Information of the Polish Association of Tenants
for the seminar "Housing – a tool of social cohesion"; Liège, Sept. 24^th ¸ 25^th; 2001.

Observing the transformation of the economy and housing in the Republic of Poland one can see that the so-called restructurisation, carried out mainly by the domestic die-hard libertarians, but also under the pressure of the international centres, results in a rapidly growing deterioration of the existing communities.

What is going on is the liquidation of the establishments and workplaces, even liquidation of the whole economy branches by the government to enable private entrepreneurs and financial establishments to run smoothly their business and make profits, but also by the neighbouring countries, that take over Polish markets and make capital out of the Polish state-run enterprises that they had taken over through their state-run establishments.

The liquidation of the companies and workplaces, unemployment and the operation of foreign capital under a special protection of the government influenced destructively communities like trade unions. They have disappeared completely in some establishments, in others the trade unionists are subordinated to the managements, and among the trade union executives appeared many activists that are bound up with the oligarchy rather than the employees’ interest. A threat of potential dismissal has paralysed many activists, at least because one can be deprived of any measures to live on and conditions to carry any activity, and nowadays there is a lot of methods developed to get rid of unwanted people from the establishments or institutions.

From the aforementioned examples of how communities are neutralised, how local and family communities are being broken and set at variance, which directly leads to hatred and crime, in which deprivation of the flats and possessions of those evicted are basic factors (and also indirect, but real indeed deprivation of the access to employment and social allowances resulting from lack of registered domicile) – it is clear that the housing situation contributes seriously destruction of the social cohesion in the Republic of Poland.

In the field of housing a dramatic breakthrough in the social cohesion has began since 1994, when a new bill of housing was enforced that allowed complete destruction of tenant’s family foundations by evictions to nowhere, dispossession of their property and furniture, as well as dispossession of most civil rights. A joint and several action of the landlords, governmental and municipal agencies, lawmakers and courts, based on the consecutive bills, including the one enforced recently and called misleadingly "of tenant protection…" (moderated slightly by a group of MPs despite the government’s intention), has created multitude of homeless paupers and caused zones of fear, despair, rage, hate and crime to emerge in the society.

In such an economic and social situation of almost a 40 million population country, where:

• unemployment affected almost 3 million people, who are able to work and do search any employment;
• about 2,5 million of those jobless no longer receive any allowances, because of their unemployment lasting for more than 6 months;
• monthly there are more 10 to 50 thousand people to loose their job;
• homelessness figures reach 1 million people;
• homelessness jeopardizes next two million families as a result of growing more and more liabilities;
• the inevitable costs of dwelling, including the rent, water and gas supply, electricity and others, grow year by year exceeding the inflation by tens of per cents, while the incomes are indexed barely at the inflation level,

the tensions increase between different lobbies which in no way helps the integration, and the sore housing problems deteriorate the social cohesion.

The observations listed in the above information are verifiable by anyone, who without any bias collects the statistical figures and official documents of the State of Poland both intended for public and internal use.

Polskie Zrzeszenie Lokatorów

Visitors: ul. Ks. Blachnickiego 7A, Kraków, Poland;

Mail: P.O. Box 117, 30-960 Kraków 1, Poland

Phone/fax: +48(12)422-65-47

e-mail: zrk@lycosmail.com