Protest against the increase in the rent of social housing / Citizens in Korça: We can't afford to pay it

2024-06-05 11:10:00, Aktualitet CNA

Protest against the increase in the rent of social housing / Citizens in

This morning, the residents of Korça who have benefited from social housing from the municipality, came out in a protest in front of this institution. The increase in the rent bonus has become the cause of this protest, where about 100 families are affected by this decision approved a few days ago in the Municipal Council. Residents say that they became familiar with this decision when they went to pay the rent bonus.

"Rent indexation was done based on the price increase index, a figure that we get from Instat. This index refers to the years 2018-2023 and is reflected in the current rent of 2024. We presented the city council with all the material based on arguments objectives with the reasons why the increase was not made during these years. Because the pandemic situation passed, which lasted a long time. The residents with this rent indexation are known because they have it in the contract which they renew every year and it is in point 3 of the contract, in a paragraph of article 3, where it is stated that the rent level changes every year with the price correction index that is approved by the municipal council. I cannot say that they are affected families as long as the level of this rent is below the level of the average rent", said Mirela Balli.

According to the residents, it is impossible for them to pay this rent increase as they have minimal income from pensions or camps. The municipality has promised the privatization of the apartment at the time they have taken shelter, while the situation continues to be the same.

"These buildings were built by European countries to help the homeless. They should have been free, but we rented them to us and we accepted them. Now they are raising the rent, there are all single pensioners and those who are camping They can't afford to pay more, where will our work go? The apartments pay 40,000 lek, 2 rooms and a kitchen 90,000. We can't afford them anymore we spend a lot of the 5 lek we get for medicine."

At the Municipal Council meeting, the left-wing councilors decided by a majority of votes to increase the price of rental bonuses, which will be 700 lek for apartments, 1300 lek for 1+1 apartments and 1600 lek for 2+1 apartments. The clarification comes from the head of the housing office, Mirela Balli, who says that the increase in the rent is foreseen in the contract, while the increase has come due to the increase in the housing price index from instat", the residents expressed.

The residents have decided not to pay, warning of a strike. Among other things, they are determined that even if the police go to evict them from their homes, they will not leave.

"We are there in those palaces, we have camps, we are pensioners, and we don't have, our children are unemployed. Here in the municipality, those who have people, cousins, grandchildren, grandchildren who have the husband. 90 thousand he gets the camp. Now I have a room and a kitchen, they told me 77 thousand, and I don't have 150 thousand I didn't come here to cry. Why don't they privatize them? Because they take the lek", said the residents.

"When we received the authorizations for the apartments, they told us that we will stay on rent for 10 years and then they will be privatized. They didn't keep their word. We made the cards 3 times, we sent them to Tirana, nothing. The bride went yesterday and they told him that he would pay 73-74 thousand", they further state.

"They are doing us injustice, without informing us, and on what basis are these people who raise them without notifying the whole community. They are doing a lot of dirt on our backs, because when it came years the mayor told us for 10 years and The apartments will be privatized. Where is the mayor? We have applied for privatization. We have received the request yesterday done in the municipal council and it was not taken into account, but the answer is abusive. We will stay there, let whoever wants to come, we are not going to leave," said the residents