News

27 July 2026

The forceful demolition of buildings in Lozenets neighbourhood scheduled for today, 27 July 2026, should be postponed until an up-to-date individual assessment of the situation of each affected household is carried out and specific measures are taken to protect those at risk of becoming homeless.

This is the request made in a letter to the Mayor of Stara Zagora Municipality Zhivko Todorov, signed by the Deputy Ombudsman Maria Filipova.

The letter was sent following an inspection carried out by a team from the Institution of the municipal administration and on site in the neighbourhood on 23 July 2026. The forthcoming enforcement proceedings cover 30 residential buildings for which demolition orders have been issued under the Spatial Planning Act.

The inspection found that the social assessment submitted by the local municipality had been carried out on 13 July 2026 – more than five months after the enforcement order was issued and just nine days before the originally scheduled demolition date. The document covers only 13 households surveyed and does not contain complete and reliable data on all the buildings, affected families and children.

The Institution’s experts have also identified significant discrepancies between the information provided by the local municipality, the social assessment and the statements made by the residents themselves. Six of the households surveyed explicitly stated that they had nowhere to go and needed accommodation. Those affected include children, people with disabilities and people with serious health problems.

Particularly concerning is the case of a person with a severe chronic illness who requires regular haemodialysis. Transport to a dialysis centre has been arranged for this person, but this does not eliminate the risk to his health. The continuity of treatment depends not only on access to the medical facility, but also on the availability of accommodation with basic living and hygiene conditions, where the person can recover after each procedure. Having his home demolished without suitable alternative accommodation being provided in advance could jeopardise his health.

Also, it is particularly worrying that no cases have been opened for the affected children with the Child Protection Department, nor has any assessment been carried out as to how the demolition of their homes will affect them and what measures are needed to protect them. According to representatives of the social services, such measures could only be taken once the buildings had been demolished. The letter categorically emphasises that the protection of children must precede the demolition, rather than beginning only after the harm has occurred.

The document states that the illegality of a building, as such, does not exempt the authorities from the obligation to carry out an individual assessment of proportionality before depriving a person of their home. This requirement stems from the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of ‘Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria’ and ‘Ivanova and Cherkezov v. Bulgaria’.

The letter points out that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to justify the going ahead with the forceful demolition on 27 July in respect of all those affected.

The Mayor of Stara Zagora is expected to postpone implementation until an up-to-date individual assessment of each household has been carried out, including an assessment of the risk of homelessness, the consequences for each child affected, and the specific needs of people with disabilities, the elderly and those with serious health problems.

It is also recommended that specific measures be taken and duly documented to prevent homelessness, including the provision of genuinely accessible and suitable alternative accommodation for households that are unable to secure housing for themselves.