Tenants want a revolution in social housing associations. "We are a source of income for companies, but we have no rights."

• This year marks 30 years since the adoption of regulations introducing the possibility of building apartments in the social housing association system (TBS).
• According to tenants, the proposed amendment to the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development takes little account of the interests of TBS residents.
• - The TBS system is a source of social tensions, and not a fair mechanism for implementing the state's housing policy - says Anna Gieras, president of the Nasz Blok Association.
• This organization is demanding, among other things, a ban on using funds from tenant fees for purposes unrelated to the maintenance of resources, such as sponsorship, loans to other companies, or excessive remuneration for the management of TBSs.
• "Residents bear the full costs but have no rights. Their role is limited to providing income for social housing companies, which are often not held accountable for their efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness," explains Anna Gieras.

Final work is underway in Parliament to amend the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development and several other acts. The proposed changes are intended to significantly increase the supply of affordable rental housing .

The amendment being processed assumes, among other things, the allocation of approximately PLN 45 billion from public funds by 2030 to support social housing under social rental housing programmes (SBC) - in the form of social housing associations (TBS) and social housing initiatives (SIM).

In both of these forms, cheap rental premises were and are being built thanks to significant funding from non-repayable budget grants and preferential loans from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego .

The bill envisages a change in the rules for purchasing apartments, including those for tenants of units built by social housing associations (TSBs) (companies with municipal participation) after the new regulations come into effect. According to the government's draft amendment, such apartments will be available for purchase after 25 years, instead of 15 years after completion, as is currently the case .

In addition, we proposed a provision that the total value of the participation (tenant's own share - ed.) and the non-repayable grant in the case of SIMs and TBSs cannot exceed 60%. This would mean that with a 45% state grant, SIMs/TBSs would not be able to collect a participation higher than 15%. Currently, tenants contribute 30%, which means they have to pay up to approximately PLN 200,000.

- explained Tomasz Lewandowski, Deputy Minister of Development and Technology, in an interview with Interia.

Why did his ministry prepare – in the form of a government draft amendment to the act – such changes in the functioning of social housing associations, among other things?

As Deputy Minister Lewandowski noted, it was the TBS associations themselves who protested against the rules for obtaining ownership of these resources introduced several years ago. He emphasized that, in the TBS's opinion, purchasing apartments is not the goal of social housing.

" This isn't meant to be a cheaper development project run by the state. TBSs are meant to be a stable, relatively inexpensive model for building rental apartments," Lewandowski pointed out.

- During the PiS government, the purchase of apartments was made possible in the system of social housing associations (TBS), which had been created since 1995. Over 100,000 apartments with affordable rent have already been built in this form - the Deputy Minister of Development reminded on July 9 this year during the parliamentary debate on the draft amendment to the Act on Social Forms of Housing Development.

He noted that the previous government "turned the tables" by introducing the possibility of purchasing apartments in the TBS resources.

This was an irresponsible and populist action that reversed a great reform. It was praised across Europe because affordable social housing should remain publicly owned forever, and the state should not get rid of it.

- emphasized the deputy head of the Ministry of Development.

However, it turns out that the changes planned by the government are not entirely satisfactory for tenants . According to Anna Gieras, president of the Nasz Blok Association of Participants and Tenants, which protects the rights of participants and tenants of TBS housing stock, the regulations in question do not require amendment, but rather a rewriting.

This year marks 30 years since the adoption of regulations introducing, among other things, the possibility of building apartments under the TBS system. This refers to the Act of October 26, 1995, on Certain Forms of Support for Housing Construction.

- Today we should be discussing a completely new draft law on social housing, and not once again trying to introduce some cosmetic changes to an already very old law - said Anna Gieras on Wednesday, July 16, during a meeting of the joint Senate committees on local government, budget, and infrastructure.

Residents of TBS housing resources, despite significant financial and personal involvement, remain deprived of real rights, guarantees and influence on the functioning of the construction system that was supposed to serve their well-being.

- said the president of the Nasz Blok Association.

According to this organization, the draft amendment to housing laws currently being processed in the Senate "does not solve the key problems of residents, and in many areas it perpetuates the lack of transparency, inequality and systemic lack of accountability of TBS companies towards citizens."

The association appealed to the government to introduce statutory tools thanks to which " the TBS system will cease to be a source of social tensions and will become a transparent and fair mechanism for implementing the state's housing policy."

"The first of these mechanisms is the regulation of rent. The current practice of calculating rent based on the so-called replacement value of newly constructed premises is grossly inadequate given the actual technical condition of many social housing associations' properties, which are now 25-30 years old," emphasized Anna Gieras.

She added that as a result of this state of affairs, "residents are bearing disproportionately high costs in the absence of adequate renovation and modernization expenditure on these resources."

Another demand from tenants is to introduce a ban on generating profits from rent . Gieras pointed out that TBS companies operate based on public funds, preferential loans, and resident participation and fees.

Social Housing Associations (TBSs) are not commercial entities. Therefore, they should be prohibited from generating profits from rent or using funds from tenant fees for purposes unrelated to maintaining the assets, such as sponsorships, loans to other companies, or excessive management remuneration.

- enumerated the president of the Nasz Blok Association.

The organization also calls for an end to the so-called "common bag" system. "Loans taken out for specific investments should be accounted for individually. The current practice, in which residents of older TBS buildings also pay off new investments, is economically and socially unjust . It undermines trust in the state as a guarantor of social justice," emphasized Anna Gieras.

Another issue is the rules for purchasing apartments in the TBS housing stock. "People who contributed 20-30% of the market value to the construction costs of the apartment, paid a significant deposit, and have been paying rent for years should be able to purchase the apartment on clear, fair terms after paying off the full construction cost," the tenant representatives argue.

They also draw attention to the possibility of transferring participation (tenant's own contribution) without the consent of the TBS.

"We believe that after five years of being a participant, such a person should have the right to dispose of their participation without the arbitrary consent of TBS or SIM – provided, of course, that the buyer meets the statutory criteria. Unfortunately, the current practice is a source of abuse and limits the circulation of citizens' assets," noted Anna Gieras.

She also pointed to the need to significantly strengthen public oversight of TBS companies. "Each supervisory board should include at least one person elected from among residents to ensure public oversight of companies managing public and housing assets," she emphasized.

However, the most important priority is the introduction of a definition of a participant into the regulations . The Act still lacks such a basic definition, and above all, the resulting catalog of property and inheritance rights.

- explained Gieras.

She added: - We can no longer accept a situation in which residents - who are de facto co-financing beneficiaries of this public program (TBS - ed.) - are deprived of legal protection and basic influence on the fate of their own apartments and communities.

"Today's system resembles a closed structure in which residents bear the full costs but have no rights. Their role is limited to serving as a source of income for TBS companies , which are often not held accountable for efficiency, transparency, or cost-effectiveness," concluded Anna Gieras.