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We moved from Stephen the Great streetto a house on Sfantul Sava street, which had a bathroom and a WC inside. It was much better. It wasn’t our house, we got it through the Dwelling Service. I’ll explain how this worked. A census of all existing apartments in the whole country was made around 1949. People were hired to do this job. They drew the plansof all apartments from Iassy. Afterwards people would go to the Dwelling Service and apply for an apartment.
Because flats weren’t built by then, they decided that every person has the right to eight square meters. If they were husband and wife they had to live in one room. If they had two rooms and no children, one room was taken from them, and they had to host a renter. If they had a boy and a girl, they had the right for separate rooms, one for the boy and one for the girl. That’s how apartments were alocated, that’s the way this Dwelling Service worked.
Some of the apartments were freed in time. When I moved for instance from Stefan cel Mare to Sfantul Sava, a family hadjust left from there. I had a kitchen and a bathroom there.
Afterwards my sister was assigned to Bucharest, my brother got married and moved to his wife’s apartment and I remained with my parents. I had the right to a room and my parents to another one. We rented that apartment. But there was a law regarding the rent payment too.
There were stoves, but you couldn’t find firewood anymore, so we bought a gas stove, which had to burn day and night, otherwise it got cold immediately and my father was old. Sometimes the stove clogged and I had to stave it in. I had to put my hand right to its end, and in the endI got all dirty. And it was just the moment I had to go school. Dreadful.
I think I lived for 20 years in that house. Meanwhile the Dwelling Service was disbanded, because a lot of people moved in apartment houses. It was then when I bought this apartment, and moved in with dad. This apartment wasn’t offered to me by the state.
I bought it from start on. I had a part of the moneyI needed to for it, I borrowed a part from CEC and my siblings helped me too. I don’t know if someone else moved in on Sfantul Sava street after I left, I don’t think so. Afterwards they destroyed it.
Because flats weren’t built by then, they decided that every person has the right to eight square meters. If they were husband and wife they had to live in one room. If they had two rooms and no children, one room was taken from them, and they had to host a renter. If they had a boy and a girl, they had the right for separate rooms, one for the boy and one for the girl. That’s how apartments were alocated, that’s the way this Dwelling Service worked.
Some of the apartments were freed in time. When I moved for instance from Stefan cel Mare to Sfantul Sava, a family hadjust left from there. I had a kitchen and a bathroom there.
Afterwards my sister was assigned to Bucharest, my brother got married and moved to his wife’s apartment and I remained with my parents. I had the right to a room and my parents to another one. We rented that apartment. But there was a law regarding the rent payment too.
There were stoves, but you couldn’t find firewood anymore, so we bought a gas stove, which had to burn day and night, otherwise it got cold immediately and my father was old. Sometimes the stove clogged and I had to stave it in. I had to put my hand right to its end, and in the endI got all dirty. And it was just the moment I had to go school. Dreadful.
I think I lived for 20 years in that house. Meanwhile the Dwelling Service was disbanded, because a lot of people moved in apartment houses. It was then when I bought this apartment, and moved in with dad. This apartment wasn’t offered to me by the state.
I bought it from start on. I had a part of the moneyI needed to for it, I borrowed a part from CEC and my siblings helped me too. I don’t know if someone else moved in on Sfantul Sava street after I left, I don’t think so. Afterwards they destroyed it.
Period
Location
Iasi
Romania
Interview
Rosa Kaiserman