Aninoasa, a former coal‑mining town in Hunedoara, Romania, now faces a housing crisis as residents cling to symbolically low rents in deteriorating apartment blocks. After the mine closed in 2006, most workers left, leaving only a few hundred families behind. Many pay less than ten lei per month or own the flats for around 5,000 lei. The 2023 earthquakes accelerated the collapse of old buildings, prompting the Hunedoara County Emergency Committee to evacuate about 400 people, including children. Some refused to leave, but authorities offered free, utility‑free accommodation in modular containers. Three years on, several families still live in those metal boxes. The state has earmarked funds to build 100 emergency‑grade homes, with 99 % of three blocks already finished and work on three more underway, said Mayor Nicolae Dunca. The situation highlights the lingering economic hardship in former mining communities, where low rents and inadequate maintenance have become the norm.

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