Brno City Hall Sued a Mentally Ill Tenant Over Eviction — the Mayor Had to Step In

In Brno's Žabovřesky district, local officials filed a lawsuit to evict 46-year-old Monika Oravcová from her municipal flat. Oravcová has lived with schizophrenia for nearly her entire adult life. The dispute dragged on for years and was only resolved in the summer of 2025 after Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková personally intervened.

The woman moved into the flat in the autumn of 2021 straight from a psychiatric hospital — the lease was arranged by her mother, Věra Oravcová, who was her legal guardian at the time. The sudden change of environment badly worsened her daughter's condition: neighbours complained of constant noise, shouting and swearing coming from the flat, even at night. According to the neighbours, they didn't know about the new tenant's diagnosis back then and were genuinely afraid of her.

An ultimatum from the town hall

A year after she moved in, district mayor Filip Leder (KDU-ČSL) informed the woman's mother of a serious breach of the lease terms. According to Věra Oravcová, the district's lawyer told her she had ten days to fix the problem, or her daughter would be handed an immediate eviction notice and left "on the street." The woman ended up seeking psychiatric help herself and was hospitalised — over the following year she spent a total of three months in a psychiatric clinic, after which her condition stabilised.

Nonetheless, when the two-year lease was due to expire, the district authorities decided not to renew it, citing the earlier complaints from neighbours and claiming the guardian was allegedly failing to fulfil her duties. Věra Oravcová disagreed: she says her daughter has never harmed anyone, and finding alternative housing for a smoker with three cats and a psychiatric diagnosis is simply impossible.

Neighbours changed their minds

By the autumn of 2023 the situation in the building had changed completely: Monika Oravcová had settled into her new home, paid rent reliably, and her psychiatrist confirmed that her health had stabilised to the point that another move could undo all that progress. The same neighbours who had once complained about the noise now publicly spoke up in her defence, saying there were no more problems and they saw no grounds for eviction.

The woman's new guardian, social worker Nataša Hubatková, tried to negotiate a new lease with the district administration, but without success. The authorities' proposed solution — moving her into a small studio flat — went against her doctor's recommendations and didn't suit Monika herself.

A lawsuit against its own ward

In the spring of 2025, ombudsman Stanislav Křeček got involved in the case, pointing out that there were no longer any complaints from neighbours and that the eviction demand was disproportionate to the situation. In response, the district administration, led by district mayor Leder and district lawyer Jitka Jírmanová, filed an eviction lawsuit.

A paradoxical situation arose: the legal entity involved is the City of Brno as a whole, not the district alone, meaning the city was effectively suing the woman while also being obliged to protect her rights. Guardian Hubatková found herself in a conflict of interest, and the court-appointed conflict representative, in her words, took the position of "the lease has ended, prepare to lose."

Mayoral intervention settled the dispute

The situation changed only after the woman's mother reached out to Michaela Nosková, ombudsman at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, who brought Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková directly into the case. According to the city hall, the mayor discussed the matter with deputy mayor for housing policy Karin Podivinská Karasová, who then contacted district officials, chiefly councillor Ivo Borovec.

In late August 2025, on the eve of a court hearing scheduled for 16 September, the district unexpectedly offered Monika Oravcová a one-year lease and withdrew the eviction lawsuit. The woman still lives in the two-room flat with her three cats, and her mother visits her regularly.

"I'm happy living here. There's space, cats, a balcony. Everything's fine," Monika Oravcová said. However, since the new lease runs for only one year, the family fears the fight for the flat may not be over yet.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz