37 people found a new home

"Do you have a cat? Then it's out of the question." "I don't rent to Roma." "There isn't enough space here for such a large family." Some people hear such statements when looking for a new place to live. Discrimination (making a distinction based on belonging to a certain group regardless of the abilities of the individual) is prohibited by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, yet hundreds of people encounter it when searching for new housing. Sometimes it's difficult to decide what constitutes discrimination and what is simply the landlord's right. How to recognize this difference correctly? What rights do both the owner and the tenant have, and what not? How to be a good landlord and tenant? For example, these questions were answered by a series on housing that ran as part of a project on the website dobrysoused.cz. On the website, you can also read stories of some people who were helped by the project: "I lived in an SOS village because my ex-partner was stalking me. I was scared and looking for housing in another city. As a single mother, it wasn't easy," describes one of the clients whose housing situation was addressed by the workers of Romodrom and Slovo 21 (organizations implementing the ACCMIN - Good Neighbor project). Another client described her situation as follows: "Due to financial difficulties, my partner and I had to separate. He lived with his parents and I with my sister because we couldn't find an apartment we could afford." Eventually, she managed to find one and now believes that she and her partner will soon start living together again. As part of the project, educational videos were also created, where you can learn: - How should a flat viewing (not) look like? - Can I invite visitors to the rented apartment? - Can I have a pet in the apartment? - Can I move in with a partner? - Can I smoke in the rented apartment? - When does the landlord have to return the deposit? One of the project's goals was to move people from inadequate housing to suitable housing. But what is inadequate housing? It is housing where people do not feel safe, the condition of the apartment jeopardizes their health, they lack privacy, or they do not have the certainty that they can maintain their housing in the long term. Living in such conditions often results in an inability to work effectively or fulfill parental responsibilities.One of the basic prerequisites for those living in inadequate conditions to be able to change their situation is their awareness. And so the aim of the project was not only to find housing, but also to increase the competencies of people living there. In addition to articles on the website, several educational events took place for the Roma (a total of 12) and professional (a total of 7) public. All activities aimed at raising awareness of discrimination, how to recognize it, and how to defend against it. Whether the activities were successful, we will find out in the coming years... The project was implemented by the non-profit organizations Romodrom o.p.s. and Slovo 21 z.s. and funded by the European Commission.