Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to the “My Home” the tenants’ association, the Velje Brdo and Gradski Stan projects are neither social nor affordable housing models, but commercial developments that directly deviate from the obligations set out in the national Social Housing Strategy.

“Housing policy in Montenegro is being implemented in complete contradiction to the national Social Housing Strategy and European principles, despite constant public claims about following European practices and delegations traveling to Vienna and other European cities to supposedly study them,” the association warns in a press release.

They said that while institutions present themselves as promoters of modern social housing models, in practice they adopt and implement projects that have nothing to do with European standards.

“Instead of creating a public supply of affordable rental housing – the core European standard that Vienna developed more than 100 years ago – we are offered projects based on selling apartments, without long-term solutions and without a systemic approach to the most vulnerable groups. At the same time, those who travel to European cities and publicly speak about ‘European models’ return home and remain silent, maintaining a ‘smart neutrality,’ making themselves completely useless to the improvement of housing policy,” the Association added.

My Home has therefore launched an initiative for a Law on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights, submitted to Parliament, the Ombudsman and the relevant ministry.

“We welcome the fact that the initiative has been formally registered in Parliament, and we expect MPs and institutions to finally open an official dialogue about the situation of more than 100,000 tenants in Montenegro,” the Association added.