housing

The right to a home is one of the basic human rights. Everyone, without exception, deserves to live in decent conditions and without fear of becoming homeless. 

Unfortunately, the mass privatization of social housing in the 1990s, followed by the absence of public housing, led to housing policy being reduced to the real estate market, and housing conditions to a matter of personal responsibility. 

The right to housing is almost unattainable 

Today in Serbia, more than 80% of citizens cannot independently rent or buy an apartment on the market. Their options are often either to stand in an endless queue for (non-existent) housing support or to remain living with their parents and their parents' parents and hope to one day inherit that home. 

There is an increasing number of households that cannot afford to live in minimally adequate conditions, but in addition to overcrowding, they also have a problem with humidity, insufficient lighting or the inability to heat their home. Those who somehow manage to rent an apartment do not have a contract that protects them from uncontrollable rent increases or eviction. In addition to all that, every second tenant is overburdened with housing costs (spending more than 40% of their monthly income on rent, heating, utilities). 

Prema Research from 2022. 70% of Belgraders believe that apartment prices are unaffordable. In order to analyze this more deeply, in 2023 we created a digital platform that graphically shows how many apartments are available to us with the income we have. The results showed that it is almost always below 10% of the advertised apartments for the majority of the population.

You can try the platform with your example by clicking the button below.

At the same time, given that subtenancy is extremely insecure, as well as working and earning conditions, the pressure to own an apartment has become the only security that households see for themselves and future generations. The state does not restrict profitable housing construction in any way because it sees the construction industry as a key driver of economic growth. Additionally, there are no efforts to create more affordable alternatives, either through increasing the publicly owned housing stock or through supporting non-profit and non-speculative housing models such as housing cooperatives.

Judging by the documents under construction, housing inequalities will only deepen

The National Housing Strategy is a document that should strategically regulate the area of ​​housing in Serbia. However, the strategy is unambitious and does not offer solutions to real problems. All those underprivileged groups, but also the majority of young people, according to what the draft offers, will not have any better opportunities for housing, while solutions are not even offered for those most at risk of housing, such as the homeless. 

Ni General urban plan of Belgrade until 2041 does not deal in depth with the issue of affordability, inequality, homelessness or segregation, but in the area of ​​housing, the emphasis is placed on the typology of residential buildings, with very general references to housing support.

It is necessary to change housing policies and approach to planning 

In order to reduce and then solve the problem of unaffordable housing, it is necessary for the state to change the existing approach in the area of ​​land management, housing and urban planning. If housing is once again understood as a right and as a collective responsibility of society, then policies towards spatial resources will change drastically. 

It is necessary to keep land in public ownership and use it for public affordable housing or as support for non-profit cooperative housing. Only a housing fund that is given for a long-term and secure lease ensures long-term housing affordability from generation to generation, prevents segregation and creates conditions for better development of individuals and the whole society. 

He is also working towards this goal The movement for housing equality, founded by organizations that, each in their own way, are fighting for affordable and adequate housing: Who Builds the City, A11 - Initiative for Economic and Social Issues, Joint Action Roof Over Your Head, Housing Center and Ministry of Space. 

You wonder too!

Housing is not only an economic issue in which the market has the main say. Having a home is a prerequisite to realize all other needs and rights in life. That is why it is important to bring housing back into the domain of politics and society - it is an issue that we all need to discuss and decide on. 

We know different models of housing policy, both in our own history and in other modern societies, we just need to actively fight for them!