Budapest: Rough sleeping in Hungary will be banned from Monday after a homelessness law adopted by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government and called “cruel” by critics comes into force. A constitutional amendment approved by the Budapest Parliament on June 20 banned “habitual residence in a public space”, beefing up a 2013 law that made it a fineable offence.
With police now empowered to remove rough sleepers from streets and dismantle huts and shacks, a government official said on Thursday the law “serves the interests of society as a whole”. Its goal is “to ensure that homeless people are not on the streets at night-time and that citizens can make use of public space unimpeded,” Attila Fulop, social affairs state secretary, told reporters. An estimated 11,000 places exist in state-run shelters but experts say at least 20,000 people are homeless nationwide.