(d)
Habitability. Adequate housing must be habitable, in terms of providing the
inhabitants with adequate space and protecting them from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or
other threats to health, structural hazards, and disease vectors. The physical safety of
occupants must be guaranteed as well. The Committee encourages States parties to
comprehensively apply the Health Principles of Housing5 prepared by WHO which view
housing as the environmental factor most frequently associated with conditions for disease in
epidemiological analyses; i.e. inadequate and deficient housing and living conditions are
invariably associated with higher mortality and morbidity rates;
(e)
Accessibility. Adequate housing must be accessible to those entitled to it.
Disadvantaged groups must be accorded full and sustainable access to adequate housing
resources. Thus, such disadvantaged groups as the elderly, children, the physically disabled,
the terminally ill, HIV-positive individuals, persons with persistent medical problems, the
mentally ill, victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster-prone areas and other
groups should be ensured some degree of priority consideration in the housing sphere. Both
housing law and policy should take fully into account the special housing needs of these
groups. Within many States parties increasing access to land by landless or impoverished
segments of the society should constitute a central policy goal. Discernible governmental
obligations need to be developed aiming to substantiate the right of all to a secure place to
live in peace and dignity, including access to land as an entitlement;
(f)
Location. Adequate housing must be in a location which allows access to
employment options, health-care services, schools, childcare centres and other social
facilities. This is true both in large cities and in rural areas where the temporal and financial
costs of getting to and from the place of work can place excessive demands upon the budgets
of poor households. Similarly, housing should not be built on polluted sites nor in immediate
proximity to pollution sources that threaten the right to health of the inhabitants;
(g)
Cultural adequacy. The way housing is constructed, the building materials
used and the policies supporting these must appropriately enable the expression of cultural
identity and diversity of housing. Activities geared towards development or modernization in
the housing sphere should ensure that the cultural dimensions of housing are not sacrificed,
and that, inter alia, modern technological facilities, as appropriate are also ensured.
9.
As noted above, the right to adequate housing cannot be viewed in isolation from
other human rights contained in the two International Covenants and other applicable
international instruments. Reference has already been made in this regard to the concept of
human dignity and the principle of non-discrimination. In addition, the full enjoyment of
other rights - such as the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of association
(such as for tenants and other community-based groups), the right to freedom of residence
and the right to participate in public decision-making - is indispensable if the right to
adequate housing is to be realized and maintained by all groups in society. Similarly, the right
not to be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with one’s privacy, family, home or
correspondence constitutes a very important dimension in defining the right to adequate
housing.
10.
Regardless of the state of development of any country, there are certain steps which
must be taken immediately. As recognized in the Global Strategy for Shelter and in other
international analyses, many of the measures required to promote the right to housing would
only require the abstention by the Government from certain practices and a commitment to
facilitating “self-help” by affected groups. To the extent that any such steps are considered to
be beyond the maximum resources available to a State party, it is appropriate that a request
be made as soon as possible for international cooperation in accordance with articles 11 (1),
22 and 23 of the Covenant, and that the Committee be informed thereof.