TOUR OF THE HABITAT WORLD SEEN BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Poland

#Mots-clés : Dernière mise à jour le 7 June 2019
This page has been translated by ASSOAL

URBANISATION

POLANDHistory of Cities – Heritage

Urban Habitat

Rural Habitat

HABITAT : LEGAL ASPECTS

Rights to Lodging

The right to owning a convenient house is recognised in the constitutional Law of Poland. Article 75 §1 obliges the public authorities to map out strategies in order to “satisfy the citizen’s needs in housing, help fight homelessness, promote the development 0f housing and support those who wish to own houses of their own.

Article 16b of the law on social protection imposes 0n local governments to “Respond to collective needs of the community and that of the municipality in particular, that which concerns the residential construction”. She has to put in place municipal mechanisms in order to solve social problems and that of homelessness. Municipal strategies are particularly interesting due to the fact that article 17 of the same law obliges the municipality to provide amongst other things, shelter to the less privileged.

Poland has signed but has not yet ratified the revised 25/10/2005. She has neither ratified the additional protocol in favor of collective complaints system.

Sources : Dachnaglowa (1) Website and FEANTSA, 2012 (2)

Forced Expulsions

In the absence of an available social lodgings A Law on expulsions (2012) henceforth permits municipalities to expel and propose to the tenants, shelter meant for the homeless.

This protection against eviction stems from article 1046, section 4 of the Civil Procedure Code, and unless the law gives permission to a person the right to a social lodging. A lawyer has to file against expulsion until the municipality transfers the person to a temporal lodging or until the persons finds a lodging. In order to fight against the already known expulsion to the roads phenomenon, amendments as to what concerns the protection of the rights of the tenants, municipal lodging parks and the amendment of the Civil Code law and the law on the Civil Procedure Code were introduced on the 16.11.2011. According to this new legislation, expulsion can only be made possible after a validation by a tribunal and only towards a social lodging unit or towards a temporary lodging unit... This lodging has to be provided by the proprietor of the authorized building himself or on a last resort, the municipality. If in six months the municipality is not responding, expulsion will be directed to a night lodging center or shelter for the homeless.

Civil society actors hold that there is a problem of displacement concerning eviction from lodgings to the tertiary sector.

Sources : Dachanadglowa Website (1) – FEANTSA, 2012 (2)USEFUL TOOLS:

Land Rights

Land Grabbing

USEFUL TOOLS

Vulnerable Groups

  • Homelessness
  • Joungpeople
  • Old people
  • Women

Interesting practices

HABITAT : SOCIAL & ECONOMIC ASPECTS

In 2012, we estimated that 5 million 0f people in Poland live under the burden of poverty.

Sources: Habitat for Humanity Poland and Dachnadglowa

Lodging Market

Market prices have skyrocketed. Just for 2004, there was a 100% increase in the price of housing and land.

There is no national policy to read low income to receive assistance, either in construction or renovation.

If housing renovation, an additional fee of 23% is added to the cost of materials and labor required. However, over 60% of the apartments require serious repairs!

According to INSEE, in 2007, 58% of Polish households owned their homes (EU average = 65%).

Quality of Lodging

– A lodging park that is really old: More than half of the constructions are more than 40 years old. In addition, the quality in terms of construction is mediocre. Energy bills of the inhabitants suffer as they are faced with poor isolated lodgings. (Statistics 2012)

  • 880.000 lodgings are deprived of all systems of drainage facilities.
  • 447.000 buildings are almost collapsing.
  • 1, 5 million people live in homes that don’t meet up with the minimal security standards of cleanliness.

–Over population in habitats: According to the laws of Poland as concerns habitat, the lodging of a person must measure at least 25 M2 – 4 persons = 52 M2 – 6 persons or more = 69 M2. This explaining that 12 million people in Poland, say almost a third of the population live in over populated lodgings.

Informal Habitat / Slums / Homelessness

– Homeless

The exact number of homeless people is unknown. Certain sources state 30 thousand while other talk of 500 thousand. The definition to who is a homeless person is been researched on. We estimate that in Poland 6 million people who live in what we call MUSHROOM houses are lodgings in a decomposed state with no heating system or good drainage facility. It is this habitat “Mushroom houses reality” that is creating this difference in figures! (Source: Internet Site of Dachanadglowa)

HABITAT : ROLE OF THE STATE

Public lodgings

Definition and situation in 2012

It is difficult to define what ‘social lodging’ in Poland is. This term is usually understood for lodgings on rental and social lodgings belonging to the municipality, residencies with fixed cut prices, provided by non-profit making lodging associations or trade unions (authorized by TBS) and lodgings given by nationalized societies or by the Public Treasury for their salaries, having the possibility to use an apartment on a cooperative location. (Contrary to the title of property of the occupant) are also considered as social lodging. All the ‘protected lodgings’, lodgings intended for invalids and groups of persons with special needs or the homeless equally fall under social lodging. Lodging occupied by their proprietor, built or obtained through the help from the state (especially through the program ‘one home for every family’) are also considered as social lodgings. The term Under Tax laws, ‘social lodging program’ is presented as bases for an infirior tax on material and construction services.

How does it function ?In Poland, social lodgings present themselves through the eyes of municipal lodging and is always seen as an important part of the park (about 8% in 2009), but recently the production of new municipal lodgings witnessed almost a stop (3, 4 billion in 2010). The TBS system was put in place since 1996 (79,3 billion lodgings completed , thus 3,1 billion in 2010).TBS societies (non-profit making) were created in 1995 with intentions of a program to create rental lodgings on a low price in which the tenant frequently contributes financially up to 30% to the price of construction.

The rents for municipal lodgings are fixed on a local level. Since 2004 the proprietor of parks are free to fix the rents, but must justify by writing if he decides to increase the rents of the communal park in a more than 3% rate. In the case of renting a social lodging from the municipality, the rents represent a maximum 50% of the municipal rents and in that case, the tenant does not have rights to lodging allocutions.

The criteria vary according to the function of different programs. In general, gaining access to social lodging is principally funded on the revenue of the person. The tenant living in the social lodgings are usually families with moderate income who are not eligible to other lodgings and who cannot buy on the free market. The law defines the maximum revenue per person and per home, following the average salary of the region. (TBS park) or is defined by the local authority (communal park). There also exists a limitation as to the size to an apartment attributed to a specific family, following the number of persons and the specific needs of the communal park.

Source : CECODHAS Report 2012

HABITAT : ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Bibliography & Sitography

  1. Dachnaglowa association Website
  2. FEANTSA Network

THE CIVIL SOCIETY

Major Problems

Recommandations or Propositions

DACHANADGŁOWĄ (DEKLARACJA KOALICJI „DACH NAD GŁOWĄ”) – Declaration of the coalition for the homeless)

  • Established in relation to the partnership between diversed sectors, public and private, national and municipal in order to work together to find long lasting solutions to affordable lodgings in view of fighting homelessness.
  • Put in place a coherent lodging mechanism for the poor.
  • Integrate different communities to find long lasting solutions.
  • Mobilize the European Union as to this problem.

A non-exhaustive List of social mouvements

  • HABITAT FOR HUMANITY POLAND =

    • A non-profit humanitarian Association with the objective of eradicating poverty in the domain of Habitat and homelessness. In order to do this they construct and renovate lodgings everywhere in the world. They propose formulas for micro finance credits and loans, help in securing lodgings, work for affordable lodging for all. In Poland, they help in the renovation of lodgings, refuge for the homeless, lodgings for persons or victims of absurdity or handicapped persons. They also work on furniture in cooperation with the syndicates in towns and the local population. It is also to stand out and make voices heard as to the rights concerning lodging.
    • .renovation. Internet site.
  • DACHANADGŁOWĄ =

    • literally signifying Association “a roof on one’s head”. Amongst their actions, give financial advice as concerns construction and renovation. , the list of social lodging societies, information on legislative evolution, they regularly carry out sensitization campaigns on government action.