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Prague - House owners can evict problematic tenants who default on rents, commit physical violence or damage the flat and house without having to find a substitute flat for them.
The Constitutional Court ruled in favour of three owners of a house in České Budějovice who have been trying to evict a family using the flat without a contract, defaulting on rent and damaging the house and flat for nine years.
"In a situation wherein the accused [tenants] constantly behave inappropriately in the house and neglect their duties stemming from their [unauthorised] use of the flat, it is impossible to grant protection to their legal representative," said judge Stanislav Balík.
The Constitutional Court therefore overruled a verdict passed by lower-instance judges in southern Bohemia who cited Supreme Court verdicts that say it is possible to condition eviction on finding substitute accommodation in such cases.
Nine years
The owners, who obtained the house through restitution, wanted to clear a flat whose original tenant moved in, based on a decision taken by the National Committee in České Budějovice. A court cancelled the lease in 1993.
The tenant was entitled to receive substitute accommodation, but he lived in the flat until his death in 1996. After that, his relatives stayed in the flat and refused to move out.
The owners ran out of patience with the trouble-making tenants and, after six years of fruitless negotiations, decided to sue them.
The district and then regional courts in České Budějovice confirmed the owners could not possibly endure such a situation, but since the tenants had four underage children, they ruled it was impossible to throw them out onto the street.
The house owners disagreed and turned to the Constitutional Court, saying they had tried to resolve the situation in cooperation with both the city and advisers on Romani issues.
Asking for a gift
The owners failed to find substitute accommodation for the family, as private owners declined to offer a flat and the city of České Budějovice demanded a reciprocal sponsorship gift.
"We understand the importance of protecting families and underage children, but only with tenants who do not damage house equipment and who use welfare benefits primarily to pay rent as required," the house owners said in their complaint.
The Constitutional Court made it clear that disputes cannot be resolved at the expense of house owners in such cases.
"The Constitutional Court is convinced that in the situation described, the complainant is not obliged to resolve the housing and social situation of the defendant [tenants]," the judges said.
They added it was impossible to defend the constitutional rights of the tenants in these cases.
The tenants knew they had no right to use the flat for years, but did not do anything to change the situation, continued to damage the house and flat, and paid rent only temporarily, at the time of the lawsuit.
"It is impossible to disregard the grave circumstances of the case," the judges said.
Adapted and republished by the Prague Daily Monitor.
