Polish deputy minister accused of competing interests over short-term rentals
Ireneusz Ras, a deputy tourism minister, has been leasing tiny flats, while he is currently responsible for drafting a bill to restrict short-term lettings, the Money.pl online news outlet reported on Monday.
"Ras ... bought three micro-studios (measuring 12.40, 12.98 and 13.05 square metres) in 2020 in a tenement block in Lodz [central Poland] that had been divided into 55 rental flats," the outlet wrote.
In his financial disclosures, he declared a regular income from letting, which had ceased three months before he took up his government post, whilst he had sold two of these properties to his brother and passed one to his ex-wife.
Money.pl noted that the deputy minister is in charge of preparing an amendment to the Act on Hotel Services, which was initially intended to give local authorities the right to establish zones free of short-term rentals, but this provision was subsequently removed. Ras publicly argued that such zones "are not necessary".
The official does not perceive the revealed circumstances as a conflict of interest, claiming that his properties were solely used for long-term rentals. However, the journalists checked that the tenement house in Lodz is operating as an aparthotel on the popular short-stay platforms, Booking and Airbnb.pl.
The media report quickly prompted public outcry, with Warsaw's Miasto jest Nasze (MJN, The City is Ours) activists staging a happening in the centre of Warsaw on Monday. The organisation called for Ras's resignation if the allegations are found to be valid.(PAP)
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