Dwellings for Vulnerable Households-Policy and Practice in the Largest Cities of Poland

In Poland municipalities do not fulfil their statutory obligations of providing dwellings for vulnerable households and often limit their activity to merely providing housing for persons to whom the court has granted the right to dwelling in eviction proceedings. However, even for these people there are not enough dwellings. This very difficult situation of Polish municipalities in terms of the provision of direct housing assistance results from history-related problems with the quality of the existing housing stock, a lack of reform of municipal lease rules and insufficient financial resources. The author focused on a comparison of the municipal housing stock management in the largest cities in the context of changes that took place in years 2009-2016. The results of the research proved there were important differences among cities in terms of the activity of applying the available instruments. Despite acting in the same institutional framework, some municipalities were able to improve the housing situation of citizens most in need of assistance, step by step. The survey covered the voivodeship capital cities of Poland. Critical analysis of literature and documents as well as an analysis of statistical data were used.