Ryszard Siemiątkowski has been registered in Bolesławiec since the beginning of the 1950s. His parents settled in our town immediately after the end of World War II. In 2003, Mr. Ryszard moved with his mother to Spokojna Street. At the end of April this year, Jadwiga Siemiątkowska died. She had been seriously ill. She could not walk. She had suffered two strokes.

It turned out that her son might not receive the apartment after his mother. Mr. Ryszard received a letter from MZGM stating that he had to move out by July 15. “If Mr. Siemiątkowski had lived with his mother, no one would have had any objections,” Jarosław Karbowski, acting director of MZGM, told the IstotneInformacje.pl portal. During an on-site inspection, employees of the municipal authority found that the apartment lacked Mr. Ryszard’s personal belongings. The man did not even have winter clothing there. Moreover, one of his neighbors submitted a statement that the Bolesławiec resident did not live there permanently.

Dura lex...

Under a resolution of the Municipal Council, Mr. Ryszard would be entitled to the apartment if he had stayed continuously in the tenant’s home. “Mr. Siemiątkowski was unable to prove this,” the director explains. He adds that even in the complaint submitted to Mayor Piotr Roman, the man did not provide the Bolesławiec address. “I was at home three or four times a month,” Siemiątkowski retorts. He returned from work in Jelenia Góra, where he primarily makes a living painting pictures. He also sometimes earns extra money as a security guard. In one of the towns in Jelenia Góra County, he underwent long-term treatment.

Mr. Ryszard has a disability certificate. He suffers from a serious throat disease. “How can they throw out someone like that?!” asks an unnamed neighbor of the tenant, irritated. A few days ago, the two of them tried to intervene in the matter at MZGM. They got nowhere. What is more, an employee of the authority tried to have them removed. “She stood up, walked to the door and said: get out of the office! If you don’t leave, I’ll call the security guards,” recounts the resident of Spokojna Street.

Asked why she had decided to help Siemiątkowski, she replied: “People are insensitive nowadays. They live only for themselves. But I don’t.”

Court proceedings ahead?

If Mr. Ryszard accepted the municipal authority’s decision, his mother’s apartment would be assigned to someone on the waiting list. If, however, he does not vacate the premises by July 15, MZGM will take the matter to court. The Bolesławiec resident could then face eviction. “I will not leave this apartment,” Siemiątkowski announces. “I will take them to court. I will not let this go!” he adds.

(GA information)