profit organizations held in the European House in Prague, called Social Housing in the Czech Republic: How much does ignoring the housing needs cost and what can be done about it?
According to expert estimates, a mere ‘ignoring’ of the problem of housing unaffordability will cost 10.8 billion CZK per year. This amount relates to society-wide costs; a quarter of these represents direct costs.
The wait for the adoption of the law on social housing has taken too long now. But this time it cannot be put off anymore. With the European Union's financial help, some regions have bravely tried projects that proved to bring good results abroad: for example, the successful Housing First project in Brno or similar initiatives in Ostrava, Prague, and several other cities. However, the social housing now available only represents a fraction of the real needs of people in the cities mentioned, and the covid pandemic only exacerbates this burning issue. Therefore, addressing affordable housing should be one of the new government's priorities.
“The new government’s policy statement raises some hope for a solution,” says Iva Kuchyňková from Caritas Czech Republic, the organization which deals with the topic of the initiative called ‘Za bydlení’ (‘For Housing’), adding: “I believe that the new government won’t let the people living in this country grow poor. It does no good to anyone. When people are forced to function within the gray economy, it does nothing good for them or us or the state. I hope that the new law on affordable social housing and housing support will finally be adopted soon.”
- There is a lack of support for the social economy and entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic. It is not enough to focus only on profit.
- Caritas Czech Republic has stated support of vaccination against covid-19, which you can read on our website.