Although, in theory, such luxury housing downtown Bucharest should be occupied by Romanian dignitaries during their terms in office, many of the current tenants have no right to live there. The list includes, among others, former ministers, advisers or MPs, artists, business people or even former communist officials who have never held public positions in post-1989 Romania.

The topic is given extensive coverage in the national media. In a story entitled “Surprises in Governmental Housing,” the daily Adevarul writes, “a number of VIPs are included in the list of governmental tenants, although they have never held public offices or have long lost them. In the latter case, the government allowed them to extend their lodging contracts long after their dignitary terms had ended, which was the only legal grounds for granting corporate housing to public officials.”

The same daily quotes prime minister Victor Ponta, who said the state-owned housing should be reduced to 50 apartment units at most, for dignitaries, and maximum 10 protocol villas, for the head of state, prime minister and the speakers of the two Parliament chambers. In turn, the daily Evenimentul Zilei under the headline “Luxury tenants of the Romanian State,” mentions that “about to leave the state-owned houses” are former Transportation Minister Ovidiu Silaghi, former delegate minister for Social Dialogue Liviu Pop, and Mircea Geoana, who was the Senate Speaker until 2011.

After running a survey, the online daily Gandul writes that “285 people have house rental contracts with the Administration of State Patrimony, while for another 194 dignitaries the government pays the rent for corporate housing.” On the other hand, although they have the means to rent or buy their own homes, some of the current public officials have chosen to live in the housing units provided by the State. And there are many voices that argue that although, under the law, they cannot be charged with any offences, in moral terms they are still at fault.