The head of the opposition group Ne davimo Beograd – Moramo in the City Assembly Dobrica Veselinović warned at the forum that they have not yet received an answer as to how many apartments the City of Belgrade owns, whether that number is increasing or decreasing, as well as whether there is an umbrella policy in that area.

Our assessment is that the city needs to build 100,000 apartments for one type of social housing, to protect tenants, said Veselinović at the forum “Controlled rents against the housing crisis”.

He warned that the housing crisis that arose in Serbia due to the war in Ukraine affects not only Belgrade, but also all other major cities.

A roof over your head should be a human right, and in terms of housing, we have to curb the market. Our councilor group made a proposal that Belgrade should strategically start socially responsible housing construction, as well as establish a housing agency, Veselinović stated.

Member of the Green-Left Club in the Serbian Parliament, Jelena Jerinić, said that of the 14 proposed laws that should be on the agenda of the parliament, none deals with the housing crisis, and that the two proposals they made will certainly not pass, some look at them with derision.

In the proposals, we defined how that rent would be determined, taking into account the average salary in Serbia, as well as that people who rent out an apartment of up to 60 square meters, and who inherited it or received it in another way, would be exempt from tax if they rent it out. Jerinić explained.

She emphasized that there are no objections that these laws would not be enforceable, as well as that they are unconstitutional, because the state cannot limit the rent, and she cited as an example “greening” of interest, because it is a criminal offense that is punishable, and the state and otherwise, it limits the prices of some products, so it could also limit rents.

Watch the replay of the panel discussion:

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