'Residents face the hardest hit to their living standards'

Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) - Renters suffered the greatest losses in their standard of living last year and are the most vulnerable group of citizens in Montenegro.

The president of the Tenants Association Dragan Zivkovic said that rising rents, constant inflation and lack of protection from the state have led 52 percent of tenant families not to the edge, but to poverty. He said there are 30,000 tenant families in Montenegro.

According to AS nekretnine, rental prices range from 300 euros and above. Prices for houses in suburban villages are slightly lower, and on the coast can reach 700 euros.

Zivkovic emphasizes that there has been a stabilization, but not a decrease in rents. "The problem now is that landlords''housing day in and day out are raising rents to levels they are already at.

He added that the biggest problem is that the state has done nothing to protect tenants from such financial blows. "If the rent for a one-room apartment today in Podgorica is 400-500 euros, and even more on the coast, it is clear how real these prices are," Zivkovic said and noted that''The association communicates daily with tenants from all over Montenegro.

He announced that the state has still not recognized the importance of the existence of the association, and has done nothing to make it stronger and more productive to help the most vulnerable tenant families.

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