The Place and Role of the Municipality in Shaping the Local Housing Policy, with Particular Emphasis on Elderly People

Housing policy is one of the most significant challenges for local government in Poland. According to the Act of 21 June 2001 on the protection of tenants’ rights, municipal housing stock and on the amendment of the Civil Code, one of the tasks of the municipality (Pol. gmina) is to establish conditions for satisfying the housing needs of the local community. The implementation of the housing support instruments that take into account the specific needs of elderly people should be the primary objective of housing policy in the local government in Poland. The main objective of this study is a legal analysis of the applicable normative regulations on the conduct by public authorities of policies aimed at meeting the housing needs of citizens, with particular emphasis on the needs of elderly people. The subject of the analysis is also to examine the proposed legislative solutions in Poland, aiming to support, using municipal housing stock, elderly people with the ownership right to a dwelling and living in a building not equipped with a lift on the fourth above-ground level or higher.