The High Court of Cassation and Justice has ruled in favour of The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS), thereby compelling the Ministry of Education to promulgate the implementing regulations for Law 201/2006 on the promotion of private investment in the construction of student dormitories. Following nearly twenty years of governmental indifference, the state is now being compelled to adhere to the law and permit private investors to contribute to the development of student accommodation infrastructure.
Legislation No. 201/2006 was enacted to encourage private investment in the construction of student accommodation, with the aim of promoting the development of university campuses and addressing the paucity of housing on large academic campuses. The legislation offers incentives to private investors in the construction and management of student dormitories, thereby complementing the inadequate supply of places provided by the state. However, for almost two decades, the Education Ministry refrained from issuing the requisite methodological regulations.
The failure to implement this legislation has resulted in a series of adverse consequences, impacting students, businesses and universities. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education's inaction has perpetuated an artificial shortage of accommodation, adversely impacting both education and the private sector.
In the absence of affordable alternatives, students have been compelled to incur progressively higher rents at a time when demand for accommodation has remained steady. Private investors seeking to construct dormitories have encountered impediments due to state inaction, consequently failing to capitalise on the support provisions inherent within legislation. This has had a deleterious effect on the development of the sector. Concurrently, universities have grappled with an acute shortage of accommodation, a problem that has deteriorated in severity with each passing year as student enrolment figures have increased.
Despite repeated appeals from FACIAS and the business community, the authorities have wilfully ignored their obligations under the law, refusing to provide private investors with the legal framework to build student dormitories. It was only subsequent to an extensive judicial process initiated by FACIAS that the courts intervened, compelling the state to adhere to its own legal statutes.
The High Court of Cassation and Justice's decision is unequivocal in its indication that the state is unable to perpetuate the obstruction of legislation that has already been formally adopted. The Ministry of Education is no longer able to justify its failure to implement the necessary methodological norms for the application of Law 201/2006, and is obliged to issue these norms without further delay.