On behalf of the Ministry of Regional Development, Department of Housing Policy, by Jaroslav Kubečka, Blanka Burdová
On behalf of the Institute for Spatial Development, by Dana Chlupová, Marie Polešáková, Ph.D., Ludmila Rohrerová
Following the requirements of the Ministry of Regional Development, a questionnaire survey was carried out in 2002, third in succession, to analyse the privatization of the housing stock, the housing transactions within such stock, the payments of rent for municipal dwellings, and the operating costs. Additional questions were aimed at items like administrating software for housing stock, analysing methods of technical conditions of houses, management of claims to municipal dwellings (and the criteria of allowance), housing compensations and restitutions, conversions of non-residential premises into new housing units, and the problems of the homelessness. Addressed was the capital, the 16 statutory cities, 25 towns of a population over 10,000, and one of a population under 10,000 — see Map 1, Addressed Towns. Thus, 299,817 dwellings were under observation, representing 7.8 % of all permanent inhabitations and 27.4 % of all municipal dwellings in the Czech Republic.
The target of the survey was to assess the results of a decade of privatization of municipal dwellings, started with the transfer of the housing stock from the State to Municipalities in 1991.
In 1991, when the housing stock was transferred, the share of municipal dwellings in towns and cities under observation was 39.0 %. Of them, 18.0 % were privatized by the end of 2001. Disregarding the situation in four large cities, where privatization tends to be slower, the share of municipal dwellings had been 40.1 %. Of them, 22.6 % were privatized by the end of 2001. These data are shown in Diagrams 1 and 2, Changes in the housing stock of selected towns due to privatization of municipal dwellings in 1991–2001.
The decrease in number of municipal dwellings during the privatization decade, as compared to the municipal property as established in 1991, is shown in Diagram 3, Changes in the housing stock of selected towns due to privatization of municipal dwellings in 2000–2001, and outlook for after privatization, as compared to 1991, in total for Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Ústí nad Labem, Plzeň, and 28 more towns.
The process of the privatization of municipal housing stock in the period under observation, and the outline of future developments, is shown by Diagram 11, Municipal housing stock privatization developments, 1991–2001, and outlook for after privatization. The Diagram describes the developments of Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Ústí nad Labem, Plzeň, and 28 more towns under observation. Most towns and cities intend to terminate the privatization by 2004, except for Brno, by 2009.
Generally, the municipal housing stock privatization is under way. It is solely the towns of Třebíč and Most where the process has already been terminated. No municipality has responded that privatization is not being prepared or done. Most towns witness their inhabitants’ interest in the process. None of them has responded that there was no interest at all.
Three quarters of towns and cities do not distinguish the levels of technical conditions of the houses under privatization. It is only the town of Svitavy where privatization of houses in good technical conditions, after reconstruction, is preferential. In Havířov, similarly, privatization of housing stock in good technical conditions is preferential.
The analysis of the situation in 2000 and 2001 has brought the following additional results:
Diagram 1 shows the results for Brno, Ostrava, Ústí nad Labem, Plzeň, and 35 more towns: Olomouc, Liberec, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Havířov, Zlín, Kladno, Most, Frýdek-Místek, Opava, Karlovy Vary, Děčín, Teplice, Jihlava, Chomutov, Přerov, Jablonec nad Nisou, Mladá Boleslav, Třinec, Česká Lípa, Třebíč, Tábor, Znojmo, Cheb, Písek, Kroměříž, Hodonín, Uherské Hradiště, Otrokovice, Svitavy, Český Krumlov, Kyjov, Velké Meziříčí, and Valtice.
To trace possible impacts of privatization in larger cities, Diagram 2 shows the results for the 35 above towns, disregarding Brno, Ostrava, Ústí nad Labem, and Plzeň.
Most towns have stated their privatization deadline as 2004, except for Brno, 2009
Map 1: Adressed towns.