Former holders of tenancy rights in the Republic of Croatia and their family members, of whom the majority belong to that category of persons who fled the Republic of Croatia and are currently residing in Serbia, the greater part of this category had formerly lived within the urban areas of the Republic of Croatia. These are persons who up until 1991 had possessed tenancy rights in relation to apartments which were under social ownership, up until the outbreak of hostilities within the Republic of Croatia which in turn forced these persons to vacate the homes in which they had lived (1991 – 1995).

These persons, the majority of whom are of Serbian heritage, have had their tenancy rights revoked in the following ways: through legal actions taken as regards the annulment of tenancy rights for reasons pertaining to the non utilization of housing facilities within a time period which exceeds 6 months within those territories under the control of the government of Croatia; on those territories which up until 1995 were under the protection of the UN, today the Areas of Special State Concern, seeing as the apartments which they had formerly inhabited were left vacant for a period which exceeded the 90 day allowance which came into effect as of the implementation of the Law concerning the leasing of apartments located on the territory of the former Republic of Srpska Krajina.

The total number of cases relating to annulled or revoked tenancy rights according to the data submitted by OSCE is approximated as being around 30.000, a fact which further translates to some 100.000 persons who were directly affected by these decisions.

Tenancy rights pertaining to those apartments which are under social ownership no longer exist as a specific, legal institution in the Republic of Croatia. The revocation of tenancy rights as well as the non acknowledgement of any rights which are founded upon the former institution for tenancy rights has come to bear a twofold effect on those refugees who were formerly in possession of these rights: it prevented their return to the housing units and their former places of residence; their status was not, as was the practice with other tenancy rights holders in the Republic of Croatia, recognized as being valid and originating from the institute for tenancy rights, for example: their right to privatize their former apartments under the established conditions.

This practice was in direct contradiction to the one which was applied in relation to the same category of persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina and as such the Resolution 1120 for the Greater Security of the UN from 1997, which established the right of all refugee and displaced persons originating from the Republic of Croatia, to return to their homes in the Republic of Croatia. The Government of the Republic of Croatia has on the whole ignored some, though legally non binding, yet nevertheless relevant international standards concerning the protection of human rights contained for example in Resolution 2004/2 on the housing and restitution of property belonging to refugees and displaced persons, which was adopted by the Subcommittee of the United Nations for the improvement and protection of human rights, as also by EKOSOC through the Principles of Housing and Restitution of Property to refugee and displaced persons (“Pineiro principles”) dated June 2005.

The existing model concerning the allocation of housing in the Republic of Croatia does not represent an adequate mechanism for the conclusion of the refugee question, the resolution of which is backed by the universally accepted principles of international law as is evident in the numerous analyses of the relevant international and local non governmental organizations.  

Within the process commenced upon the conclusion of the Belgrade conference, the Republic of Croatia expressed its readiness to open a new time frame for the submission of requests pertaining to the allocation of housing outside of the areas of Special State Concern, which was closed in 2005 and which has identified a small number of persons from the Republic of Serbia. The establishment of a new time frame, with revised, more accommodating conditions is expected.

The Committee for Assistance and Protection in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration is implementing the project, “Survey of the Current Status and Needs of Former Tenancy Rights Holders in the Republic of Croatia.” The Committee for Assistance and Protection has over the course of 2001 and 2002 successfully instituted the Project concerned with the identification of persons from the Republic of Croatia who formerly possessed tenancy rights, and who have subsequently had these rights revoked following their departure from their places of residence as a consequence of the outbreak of war. The process of surveying and updating the data collected in reference to all those persons who declared their tenancy rights to the Committee as also the identification of those persons who failed to do so, irrespective of whether or not they are categorised as being refugees is currently in progress. 

The completion of this questionnaire does not imply the commencement of legal proceedings, nor does it represent a formal request which would subsequently be directed to the relevant state organs within the Republic of Croatia, yet instead is only a questionnaire implying an acquiescence to the process of being surveyed as regards one’s personal statues and needs in relation to tenancy rights in the Republic of Croatia in the hope of establishing a more accurate representation of the current state of the population group in question. The questionnaire in accordance with the established regulations is to be completed individually by those persons affirming their entitlement to tenancy rights. In the event that the holder of tenancy rights is unable to perform this task, the questionnaire is to be completed by their family members; those who lived with the individual in question within the place of residence upon which he or she exercised their tenancy rights and who as of yet are not in possession of an adequate housing solution.

The completion of the questionnaires is to be performed on the premises of the Committee for Assistance and Protection in Belgrade and Novi Sad, as also in the offices of the trustees of the Commissariat for Refugees which have been established in all of the municipalities / cities within the Republic of Serbia.

The Commissariat for Refugees supports this process and emphasizes that this is the last opportunity to identify those persons who previously possessed tenancy rights in the Republic of Croatia.

Bearing in mind that complete data concerning those persons who have had their tenancy rights revoked does is currently not in existence this is a unique opportunity to collect accurate and valid data which would further allow for an in depth analysis of the state and needs of this category of persons.

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