site.btaSofia Municipality to Make Long-term Social Housing Plan with Council of Europe's Support

Sofia will draw up a long-term plan for social housing by September 2025. The commitment was made at a meeting between Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bacheva, and the Council of Europe's Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Gudrun Mosler-Tornstrom. The conversation took place in the framework of the official political dialogue initiated by the Council of Europe in order to support the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights decisions at the local level, Sofia City Hall said in a press release Tuesday.

The Sofia Mayor pointed out that although the issue had been systematically postponed for years, it had now been prioritised. Terziev explained that work has started on the preparation of a long-term plan, and for the first time Sofia will have a strategic vision for social housing. The mayor explained that the plan will be presented in September, and that Sofia Municipality will seek partnership with the State and European institutions for its implementation. "The problem cannot be solved with municipal resources alone," Terziev added.

According to the press release, Bulgaria is the first country where the Congress has launched this process at local level. The conversation in Sofia focused on the implementation of landmark court decisions, including Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria, Ivanova and Cherkezov v. Bulgaria, and Simonova v. Bulgaria, related to the housing rights of vulnerable groups. The possibility for the State to provide Sofia with unused buildings and land - a temporary solution for crisis situations such as the one in the Zaharna Fabrika borough - was also discussed. Sofia Municipality declared its readiness to act immediately if such assets are provided, the municipal administration said. 

Deputy Mayor Bacheva pointed out that the State owns empty buildings in Sofia. "If these are made available, we can immediately offer temporary accommodation to at least 200 people, but this does not solve the problem - we need a long-term strategy, which we are already developing," she added.

Mosler-Tornstrom expressed her willingness to take the Mayor's proposals directly to the Deputy Regional Development Minister, with whom she is due to meet later on Tuesday. She added that a report on housing policy was due in Congress in March 2026 and if Sofia showed progress, it could be presented as a good example.

The municipal administration said that once the roadmap is developed, Sofia City Hall will return a formal written response to the proposal by September 2025, outlining the specific steps in developing the long-term social housing plan. The Council of Europe will present this feedback to the Committee of Ministers, and Sofia will have the opportunity to assert its role as a responsible and active actor in the implementation of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.