Right to housing
Encyclopedia
The right to housing
is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing
and shelter. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
.
. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
recognises the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living
.
It states that:
Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR) also guarantees the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living.
In international human rights law
the right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right. This was clarified in the 1991 General Comment no 4 on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The general comment provides an authoritative interpretation of the right to housing in legal terms under international law.
The Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law
in ralation to sexual orientation
and gender identity
affirm that "everyone has the right to adequate housing, including protection from eviction
, without discrimination and that States shall a) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure security of tenure and acsess to affordable, habitable, accessible, culturally appropriate and safe housing, including shelter
s and other emergency accommodation, without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or material or family status; b) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to prohibit the execution of evictions that are not in conformity with their international human rights obligations, and ensure that adequate and effective legal or other appropriate remedies areavailable to any person claiming that a right to protection against forced evictions has been violated or is under threat of violation, including the right to resettlement, which includes the right to alternative land of better or equal quality and to adequate housing, without discrimination."
The right to housing is also enshrined in Article 16 of the European Social Charter
(Article 31 of the Revised European Social charter) and in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
. According to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, aspects of right to housing under ICESCR include: legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location and cultural adequacy. As a political goal, right to housing was declared in F. D. Roosevelt's 1944 speech on the Second Bill of Rights
.
Right to housing
The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.- Definition :...
is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
and shelter. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from January 3, 1976...
.
Definition
The right to housing is recognised in a number of international human rights instrumentsInternational human rights instruments
International human rights instruments are treaties and other international documents relevant to international human rights law and the protection of human rights in general...
. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
recognises the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living
Right to an adequate standard of living
The right to an adequate standard of living is recognized as a human right and is understood to establish a minimum entitlement to food, clothing and housing at a subsistence level. The right to food and the right to housing have been further defined in human rights instruments...
.
It states that:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control”
Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from January 3, 1976...
(ICESCR) also guarantees the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living.
In international human rights law
International human rights law
International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
the right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right. This was clarified in the 1991 General Comment no 4 on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The general comment provides an authoritative interpretation of the right to housing in legal terms under international law.
The Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law
International human rights law
International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
in ralation to sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
affirm that "everyone has the right to adequate housing, including protection from eviction
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
, without discrimination and that States shall a) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure security of tenure and acsess to affordable, habitable, accessible, culturally appropriate and safe housing, including shelter
Shelter
Shelter is a basic architectural structure or building that provides cover. The word may also refer to:-Places:*Port Shelter, Hong Kong*Shelter Bay , various locations*Shelter Cove , various locations...
s and other emergency accommodation, without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or material or family status; b) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to prohibit the execution of evictions that are not in conformity with their international human rights obligations, and ensure that adequate and effective legal or other appropriate remedies areavailable to any person claiming that a right to protection against forced evictions has been violated or is under threat of violation, including the right to resettlement, which includes the right to alternative land of better or equal quality and to adequate housing, without discrimination."
The right to housing is also enshrined in Article 16 of the European Social Charter
European Social Charter
The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which was adopted in 1961 and revised in 1996. The Revised Charter came into force in 1999 and is gradually replacing the initial 1961 treaty...
(Article 31 of the Revised European Social charter) and in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent....
. According to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, aspects of right to housing under ICESCR include: legal security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location and cultural adequacy. As a political goal, right to housing was declared in F. D. Roosevelt's 1944 speech on the Second Bill of Rights
Second Bill of Rights
The Second Bill of Rights was a list of rights proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then President of the United States, during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944. In his address Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second "bill...
.
UN Habitat
The right to adequate housing was a key issue at the 1996 Habitat meeting in Istanbul and a main theme in the Istanbul Agreement and Habitat Agenda. Paragraph 61 of the agenda identifies the steps required by governments to "promote, protect and ensure the full and progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing". The 2001 Habitat meeting, known as Istanbul +5, reaffirmed the 1996 Istanbul Agreement and Habitat Agenda and established the UN Human Settlement Programme to promote the right to housing in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Known as UN–HABITAT, the programme is the most important international forum for the right to housing. It is tasked with promoting housing rights through awareness campaigns, and to develop benchmarks and monitoring systems.External links
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, UN
- International standards of the right to housing
- Housing Rights Legislation: Review of International and National Legal Instruments
- CESCR General comments:
- Factsheet on right to housing, UN
- CoE Commissioner for Human Rights:
- Interpretation and application of Article 31 of RESC//Digest of the Case Law of the European Committee on Social Rights, 2008 — pp. 169—173, 349—355
- Right to Housing Geneva: CETIM, 2007. ISBN 2-88053-61-X