At its Human Rights meeting from 2 to 4 December, the Committee of Ministers ended its supervision of the Statileo group of cases, which concerned the rent control legislation imposing a disproportionate and excessive burden on owners of flats subjected to protected tenancy (violation of the right to protection of property under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1). In its leading judgment, the Court indicated that the problem underlying the violation concerned shortcomings in the legislation itself, namely the inadequate level of protected rent, restrictive conditions for the termination of protected leases, and the absence of any temporal limitation to the protected lease scheme.
The supervision was closed following the adoption of the 2024 Law. The Committee considered that the new law addressed the above shortcomings in the legislation and struck the right balance between the interests of landlords and the general interest of the community. The Committee of Ministers also welcomed the operational measures taken by Croatia, including significant budgetary allocations secured for the implementation of the 2024 Law, which clearly demonstrate the long-term commitment to achieving a lasting global solution to the structural problem identified by the Court. Lastly, the Committee of Ministers also took into account that the compensatory remedy, established by the Supreme Court of Croatia in December 2018 and previously noted with satisfaction by the Committee, continues to function well and reflects the Convention standards set out in the Statileo group of cases.
