URBANIZATION
History of cities – Heritage
Urban Housing
Rural Housing
LEGAL ASPECTS
Right to Housing
The Right to housing is recognised in the Slovenian Constitution.
According to the Article 78, the State shall create the conditions necessary to enable each citizen to obtain proper housing.
At the same time, a definition of an adequate dwelling was introduced in the housing law of the year 1991. An updated definition is established in the new housing law in 2003, wherein an apartment is adequate for living when it satisfies the building standards, has the residence permit and has to have a separate sleeping and living part (except in the cases of a flatlet), has to satisfy the dwelling needs of the owner of tenants in the common housekeeping and satisfy the surface normative under the regulations from the 87th article of this law (that is the article that defines the non for profit apartments).
Moreover, according to the Article 88 of the housing law, the entities responsible for the allocation of housing units for temporary solution for housing needs of socially vulnerable persons are the following: a municipality, the state, a public housing fund or a nonprofit housing organization. When a new housing unit becomes available, the service cross-checks the legitimization for allocation and subsequently rents it to whom the social burden is the heaviest, and under the condition that the size of the unit corresponds to the number of family members.
Slovenia has ratified the Revised European Social Charter on 07/05/1999 accepting 95 of the Revised Charter’s 98 paragraphs, including the Article 31 on the right to housing. Slovenia also ratified the Additional Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints on 07/05/1999, but has yet to make a declaration enabling national NGOs to submit complaints.
CETIM – publication COHRE (1)
Source : Housing Rights Watch (2)
Forced Eviction
Land Right
Land Grabbing
Vulnerable Groups
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Homelessness
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Joungpeople
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Old people
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Women
Some interesting practices
SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS
Housing Market
According to INSEE, in 2007, 80% of Slovenian households owned their own homes (European average = 65%).
- ERASES : Although some encouraging measures have been adopted, the authorities still did not guarantee the rights of certain inhabitants of the country, originating from other republics of former Yugoslavia and illegally removed from the Slovenian register of permanent residents in 1992. This situation resulted in violations of the economic and social rights of the persons concerned. Some of them have also been expelled from the country. (Source: Amnesty International – 2012 Report).
- ROMS : Despite a number of positive measures by the authorities, the majority of Roma still did not have access to adequate housing. Many Roma lived in slums or makeshift camps, often isolated in rural areas, on land for which they had no guarantee of occupation. In informal settlements, they were not safe from forced evictions and had no access to public services, including sanitation. In some municipalities, Roma were forced to fetch water (for drinking, cooking and washing) from polluted rivers or from public taps at petrol stations and cemeteries.
Source: Amnesty International – Report 2012 (3)
Quality of Housing
Informal Housing / Slum / Homeless
ROLE OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
Public Housing
Definition and situation in 2012
In Slovenia “social housing” is officially defined as “non-profit rental housing for people with low or medium incomes”. Currently, social housing represents about 6% of the national park. They are considered as new social housing, as opposed to the concept of social housing used before 1991 in the context of the previous socialist period. In 1991, two types of housing were established: social housing (provided by municipalities and targeting only very low incomes) and non-profit housing (for low- and middle-income households). These two programmes merged in 2003 (although different tenants continue to benefit from different arrangements), and in the same year the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia was created. As a co-investor and partner in PPPs, the Housing Fund’s main task is to provide loans.
How does it work ?
Currently, social housing providers are municipalities and 60 registered non-profit organizations. Municipalities or groups of municipalities often create a municipal housing fund.
Non-profit rents may not exceed the prescribed limits, expressed as a percentage of the value of the housing unit. In addition, new tenants entering the sector must pay a participation fee (unless their income is particularly low). For service users whose incomes are below certain thresholds, the rent is divided between the tenant and the Municipal Housing Department.
To be eligible, tenants must be citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, be in a certain social housing situation and pay a participation fee and a security deposit. Priority is given to families with children, households with unemployed members, young individuals and families, people with disabilities and applicants whose profession or activity is important to the local community.
Source : CECODHAS Report 2012
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
Bibliography & Sitography
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The right to housing, CETIM – Download the report
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Slovenia, Amnesty International, Report 2010