Text file: 9298.txt
author: Optimus
downvotes: 13
end consideration date: 2018-07-27
id: '9298'
number comments: 6
number views: 2720
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response from the Ministry of the Interior\nThe Ministry of the Interior,\
  \ within the scope of its competences, would like to clarify that the obligation\
  \ and conditions for individuals to register their permanent and temporary residence\
  \ are regulated by the Act on Registration of Residence (Official Gazette of the\
  \ Republic of Slovenia, No. 52/2016; hereinafter: ZPPreb-1), which entered into\
  \ force on 13 August 2016 and has been applicable since 13 August 2017. The Act\
  \ makes the obligation to register permanent or temporary residence at an address\
  \ conditional upon actual residence at that address, as the fundamental purpose\
  \ of the Act is to ensure accurate records of the status and movement of the population\
  \ for the needs of state authorities and other users.\nWith regard to the control\
  \ over the registration of individuals at particular addresses, we would like to\
  \ clarify that Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia stipulates\
  \ that everyone has the right to move freely and to choose his or her place of residence,\
  \ to leave the country and to return to it at any time. This right may be restricted\
  \ only by law, but only if this is necessary to ensure the conduct of criminal proceedings,\
  \ to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, to protect public order or if the\
  \ interests of national defence so require.\nThe aim of the Law on the Protection\
  \ of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is to register the individual at the\
  \ address where he or she actually resides. The registration of an individual's\
  \ residence at the address where he or she actually resides is a fundamental right\
  \ of the individual, but, on the other hand, it is a duty of the individual under\
  \ the ZPPreb-1. As many rights arise from the title of residence, which affects\
  \ various areas, the registration of residence is also in the interest of the individual.\n\
  The ZPPreb-1 provides that the permanent residence is the address in the Republic\
  \ of Slovenia at which the individual permanently resides and which is the centre\
  \ of his/her interests in life, which is assessed on the basis of his/her family,\
  \ partnership, employment, economic, social and other ties which show that there\
  \ are close and lasting links between the individual and the address where he/she\
  \ lives. The individual is obliged to declare his/her permanent residence within\
  \ eight days from the date of settlement at the address where he/she is permanently\
  \ residing (or within eight days from the date of service of the permanent residence\
  \ permit to the foreigner, if he/she obtained it after settlement).\nTemporary residence\
  \ is an address in the Republic of Slovenia at which an individual temporarily resides\
  \ for work, education, serving a sentence or other reasons. A citizen and a foreigner\
  \ with a permanent residence permit who temporarily resides outside the address\
  \ of permanent residence, but not with the landlord or host, and who will reside\
  \ at that address for more than 90 days, is obliged to register his/her temporary\
  \ residence with the administrative unit within eight days of the date of temporary\
  \ settlement. An alien with a valid temporary residence permit, residence registration\
  \ certificate or long-stay visa who does not reside with the host or the host provider\
  \ shall be obliged to register his/her temporary residence at the address where\
  \ he/she is temporarily staying within eight days of the date of temporary settlement,\
  \ and an alien who is already staying at the address and who obtains a temporary\
  \ residence permit, residence registration certificate or long-stay visa only after\
  \ settling at the address shall be obliged to register his/her temporary residence\
  \ at the address where he/she is temporarily staying, within eight days from the\
  \ date of service of the permit, residence registration certificate or long-stay\
  \ visa\nThe registration of permanent or temporary residence is thus clearly conditional\
  \ on the actual residence at the address which the individual is registering. In\
  \ the absence of actual residence or settlement in the territory of the Republic\
  \ of Slovenia, the registration of the permanent or temporary residence of an alien\
  \ is not required, and fictitious registrations at addresses which would justify\
  \ the possibility of exercising other rights are inadmissible.\nIn order to prevent\
  \ fictitious registrations, the ZPPreb-1 stipulates that when registering permanent\
  \ and temporary residence, the individual must indicate the address he or she is\
  \ registering and provide proof of the right to reside at the address. Proof of\
  \ the right to reside at the address is provided by a declaration of ownership or\
  \ co-ownership, a lease or sublease agreement, the consent of the owner, one of\
  \ the co-owners or the landlord. He/she shall be obliged to provide truthful information\
  \ at the time of registration, which he/she shall certify by signing his/her signature.\
  \ Article 45(1)(4) of the ZPPreb-1 provides that an individual who fails to provide\
  \ truthful information when registering his/her permanent or temporary residence\
  \ shall be liable to a fine of between EUR 200 and EUR 600. Enforcement of the provision\
  \ is supervised by the administrative unit that registers the residence, which is\
  \ also the offending authority.\nArticle 22 of the ZPPreb-1 contains an additional\
  \ safeguard to prevent mass fictitious registrations at a single address. If the\
  \ information or evidence provided at the time of the registration of permanent\
  \ residence or the information available to the administrative unit casts doubt\
  \ on its veracity, the administrative unit shall initiate a procedure to verify\
  \ the veracity of the registration of permanent residence. It may also initiate\
  \ this procedure if the official detects that a large number of individuals are\
  \ already registered at the address where the person wishes to register. In this\
  \ case, the administrative unit shall register the temporary residence of the individual\
  \ pending verification of the veracity of the information or evidence. If the administrative\
  \ unit establishes that the information or evidence is correct, it shall, by decision,\
  \ suspend the procedure for verifying the correctness of the registration and register\
  \ the individual as a permanent resident with effect from the date of registration\
  \ of the temporary residence. If the administrative unit establishes that the individual\
  \ does not reside permanently at the address declared, it shall reject the application\
  \ by decision.\nHowever, if several individuals have already been unduly registered\
  \ at an address, or if there are individuals who are permanently or temporarily\
  \ registered at an address but no longer reside there, the administrative unit may\
  \ initiate the procedure for establishing permanent or temporary residence. In accordance\
  \ with the Law on the Protection of the Residence of Persons with Disabilities (ZPPreb-1),\
  \ the procedure is carried out ex officio and can be initiated by anyone who has\
  \ information about the fictitious registration of an individual. On the basis of\
  \ the evidence and the facts established, the administrative unit may, among other\
  \ options, issue a decision registering the individual at the address where he/she\
  \ is actually permanently or temporarily residing, or a decision terminating his/her\
  \ registration of residence.\nOn the other hand, the registration of a large number\
  \ of individuals at an address may be justified if it reflects the actual accommodation\
  \ situation at that address. In this case, the administrative unit responsible for\
  \ population registration cannot and should not restrict registration on the basis\
  \ of, for example, the number of individuals residing in a certain area, and it\
  \ is therefore not permissible, from the point of view of the registration of a\
  \ residence, to set any norms in that direction.\nWe would point out that the current\
  \ ZPPreb-1 is a registration law which makes it possible to record the consequence\
  \ that has occurred, i.e. the registration of the residence of an individual at\
  \ the address where he or she already resides. The determination of the suitability\
  \ of a dwelling when registering or establishing the actual residence of an individual\
  \ is not carried out in this context, since the possible introduction of a refusal\
  \ to register a residence on the grounds of a determination of unsuitable housing\
  \ for an individual who is genuinely residing in unsuitable housing (e.g. Roma,\
  \ families with a large number of children or a poor social status, students, seasonal\
  \ workers, etc.) would place that individual in an even worse position than an individual\
  \ without a residence. We are also of the opinion that, in the event of non-compliance\
  \ with a possibly defined standard of suitability of the living space, the number\
  \ of fictitious applications by individuals with a rejected application at the address\
  \ where they actually reside would increase. The establishment of norms for suitable\
  \ housing should also be accompanied by measures to remedy the situation, i.e. to\
  \ deal with cases where individuals have already registered their residence in unsuitable\
  \ buildings or dwellings, measures to deal with the registration of the residence\
  \ of minors (new-born children) whose parents are already living in this type of\
  \ housing, and so on.\nWith regard to households, it is further clarified that Article\
  \ 53(6) ZPPreb-1 provides that the household register, which is currently still\
  \ kept in accordance with Article 19(3) of the Law on Registration of Residence\
  \ (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 9/2001 and amendments Official\
  \ Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 111/2007; hereinafter: ZPPreb), is to\
  \ be kept until the last day of the year in which the four-year period from the\
  \ entry into force of this Law expires, i.e. only until 31 December 2020, after\
  \ which it is to be abolished. However, until 31.12.2020, when registering his/her\
  \ permanent residence, the individual must also provide the administrative unit\
  \ with information on the surname and first name, date of birth, or EM\u0160O of\
  \ the individual who heads the household, as well as on his/her relationship to\
  \ him/her. Article 3(5) of the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities\
  \ defines a household as a community of individuals who declare that they reside\
  \ together permanently and spend their income together to provide for the basic\
  \ necessities of life (such as housing, food, children's education, etc.). An individual\
  \ who declares that he/she resides alone in a separate housing unit, or as a sub-tenant\
  \ in a part of such a unit, and who spends his/her income alone to provide for the\
  \ basic necessities of life, shall also be considered to be a household.\nThe new\
  \ Law on the Protection of Housing and Social Security (ZPPreb-1) abolishes the\
  \ household register, as it has already been noted that the old system proved inadequate\
  \ in practice. The fact that a number of rights are derived from a joint household\
  \ means that individuals change their declarations of joining or leaving the household\
  \ too frequently (possibly several times a day), depending on the social, material\
  \ or financial benefit that the individual achieves by exercising his/her rights\
  \ under the joint or separate household. Changing the composition of the household\
  \ is easy, it is based on a declaration, the veracity of which is not verified,\
  \ and there are no criminal sanctions for providing false information. Any control\
  \ by the competent authority over the actual situation (how household members use\
  \ their income to provide the basic necessities of life) is practically impossible,\
  \ and the regime allows individuals to circumvent the law. The problem of determining\
  \ the household also arises in the procedure for establishing the de facto domicile,\
  \ since the procedure does not establish the household, but merely establishes a\
  \ separate or independent household for the parties. This results in a household\
  \ record in the population register that does not reflect the actual situation,\
  \ which is contrary to the purpose of the law. On the other hand, since the establishment\
  \ of the Land and Buildings Register (10 July 2008), the data on the residence in\
  \ the population register is tracked down to the level of the dwelling number. Every\
  \ multi-apartment building, whether it is a block of flats or a multi-apartment\
  \ house, must have its own apartment number. Therefore, since the residence data\
  \ is kept to such a detailed level, and since users have at their disposal data\
  \ from the Central Population Register, and thus also data from the Civil and Aliens\
  \ Register, which show blood ties between individuals, the combination of all data\
  \ can be used to estimate who belongs to a household, as an alternative to obtaining\
  \ data on the members of a particular household community.\nIn view of the above,\
  \ we consider that individuals who, due to different living situations, do not have\
  \ suitable housing should not and cannot be discriminated against when registering\
  \ their residence. Making the registration of residence conditional upon suitable\
  \ housing or the establishment of norms in this area would defeat the fundamental\
  \ purpose of the ZPPreb-1 and at the same time constitute a violation of, or an\
  \ impermissible interference with, an individual's constitutional rights to freedom\
  \ of movement and freedom of choice of residence. In view of the abolition of household\
  \ record-keeping, the proposal to introduce a norm on the number of household members\
  \ does not need to be implemented. The Law on Registration of Residence contains\
  \ the appropriate levers to enable the control of the registration of residences.\n\
  Any amendment of the Housing Code is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment\
  \ and Spatial Planning. However, in our view, the setting of norms can only be limited\
  \ to achieving the objective of ensuring minimum conditions in which individuals\
  \ can reside, so that they do not live in inhuman conditions, and not to preventing\
  \ reporting if it does occur.\n Response from the Ministry of the Environment and\
  \ Spatial Planning\nWe would like to begin by clarifying the Housing Act and the\
  \ Regulations on the Management of Multi-apartment Buildings with regard to the\
  \ number of occupants of each unit in a multi-apartment building. The Housing Act\
  \ does not define households. It does not distinguish between floor owners or tenants\
  \ according to their status (Slovenian citizens, foreign citizens). For the purposes\
  \ of sharing operating costs in a multi-apartment building, it considers the users\
  \ of each housing unit. Article 29 of the aforementioned Rules stipulates that the\
  \ owner of each unit, or the tenant in the case of a rental unit, must communicate\
  \ to the manager information on the number of users of each unit for the purposes\
  \ of sharing operating costs. If the owners or tenants fail to notify the number\
  \ of occupants or any increase in the number of occupants of a unit to the property\
  \ manager in time or fail to notify the number of occupants to the property manager\
  \ at all, the property manager shall take into account the occupancy of the unit\
  \ by twice as many persons as is deemed appropriate in accordance with Article 14\
  \ of the Rules on the allocation of non-profit housing for rent, taking into account\
  \ the area of the dwelling without the payment of the equity and security deposit.\
  \ Owners or tenants must notify the administrator of any change in the number of\
  \ occupants within 15 days of the change. The administrator shall take account of\
  \ any change for the first subsequent billing period. The authenticity of the information\
  \ shall be guaranteed by the signature. In the event of a change, the user shall\
  \ also attach appropriate supporting documents, such as a certificate of de-registration\
  \ or change of residence, proof of prolonged absence due to work, school or study\
  \ commitments, medical treatment, an extract from the birth register, or other appropriate\
  \ evidence. On the basis of the messages received on the users of each unit, the\
  \ administrator shall draw up a list of the number of users of each unit, without\
  \ personal data, and post it on the notice board. A user residing in the building\
  \ may notify the administrator in writing of a higher number of users of a particular\
  \ unit than the number notified by the owner or tenant of that unit. In that case,\
  \ the manager shall invite the owner or tenant named in the written warning to clarify\
  \ the situation in order to ascertain the actual situation.\nAs regards the norm\
  \ for the number of household members, it is clarified that the housing legislation\
  \ does not define a household or the maximum number of household members. The Housing\
  \ Act defines a suitable dwelling, which, in accordance with the provisions of this\
  \ Act, is a dwelling which is located in such a single or multi-apartment building\
  \ which is constructed in accordance with the minimum technical conditions for the\
  \ construction of residential buildings and dwellings and for which a certificate\
  \ of occupancy has been issued in accordance with the regulations on the construction\
  \ of buildings. The dwelling must have separate sleeping and living areas (except\
  \ in the case of a studio flat) and must meet the housing needs of the owner or\
  \ tenant and their immediate family members living in the same household as the\
  \ owner or tenant, and must comply with the space standards laid down in the Rules\
  \ on the Allocation of Non-Profit Housing for Rent (Article 14).\nIn the case of\
  \ flats rented out under a lease agreement, we would like to add that pursuant to\
  \ Article 91(2) of the SZ-1, the owner must conclude an annex to the lease agreement\
  \ at the request of the tenant if the number of persons increases by one or more\
  \ persons whom the tenant is legally obliged to support, and for all other persons\
  \ only if the flat is still suitable in size in relation to the number of persons.\n\
  As regards damage to the common parts of a multi-apartment building, we would like\
  \ to clarify that the existing Housing Act already allows, inter alia, for the adoption\
  \ of house rules. Owners may adopt a house code of conduct, which establishes the\
  \ rights and obligations of the users of the various parts of the building in order\
  \ to ensure the conditions for the smooth use of those parts, to safeguard security\
  \ and order and to ensure the peace and cleanliness of the building, by laying down\
  \ the basic rules of neighbourly coexistence. The provisions of the house rules\
  \ shall be observed by all persons residing, doing business or being present in\
  \ the building. Serious breaches of the house rules may give rise to an action for\
  \ exclusion. Similarly, a landlord may terminate a tenancy agreement for fault if\
  \ the tenant or the persons living with him/her cause major damage to the apartment\
  \ or the common parts of the apartment or apartment building by the way they use\
  \ the apartment.\nOf course, in the event of mutual disturbance, the owners of the\
  \ flats are also left with a nuisance action under the Civil Procedure Code or an\
  \ exclusion action, as the owners of the property must exercise their property rights\
  \ in such a way that they do not disturb each other and do not cause damage to each\
  \ other; however, gross breaches of the house rules may be grounds for an exclusion\
  \ action."
response date: 2019-11-24
response due date: null
sent date: 2018-07-06
title: norm for the number of household members
upvotes: 22
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/9298
