Abstract

The article discusses certain problems arising with respect to liability for occupying residential premises with no legal title (Art. 18 of the Tenant Protection Act. This regulation is alex specialis vis-à-vis the provisions of the Civil Code and provides for the obligation to pay periodical compensation to the owner of the premises. It refers only to the individuals who previously had legal title to the occupied premises, and the obligation to pay compensation applies to all persons (adult and underage) occupying the premises. Their obligation is divisible (pro rata parte). The amount of the compensation shall be equal to the amount of rent which the owner would have received for lease, but persons entitled to alternative accommodation – if the court suspended eviction until they get such accommodation – should pay compensation in the amount of rent or other charges for using the premises they would be obliged to pay if the title did not expire. Moreover, the municipality bears full responsibility for the losses caused by failure to provide a social apartment to the entitled person, and that responsibility is not subsidiary to former tenants’ liability. The municipality has the right of recourse against former tenants based on the principles of rightness since responsibility of the municipality and former tenants for payment of compensation is so-called responsibility in solidum.