Unpacking Housing Rights: Challenges and Responsibilities in Today's Societies

1. “What is the meaning of housing rights here and now?”Wednesday 13th February 2019 Dr Padraic Kenna Centre for Housing Law Rights and Policy National University of Ireland Galway

2. It is a good question… • Is it fake news? • Does it have any value? • How many people ”like” housing rights”

3. UN Special Rapporteur website:

4. The Delicate Flowers of Housing Rights and the Big Beasts in Housing Systems

5. Housing as ‘Home’ Shelter Values of ‘Dignity, Privacy, Family, Security, Community Identity, Relationships Care and support for children, people with disabilities and older people

6. BUT beyond the individual home…housing systems involve….. • Land use and planning • Property rights • Mortgages • Regulation • Infrastructure • Insurance • Global corporations • Consumption • Real estate markets • MAINTAINING THE ASSET BASE FOR EUROPEAN BANKS?

7. Today in all our cities ‘Real estate attacks housing’ Madden & Marcuse (2016) In Defense of Housing. “housing role as an investment outweighs all other claims upon it, whether based on human rights, needs, tradition, legal precedent, cultural habit, or the ethical and affective significance of home (p. 17)

8. La meme situation • Every European city has the same issues: • Lack of affordable housing to rent or buy • Those on lower incomes or vulnerable being squeezed out of the rental market • Increasing numbers of homeless and in precarious housing • Investment funds (seeking high returns) and on-line platforms dominated the rented sector • Political and public responses at local level are hopelessly inadequate to deal with these global forces • Housing is the Big challenge for EU and EU institutions

9. Rights to housing • UDHR – Art. 25 • ICESCR – Art 11 • Council of Europe • ECHR – Art. 3, 6, 8, 13, 14, Art 1 of P.1 • (R)ESC – Arts 15, 16, 19, 23, 30, 31. • Other UN and international instruments • Sustainable Development Goals and other programmes • EU Charter of Fundamental Rights • European Pillar of Social Rights • National constitutions and laws

10. Matrix of Housing Rights • Minimum core obligations –recognize – respect – protect – fulfil and progressive realization • Non-discrimination • Legal security of tenure • Affordability • Habitable housing • Accessible housing • Suitable location • Culturally adequate housing • Availability of services, materials and infrastructure

11. (Revised) European Social Charter • Article 16 – The right of the family to social, legal and economic protection With a view to ensuring the necessary conditions for the full development of the family, which is a fundamental unit of society, the Parties undertake to promote the economic, legal and social protection of family life by such means as social and family benefits, fiscal arrangements, provision of family housing, benefits for the newly married and other appropriate means. • Article 31 – The right to housing With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to housing, the Parties undertake: to take measures designed to promote access to housing of an adequate standard. to take measures designed to prevent and reduce homelessness with a view to its gradual elimination. to take measures designed to make the price of housing accessible to those without adequate resources."

12. ButUbi Jus Ibi Remedium? Can housing rights give a remedy • Most grant vertical and programmatic rights – obligations on States rather than granting individually enforcable rights • BUT Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,Optional Protocol decision in Mohamed Ben Djazia and NaouelBellili v Spain. emphasised the HORIZONTAL nature of the protection against forced eviction, ie. the State has a duty to ensure that the protections extends to relations between private individuals [including corporates] in eviction proceedings.

13. European Social Charter • FEANTSA v France pointed out although not based on an “obligation of results”, housing rights measures taken must be “practical and effective, rather than purely theoretical”.

14. Non-judicially • Approved Evictions • Judicially • Approved Evictions Owner-occupier with/out mortgage Social rental and institution • Legal • Illegal Private renting with/out assistance Unauthorised/informal occupancy • Notaries • Administrations • Police • Auction houses • Usually linked to • housing black market/unauthorised occupancy (often use or threat of force, bullying, cutting off utilities, etc.) PHASE 1. Pre-court from moment of formal instruction to leave Homelessness PHASE 2. Court proceedings to eviction/possession order EU Pilot Project - Promoting protection of the right to housing – Homelessness prevention in the context of eviction (2016) PHASE 3. Execution of eviction/possession order

15. Promoting protection of the right to housing • All EU Member States have a unique blend of law, procedures and policy on evictions • All have accepted UN, Council of Europe and EU human rights obligations in relation to housing • There is a varying interaction between national and international/European human and fundamental rights • Some countries such as Poland prohibit ‘eviction to nowhere’ • Protection of right to housing is poorly developed overall – some ECHR and EU Consumer/EUCFR cases are impacting

16. Giving effect to housing rights - Prevention and anti-eviction measures • PRIMARY PREVENTION – availability of secure, affordable housing; responsible lending; adequate incomes and/or housing benefit/supports • SECONDARY PREVENTION –social/family support; focussed housing benefit/arrears payments; debt advice/assistance; legal assistance; mortgage to rent; BUT pro-active contact with households at risk is key • TERTIARY PREVENTION –suspension of eviction orders (in half of EU States); rapid rehousing; minimum protected income; homeless services; social and personal support – Housing First • Few published reports exist on the effectiveness or cost effectiveness of measures, YET, costs of homelessness is huge

17. But consumer paradigm is strong – idea of one night consumption of housing - such as AirBnB….. • In the past decade there has been a paradigm shift in the drivers of change, away from a political or legal approach to one based on consumer freedom – a consequence of the digital revolution: Democratic Housing and Homelessness Programmes OR

18. Caritas Diocesana de Barcelona Report • Shows the high levels of housing exclusion in Diocese of Barcelona– based on real people’s experiences • Advocates the right to housing in a holistic and advanced way • Shows the various interventions required • Recommendations are highly relevant, such as ratify the European Social Charter, develop good quality social housing, bring empty properties into use.

19. Conclusions • Housing rights advocates are people-centred • Can draw on a strong corpus of housing rights based on universal human values • Housing rights involve not just laws, but policies, programmes and regulation of markets, but prioritisethe vulnerable • Democracy and human rights are supremely better models for change than consumerism. • More people need to know about housing rights