The poorest residents of Bolesławiec most often fall behind on their rent: unemployed people, pensioners, disability pensioners and single mothers. They often occupy the worst premises, without bathrooms or central heating. Tenants owe MZGM PLN 2,878,000 (excluding interest). Half of them are only three months behind, with debts of around PLN 1,000.

Last year, 57 people were evicted because of debt; in the first half of this year, 18 people were evicted. Eviction does not, however, cancel the obligation to repay the debt. The Municipal Housing Management Company has proposed several ways to repay debts and prevent the loss of a home. The debt can be divided into convenient instalments (which stops interest from accruing), an application can be made to MOPS for financial support, a mutual exchange of flats can be arranged (in exchange for repayment of the debt), or the debt can be worked off.

Work in exchange for debt

The Municipal Housing Management Company offers its debtors the opportunity to work off their debts. These are physical jobs: cleaning stairwells and courtyards or doing maintenance work in the city (mowing lawns and raking leaves).

“By working eight hours a day on weekdays, one can work off PLN 1,000 in a month,” says MZGM chief accountant Teresa Zazulak. “These are simple maintenance jobs, but few people are interested. In September, only nine people are working off their rent this way.”

Teresa Zazulak does not know why so few people use this form of assistance in repaying their debts. After all, many people do not pay because they have no income and have been unemployed for years. They should therefore have time to work in exchange for rent. The accountant wonders whether shame may be the reason. “For many people, going out into the street to work is humiliating,” says Zazulak. “But many people simply cannot do physical work. Our debtors also include single mothers who have no one to leave their child with, disabled disability pensioners and elderly pensioners,” Zazulak says in the debtors’ defence.

Pay later

Unemployment and lack of income are only one cause of arrears in housing payments. Another is easy access to loans. Many debtors have bailiff enforcement proceedings for bank debts. “We entered them in the National Debt Register so that indebted tenants would not have such easy access to money borrowed at high interest,” says Zazulak.

Employees of the Municipal Housing Management Company speak well of their tenants, but it is clear that the company is dealing with a difficult community: not only people who are poor, but often helpless and passive; families with alcohol problems, dependent on benefits for years and permanently unemployed.

Tenants indebted to MZGM occupy the worst apartments. They have no bathrooms, and sometimes not even toilets. More expensive apartments were bought long ago by wealthier or more resourceful tenants. “I could talk at length about the life tragedies of many people who come to me,” says Zazulak. “These are not simple matters, and every story is different. That is why we also refer debtors to the Municipal Social Welfare Centre, where they can apply for support in the form of a housing allowance or financial assistance to cover the debt.”

It is enough to do anything

The letter published by MZGM on the City Office website and sent to its debtors proposes several solutions, but MZGM employees stress that they would welcome even the slightest interest or any activity from indebted tenants.

“We want to reach these people somehow and tell them that it is enough to come and talk to us, and we will try to help,” explains the chief accountant. “I am glad that the Istotne.pl portal has taken an interest in this, because perhaps someone reading it will learn about the forms of assistance offered to debtors. Unfortunately, letters sent by the office are not very popular; sometimes they are thrown away without being read,” adds Zazulak.

In the first half of this year, MZGM terminated the tenancy agreements of 64 tenants; this is the first step towards losing a home. But it is not yet a tragedy. “It is easier to repay PLN 500 than PLN 5,000,” explains Grażyna Kwiatkowska, economic affairs inspector. “We provide assistance all the time. The sooner a debtor comes to us, the sooner they will get rid of the problem. Sometimes all that is needed is a written declaration that the rent will be repaid in two or three months.”

Teresa Zazulak says that few people end up on the streets and that evictions involving a desperate person remaining in the home are rare. Most often, the debtor leaves on their own and finds a place with drinking acquaintances. “One must realise that it is possible to lose one’s home and still be left with a debt to repay,” says Zazulak. “It may therefore be worth trying to repay the debt at all costs and keep the home, because under the law all adult people living in the premises are jointly liable for the debts.”

Detailed information is available at the MZGM office in Bolesławiec, 23 Dolne Młyny Street, tel. 75 644 09 20 or 75 644 09 22.

(information: Grażyna Hanaf)