Parliament approves law allowing former home owners to buy back properties

Parliament on Wednesday approved legislation that allows tenants residing in homes owned by the National Asset Management Agency (NET) to buy back their former properties at a discounted price.

NET was established earlier to buy foreclosed homes and allow borrowers to continue living in them as renters.

The legislation’s part requiring a qualified majority was passed with a vote of 133 for, none against and no abstentions. The part requiring a simple majority was passed with a vote of 132 for, none against and no abstentions.

The discounts will be determined by decree.

However, the press department of Andrea Bártfai-Mager, Hungary’s minister without portfolio in charge of managing state assets, who authored the legislation, earlier said the discount could be set at 15 percent for homes in the capital, 25 percent for other cities and 35 percent for smaller communities.

In addition to the discounts, NET will also count rent payments against the purchase price of the properties.

The legislation will affect some 32,000 tenants who have made their rent payments on time.

NET has acquired some 36,000 properties since its establishment in 2011, paying 137.1 billion forints for properties on which mortgages added up to 324.4 billion.

On another topic, the parliament approved legislation establishing a system of independent administrative courts that have the authority to make rulings in matters of public administration.

The part of the legislation requiring a qualified majority was passed in the 199-seat chamber by two-thirds of those present in the chamber, with a vote of 131 for, 2 against and no abstentions. The part requiring a simple majority was passed with a vote of 130 for, 3 against and no abstentions.

The authors of the legislation noted that “adjudication in matters of public administration has such objective peculiarities that they justify somewhat different rules”.

“A fair balance must be established between the interests of the individual and the public interest in adjudication in matters of public administration, ensuring harmony between the rights of the individual and legal protection based on the public interest,” according to the justification attached to the legislation.

The public administrative courts will have their own independent budget chapter.

Separate legislation also approved by lawmakers on Wednesday, set January 1, 2020 as the date for the start of the administrative courts’ operation.

Source: MTI