Uroš Škerl Kramberger, Meta Gantar, Klara Škrinjar

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SDS MP Andrej Kosi used to live in a building that was officially categorised as a crop storehouse. The living situation of two MPs, who are residing in buildings with reported useful floor areas smaller than a couple public parking spaces, also remains unclear.

When Andrej Kosi (SDS) stood as a candidate for MP in the spring of 2022, he was interviewed by the local portal Spodnjepodravje and presented as a civil engineer who »has dealt with a broad variety of issues in the context of the building permit obtainment process, and has accumulated a lot of experience«.

He has also gained experience in his private life, as the building where he and his family live was classified as an illegal construction until 2014.

Extensive documentation obtained from the land registry, the administrative unit and the building inspectorate shows that Kosi and his wife had obtained a building permit as early as 2007, though not for a family house but for the construction of an outbuilding, more specifically a storehouse for agricultural crops.

At that time, according to the building inspector who had visited the plot in 2012, residential construction was not allowed on Kosi’s plot as the land was not registered as a building site. In addition, it was officially a »harvest storage depot«, whereas the inspector found that it was in fact a residential house.

The inspector carried out the inspection without the presence of the owners of the building, Mr. and Mrs. Kosi, who were later summoned for questioning. The Kosi couple explained that they had converted the building into housing because of space constraints, having in the meantime become a young family. Although they had proposed the change of use of the land to residential use as early as 2004, the change had not yet taken place by 2012 when the inspection procedure began.

Satellite images from 2008 (left) and 2013 (right), taken with the Google Earth historical imagery tool, showing that the Kosi house was in 2008 identical as it is today.

The building inspector then issued a decision ordering them to obtain an amended building permit and an occupancy permit for the house they live in. Until then, he had prohibited the use of the illegal construction. They were supposed to apply for the amended permit within one month of this decision.

Since the Kosis had still not applied for the building permit to be amended after almost a year and a half, the inspector decided to take enforcement action, again banning the use of the residential building and ordering the owners to restore the house to a state compliant with the building permit, i.e. to convert it into a commercial building. If the Kosis failed to do so, they faced a fine of at least €3,000.

The building inspection documents show that the Kosis eventually complied with the inspector and applied for the change of the planned use of the building. It was a hair’s breadth situation, as they submitted the request on the very last day before the inspection deadline. A few months later, the administrative unit changed the building permit to a residential one, the inspector stopped the procedure, and the Kosi family are now living in a legalised homestead.

Few MPs are Willing to Discuss their Assets

18 square metres of living space

Meanwhile, the living situation of two MPs, both of whom have their permanent residence registered in a building with a useful floor area smaller than two public parking spaces; and of an MP who cohabits with his partner rather than with corn, but in a building where crops could be stored nevertheless, remains unexplained.

Dejan Süč (Freedom Movement), as displayed by ortophoto images taken by the Geodetic Survey, lives in a purported crop storage building of some 50 square metres, which – judging by Mr. Süč’s social media posts – uncannily resembles a neat and comfortable house.

The MP did not explain his real estate situation to the editorial team. Since the Lendava Administrative Unit refused to provide copies of the building permits for the plot on which the building stands to verify its purpose, we launched an appeal procedure.

At least two other MPs have their permanent residence in buildings whose official living space amounts to a meagre 18 square metres.

According to the 2022 Parliamentary election records, Miroslav Gregorič (FM) has his permanent residence in a forest above Radeče in the Posavje region, where he also owns several forest plots with a total area of 11.7 hectares. He did not reply to an explicit question as to whether he lives there – on 18 square metres according to Gurs data.

Mr. Gregorič also owns property in Ljubljana and in Croatian Istria, which he at least partially inherited, and his immediate family also owns two houses in Ljubljana and a holiday home in Istria.

According to the same data, Bojan Podkrajšek (SDS) has his permanent residence in a house near Slovenske Konjice with a usable floor area of just 18.8 square metres. There is also a large cellar of 32 m2 and 108 m2 of associated space, which is classified as unallocated, according to Gurs.

The MP did not clarify the issue of the tiny living area of his house, especially in relation to the area of unallocated space there. At the house address, a member of the MP’s family has registered a sole proprietorship to operate a solar power plant. The solar panels cover both the house and the neighbouring buildings.

RESEARCH THE ASSET DETECTOR

MPs in a Storage Depot

18 square metres of living space