The demand for cooperative housing has been growing recently. This is due to the housing crisis, which revived interest in alternatives, especially among young families. Cooperative housing has a long tradition in the Czech Republic, thanks to which it makes up a significant share of the real estate market and has the potential to continue expanding. But the legislation is insufficient, as the speakers of the expert seminar in the Chamber of Deputies agreed.
The advantages of co-operative housing have recently attracted more and more people, especially the younger ones, who in the current real estate market find it difficult to afford their own housing. In the case of the cooperative, however, they are exempt from paying real estate acquisition tax, and although they are not the owners of the apartments, this does not reduce their user rights in any way, and the rent is much lower than market prices. This is because it is cost rent, the goal of which is not profit. They can transfer their share in the cooperative to another person or sell it at any time.
However, the current situation poses a number of obstacles for cooperatives, which the participants of the seminar “Opportunities and challenges of cooperative housing in the Czech Republic” wanted to draw attention to. The event was held under the auspices of the Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development, where the Union of Czech and Moravian Housing Cooperatives (SČMBD) presented analysis prepared in cooperation with the Center for Economic and Market Analysis (CETA).The results of the analysis brought an important overview of current trends and the future of cooperative housing policy in the Czech Republic.
“Cooperative housing is a neglected part of the housing market. However, the current situation poses a number of obstacles for cooperatives, which we wanted to draw attention to in the seminar. I am pleased that this expert debate took place on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies, and I believe that we will start looking for ways to solve current problems,” said Jiří Havránek, chairman of the Subcommittee for Housing Policy and Construction and organizer of the seminar.
Insufficient legislation hinders the development of cooperative housing
61 members of the SČMBD, owning more than 267,000 apartments and 10,000 houses, took part in the survey, the results are more than alarming. 95% of respondents stated that inadequate legislation is the main problem of cooperative housing. Most of them pointed to the problem of the housing cooperative’s position as a creditor in the recovery of the claims of some members, which bind others, because the debt falls on other members of the housing cooperative. The number of members whose debts are no longer expected to be repaid continues to rise. According to Kateřina Horáková from the legislative and legal department of the SČMBD, legislative changes that enable problematic owners and debtors to be relieved of debt are mainly to blame.
Distress also arises for the other party when the position of the cooperative as a debtor in the payment of the settlement share in connection with the termination of membership without a legal successor is considered a problematic situation.
Priority status of cooperatives or simplified administration
The seminar also presented proposed solutions that emerged from the analysis. One of them is to prioritize the status of housing cooperatives, which provide their members with one of the basic human needs – housing. This means that if the debtor has more financial obligations, he will pay off the one to the cooperative as a priority, because it threatens the economic stability of the entire cooperative. The situation would also be helped by legislative regulation of the eviction and clearing of the apartment unit so that the subsequent eviction and clearing of the apartment is automatically related to this first decision, within a limited period of time (e.g. within three months). In a number of situations, it is currently necessary to resolve the clearing of an apartment in court, and this is administratively, financially and time-consuming.
Last but not least, it is also about the support of the public sector, which would significantly ease the situation through preferential loans for cooperative construction or suitable loans for those interested in membership in the cooperative. There is also a simplification of the administrative process of permitting and approving construction projects or the offer of urban land at reduced prices for cooperative projects or a reduction of real estate tax for cooperative apartments. The Association of Czech and Moravian Housing Cooperatives alone owns or manages 18% of all apartments in the Czech Republic, and with legislative changes, housing would improve for a significant number of people.
Tags: Cooperative housing housing crisis neglected topic Czech Republic Company News Prague Gossip
