Mežnar, Špelca; Drofenik, Maša --- "The (in)effectiveness of tenancy regulation in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia – is law part of the problem or the solution?" [2018] ELECD 52; in Schmid, U. Christoph (ed), "Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 147

Book Title: Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in Europe

Editor(s): Schmid, U. Christoph

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781788113977

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: The (in)effectiveness of tenancy regulation in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia – is law part of the problem or the solution?

Author(s): Mežnar, Špelca; Drofenik, Maša

Number of pages: 25

Abstract/Description:

During the socialist era, the development of the principal types of housing tenures in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia was similar to the other former Yugoslav republics. Collective rights enjoyed priority, while individual rights were neglected. The notion of ‘social ownership’ was developed. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the process of shifting the responsibility for housing issues from state to local authorities or to individuals was similar in all three countries. The most important part of the housing reform was privatization and restitution. As a result, Slovenians, Croats and Serbs have become nations of extremely high proportion of homeownership. Rental tenancies are disliked and seen as a measure of last resort by the citizens. The authors of this chapter attribute this state of affairs to the ineffectiveness of the legal system, obsolete legislation, incomplete, disproportionate and unbalanced tenancy regulations, a lack of inhabitability standards and inefficient inspection authorities. Therefore, legislative reforms should be adopted in all three countries in order to render rental tenancies more attractive.