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Am I entitled to alternative accommodation, taking into consideration my status ?

If you’re a temporary user vacating someone else's property, you may be entitled to some other form of temporary accommodation if you meet the criteria set out in the laws which are outlined.below. If you think you are entitled, then contact the responsible authorities as soon as you get the decision that you have to leave someone else’s property !

Provision of alternative accommodation is the responsibility of the municipal and cantonal authorities. If they do not identify and provide it, they are not fulfilling their obligations under the law. They are required to identify unclaimed apartments – although in many cases they have not yet done this - and if necessary identify or renovate alternative sources e.g. hotels.They are also required to address multiple occupancy, in order to free up housing space.

If you are a legal occupant (i.e you have temporary decision, or contract on use) then it’s the competent housing authorities that decide if you are entitled to alternative accommodation and have to provide it. In the FBiH this is the municipal housing office and in the RS the municipal dept of the RS Ministry of Refugees and DPs.

These authorities will decide on your entitlement to alternative accommodation based on whether you have the possibility to solve your own housing situation or not.

You no longer have the right to alternative accommodation if you have the abiltity to solve your own housing situation. This means that :

• If you have means to rent ;
• If you voluntarily sold or exchanged your private property after 1991;
• If you have refused an offer of alternative accommodation or reconstruction aid; or

• If you have other basically habitable property* to go to, whether it’s your 1991 place of residence, any other accommodation possessed by you or a member of your 1991 family household or a family house, even if you or any other member of that household subsequently married;

then you should move out immediately, at the latest within 15 days of the deadline as stated in the decision you receive.If you don’t do it within the deadline you could be fined 50 to 500 KM. You have the right to file an appeal against the decision to vacate your apartment or house, but this does not suspend the eviction.

If you are an illegal occupant (i.e. you have no temporary decision or contract on use), then the only circumstances in which you may get alternative accommodation is if you are a DP or in a vulnerable category. If you are a DP you should go to the municipal department dealing with displaced persons and refugees in the municipality where you are currently living. If you are not a DP but need assistance then should approach the responsible body for social welfare.

What is actually provided as alternative accommodation ?

If you are allocated alternative accommodation you will get a temporary permit for a period of not longer than 6 months and then your status will again be reviewed before any extension is made. It is only a temporary solution until you permanently resolve your housing situation.

There are 2 kinds of alternative accommodation you may be eligible to receive

(1) "Emergency accommodation" is one or more rooms to provide basic shelter, with a minimum of 5 sq.metres per person.

(2) "Appropriate" accommodation: is a minimum of 8 sq. metres per person, and is for:

• families with children below seven years of age;
• families with children impaired physically or mentally;
• pregnant women;
• people seriously ill whose health would be aggravated due to the housing conditions, if so declared by a medical board.

Remember:

• Under the law evictions can go ahead without the provision of alternative accommodation but if someone is evicted without anywhere to go it is because the competent authorities – not the international community - have failed to fulfil their obligations.
• If you are offered but refuse alternative accommodation then the authorities have no further obligation to provide you with any temporary accommodation.

What do I do if the temporary occupant did not move out within the deadline in the decision ?

If you are waiting to move back into your pre-war apartment, and the current user has already been issued a decision by the housing authorities but has not moved out by the deadline then you must request enforcement of such decisions.

You must submit a Request for the Enforcement of the Decision to the same authorities that issued your decision. You must do this within 90 days from the date by which the current user should have left the apartment (this is assuming you received a copy of the decision),. Otherwise, the authorities can initiate the cancellation of your occupancy right before the Court and you are in danger of losing it !

There is no particular form for this but the request must include the following information:

The body that issued the decision must then issue a Conclusion on Enforcement containing a deadline within which the current occupant must vacate and if they also do not move within that deadline they will be forcibly evicted.

If you have a CRPC decision, you must also request its enforcement. Contact CRPC for additional information.

What do I do to prevent my home being looted before I return ?

Ask the Municipality to inspect the property and take minutes when the decision on your claim is made, and to warn the current occupant not to loot the property. This warning should be stated in the decision that the current occupant and yourself receive. Although these are their obligations under the Law you are encouraged to (OR it’s best if you…) request this yourself.

If you are the victim of looting then you should report it to the housing authorities and to the police and prosecutor who are obliged to act under the law and gather information or initiate proceedings.

Do I have the right to take out anything I paid for when I leave an apartment/house ?

If you invested some money for the purpose of necessary reconstruction of the apartment/ house you may have the right to reimbursement through a procedure before the court. But, the court procedure can only start after the occupancy right holder/ owner has repossessed the apartment/ house, and you will have to prove your investments. The same applies to any movable property (e.g. furniture) over which there is any dispute.

But don’t remove fixtures, or damage the property when you vacate a house or apartment - it’s a crime and you will be fined or imprisoned.

You are advised, when you move out, to immediately hand over the keys to the responsible body – no one else - and get the minutes of repossession by the housing authorities. The property should then be sealed. If you do not take these steps, you risk being held criminally responsible for any looting committed by others after you left.

What am I obliged to do when I repossess my property ?

Before you are reinstated you must sign a statement before the housing authority where you are repossessing your property. In this statement you confirm that you will, together with all members of your family household, unconditionally vacate your current accommodation after being reinstated in your house or apartment. This statement has to contain the correct address of your current accommodation.

REMEMBER ! If you do not repossess your apartment within 90 days of receiving notification that it was vacated (by picking up the keys from the municipal authorities), the responsible authorities could initiate ‘cessation’ of your occupancy right on the court if you don’t prove that you fall into one of the categories which according to the Law have the right to postpone the repossession of property, and inform them of how long this postponement will be.

Can I get my contract on use revalidated ?

If your occupancy right was created between 1.4.92 - 7.2.98 (FBiH) or 1.4.92 - 19.12.98 (RS) and was then cancelled in 1999 by the High Representative’s Decision, so that you now have the status of a temporary occupant, then you may, in some cases be able to have your (previous) contract on use revalidated.

You can claim for revalidation if:

• the apartment where you currently live is not claimed or the claim has been rejected and all possibilities for appeal against the decision have been exhausted AND you are entitled to alternative accommodation.

Revalidation is automatic if you obtained the occupancy right :

• through transfer as a spouse or a member of the family household after the death of the previous ORH;
• through transfer following a divorce/ legal separation from the previous occupancy right holder;
• through the death of the previous occupancy right holder, only if they have no legal heir entitled to inherit it;
• through a valid contract on exchange of apartments; or
• if you were the first occupancy right holder of the apartment after its construction;

while in all other cases, the competent authority will first determine whether you have the right to alternative accommodation (see above).