HUNGARY: Public Housing Tenants Challenge Demolition Plan

More than 400 people live in ten public housing buildings that the government of Viktor Orbán has expropriated to make way for the expansion of a university that trains public employees. The tenants, whose homes are slated for demolition, are organizing to have a voice in decisions that would upend their lives.

They are part of the Józsefváros Tenant Protection Community, based at Mandák House, a Lutheran church and community center. For the past four years, the tenant association has been working to improve conditions in public housing across Budapest. Earlier in 2025, they won a major victory by replacing the management of the company responsible for maintaining the more than 110 buildings where they and others live.

Now, they are demanding transparency about the demolition plan and fair compensation—so that families who wish to stay in their neighborhood can access adequate public housing. Neither the government nor the university—controlled by the Orbán regime—has provided clear answers about the tenants’ future or funding sufficient to compensate them.

At the same time, the government introduced a new law aimed at further cutting off funding for non-governmental organizations. Civic organizations held large protests against the law, and the government postponed consideration of the bill until the fall.

Tenants from the affected buildings recently completed a listening campaign to clarify their priorities and have secured a commitment from their parliamentary representative to present their demands in the Hungarian Parliament.