The closing conference of _EU FP7 funded project TENLAW – Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in Multi-level Europe – took place in Budapest, Hungary on 17 and 18 September 2015, opened by project leader Christoph Schmid, and Mercator senior fellow / former EC Commissioner László Andor. The presentations held and photos taken at the conference are available here.
Thursday, 17 September 2015: Key issues of tenancy law in old EU member states
Panel discussion 1: Public Law and Residential Tenancy Contracts: Inadequate housing, black market and tax evasion in Southern European countries. Elena Bargelli & Ranieri Bianchi, University of Pisa: Black Market and Residential Tenancy Contracts in Southern European Housing
Panel discussion 2: Can leases ever be an attractive alternative to home ownership in South West European countries?
Sergio Nasarre Aznar, University of Tarragona (presenter):
- Leases as an Alternative to Homeownership in Europe. Some Key Legal Aspects (book chapter, European Review of Private Law, Kluwer Law International 2014, pp. 815-846)
- “Robinhoodian” courts’ decisions on mortgage law in Spain (journal article, International Journal of Law in the Built Environment Vol. 7 Iss 2 pp. 127 – 147)
- A Legal Perspective of the Origin and the Globalization of the Current Financial Crisis and the Resulting Reforms in Spain (Contemporary Housing Issues in a Globalized World, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 37-72)
Thomas Knorr-Siedow, UrbanPlus & BTU Cottbus (discussant): What can make leases an attractive alternative to homeownership in South West European countries?
Panel discussion 3: The Assured Shorthold Tenancy in a European context: Extremity of tenancy law on the fringes of Europe. Mark Jordan, University of Southampton: The Assured Shorthold Tenancy in a European Context: Extremity of Tenancy Law on the Fringes of Europe.
Panel discussion 4: The enforceability of the right to housing. Fanny Cornette (TU Delft) & Nicolas Bernard (Saint-Louis University, Brussels): The enforceability of the right to housing.
Panel discussion 5: Tenancy Law in Denmark, Finland and Sweden: is it possible to pick a “best practice”? Per Norberg, Jacob Juul-Sandberg, P.G. Nyström, Marie Öhrström, Hans Henrik Edlund, Jan Erik Helenelund: The balance between landlords and tenants – Restrictions on contractual freedom in the three Nordic EU-members (Denmark, Finland and Sweden)
Friday, 18 September 2015: tenancy law and housing policy in new EU member states; closing sessions
Panel discussion 6: Path dependence: break or continuity in housing and tenancy law. Irene Kull, Ave Hussar, Julija Kolomijceva, Akvilé Mikelénaité (Tartu University): Path dependence: break or continuity in housing and tenancy law. Jüri Kõre: From social housing as the prevailing type of housing to the middle class housing – the development of housing policy in Estonia in last decades. Nóra Tosics, Metropolitan Research Institute: Transition and the transformation of housing law in Hungary
Panel discussion 7: Break from socialist legacy: balancing tenant and landlord rights in the light of ECtHR case law. Magdalena Habdas & Grzegorz Panek, University of Silesia: The struggle to achieve a balance of rights – abolishing rent control. // Tenancy market and rent regulation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Agata Twardoch, Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology: Spatial implications of legal solutions – Example of Poland. Outline.
Panel discussion 8: Tenancy law after transition: New tenure types and innovative solutions. Spelca Meznar, ISSBS Slovenia: New tenure types in CEE – Slovenia. Ruth Owen, FEANTSA: Social Rental Agencies: Experiences & Challenges from W.Europe. Erzsébet Könczöl: National Asset Management Company in Hungary – A success story with a strategic dilemma. Magda Ruszkowska-Cieślak, Habitat for Humanity Poland: Social Rental Agency – Broadening Affordable Housing Rental Options in Poland
Conclusion of NMS panels: Discussion of the possible options for social rental sector in the region by international panel. József Hegedüs, Metropolitan Research Institute: Conclusion of NMS panels: Discussion of the possible options for social rental sector in the region
Closing panel discussion: Towards a European Role in Tenancy Law and Housing Policy. Christoph U. Schmid, ZERP, Bremen: Towards a European Role in Tenancy Law and Housing Policy