The day, December 10, had been designated as International Property Day by the Union Internationale de la Propriete Immobiliere (International Union of Property Owners), as part of its drive to ensure recognition of the rights of property owners around the world.
“The right to own property is one of the hallmarks of all civilised societies and has long been recognised as such”, said NLA chairman and vice-president of the UIPI, David Salusbury. “Such a right is one of a number of factors that contributes to the creation and preservation of free, stable, and pluralist societies. In Britain in many ways we take the ownership of property for granted but a number of our fellow members of the UIPI in Central and Eastern Europe are still attempting to unravel the problems of property restitution following the end of Communist rule.”
The NLA was also very pleased to welcome Stratos Paradias, the president of the UIPI, to London, after the recent meeting of the organisation’s Executive Committee in Brussels.
“We are very gratified to have Stratos Paradias visit us in our London Headquarters”, continued Salusbury. “Housing is not an area within the competence of the European Union but there are pressures to amend that position in such a way that would be harmful to both landlord and tenant in the United Kingdom. The NLA is ever watchful on this issue and eager to work with our European partners in combating any ill effects that could arise from the potential emergence of a Europe-wide housing policy. The discussions we have had in Brussels, including at the European Parliament, and in London were an opportunity to air these issues.”
