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The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 71g
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls for a paradigm shift from housing policies based on the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies. In this context, she makes the following recommendations:] States should promote alternatives to housing policies based on private credit and ownership, including through the development of a private rental sector. Adequate legal, financial and tax conditions should be created in order to encourage the supply of social rental housing as well as other forms of collective and individual tenure;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In recent years, some Governments have looked towards non-profit organizations to provide housing for the poor and to limit Government involvement in the housing sector. Such institutions range from charities and housing associations to educational bodies. However, the social housing sector is substantive only in a handful of countries, mainly in Western Europe. As a result of cuts in funding to public housing and the ongoing global economic and financial crisis, waiting lists for social housing are increasing and the provision of affordable housing is not sufficient to keep up with the demand. In England, housing waiting lists augmented by 76 per cent between 2000 and 2011; in France 1.2 million applicants are registered on waiting lists for social housing, and in Italy there are 630,000.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Community land trusts (CLTs) are held by non-profit community-controlled organizations that acquire land for the purpose of providing affordable housing. Lands are removed from the speculative market to preserve affordability and made available through long-term leases for housing, businesses, urban agriculture and community facilities. CLTs have increased in popularity since the 1980s, especially in the United States where over 260 have been established. Community organizing, and land donations and financial support from municipal governments, are key to their success.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has suggested that the obligation to fulfil incorporates both an obligation to facilitate and an obligation to provide. In the context of the critical relationship between housing and financial markets, the articulation of a State's fulfilment obligation to not only provide housing when needed but also to facilitate the implementation of the right to housing is helpful in capturing the wide range of States' obligations to ensure that financial markets and the actions of private investors work towards the realization of the right to adequate housing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The mere threat of those kinds of claims can have a directive effect on State housing policy. Investment treaty arbitration frequently involves millions of dollars in damages, and thus acts as a disincentive for States to enact and enforce any regulatory measures restricting the profitability of housing or real estate assets purchased by foreign investors. Those whose right to adequate housing may have been infringed by States' failures to regulate the activities and speculative profits of foreign investors, on the other hand, have few if any avenues of redress, and certainly no ability to seek damages in the amounts claimed by private investors. The imbalance in access to remedies creates an imbalance in State accountability and priorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In many developing and emerging economies, the World Bank and other international and regional financial institutions continue to actively promote the financialization of housing as the dominant strategy for addressing the critical need for housing, despite evidence that such strategies fail to provide housing options to the households that are most in need, and lead to greater socioeconomic inequality. World Bank development programmes concentrate on what they consider to be the building blocks of housing finance such as title registration, foreclosure procedures, lending regulations, long-term funding instruments, and improving the liquidity of mortgage assets in order to reduce the costs of credit-risk underwriting for investors. Those policies, combined in many cases with austerity measures that reduce social protection and housing programmes, have meant that development programmes frequently support the emergence of a financialized housing system that may be at odds with States' obligations to prioritize the needs of those in the most desperate circumstances.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 77d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur suggests that the way forward requires a shift to take hold so that States ensure that all investment in housing recognizes its social function and States' human rights obligations in that regard. That requires a transformation of the relationship between the State and the financial sector, whereby human rights implementation becomes the overriding goal, not a subsidiary or neglected obligation. The Special Rapporteur believes that can be achieved with more constructive engagement and dialogue between States, human rights actors, international and domestic financial regulatory bodies, private equity firms and major investors. In order to create those new conversations and achieve that shift, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Business and human rights guidelines should, on a priority basis, be developed specifically for financial actors operating in the housing system;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 68b (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls for a paradigm shift from the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies. In that context, she makes the following recommendations:] Rental tenure should be encouraged: A well-functioning rental sector with both private renting and social components is critical to a sustainable housing system. States should therefore support and encourage the development of both a private and social rental sector;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 9c
- Paragraph text
- [Urban poor individuals and communities are essential actors in strengthening tenure security. States should be accountable to the urban poor for the implementation of these guiding principles by, inter alia:] Guaranteeing free, informed and meaningful participation of the urban poor in the design and implementation of measures to secure their tenure status;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Migration and the right to adequate housing 2010, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- With regard to the responsibility of private actors to respect human rights, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, has developed a framework to guide the business and human rights agenda, which is based on three principles: the State duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and the need for more effective access to remedies for victims. Corporate responsibility requires specific human rights due diligence (to become aware of, prevent and mitigate the adverse human rights impact of activities and relationships of companies), and the provision of grievance mechanisms for victims of human rights abuses (see A/HRC/11/13).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- However, in the 1980s a new finance paradigm emerged, one that appeared to be able to address poverty through the expansion of small, informal-sector income-generating credit: microfinance. Private financial investors became convinced of the profitability of microfinance and came to regard the poor as "bankable". The result has been a dramatic rise since then in the flow of private investment capital (supported by donors, multilateral banks and international organizations) into the microfinance sector and, more recently, into housing finance services adapted to support incremental building processes. The growing commercial presence of major Western banking groups in developing countries and their interest in microfinance (including for housing) has been based on the idea that the "bottom of the pyramid" represents a large untapped market.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Housing microfinance is offered by a wide variety of institutions including microfinance agencies, such as Grameen Bank and affiliates of the Accion organization; banks and commercial institutions, such as HDFC Bank in India and the CEMEX company in Mexico (the Patrimonio Hoy programme); and intergovernmental organizations and NGOs specializing in shelter provision, such as the Rural Housing Loan Fund in South Africa and Habitat for Humanity. A distinction can be made between financial institutions offering micro enterprise loans and institutions whose main purpose is improving the shelter situation of the poor, which may or may not be financial institutions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- As is the case with microfinance agencies, most housing microfinance initiatives originate in developing countries and emerging markets. Latin America has the largest housing microfinance portfolio. Housing microfinance is also growing in Asia and, to a lesser extent, in Africa. Examples of lenders include the Kuyasa Fund (South Africa), the Jamii Bora Trust (Kenya), KixiCasa (Angola), PRIDE (United Republic of Tanzania), BRI (Indonesia) and CARD (Philippines). The size of some housing microfinance programmes may be considerable; Grameen Bank, for example, has provided more than 650,000 housing loans. However, housing microfinance portfolios worldwide remain very small relative to GDP and the overall microfinance activity. Housing microfinance is still heavily directed towards existing business loan clients of microfinance institutions and in typical microfinance schemes, the housing portfolio share ranges between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- In the late 1970s, a dramatic shift occurred in housing policies, starting with North America and Western Europe, followed later by some countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and by formerly planned economies. The shift, calling for the transfer of activities from State control to the private sector and for unrestricted markets, soon gained hegemony, shaping the policies of States, international financial institutions and development agencies. The effects of the approach on housing policies, hence, on the right to adequate housing and related human rights across the globe have been striking. The new role of the State as "enabler" led to creating conditions and institutions to support housing finance systems to promote homeownership under the neoliberal dogma of reliance on private property and market forces.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, however, notably, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and over the course of many decades, in some cities like New York and San Francisco in the United States (see A/HRC/13/20/Add.4, para. 44), rent regulation has had favourable effects on stabilizing the rental sector and maintaining access by low- income households to urban housing that is well located. In Switzerland, rental investments have been maintained even though rent controls reduce the housing costs of long-standing tenancy, and legislation prevents arbitrary eviction and the exploitation of temporary shortages. In Quebec, Canada, a consistent and well-established regulatory system, with a reasonable balance between protecting tenants and encouraging investment, has been retained. In Uruguay, the Government has introduced a different tool to balance the interests of landlords and tenants, through a fund that provides guarantees to cover costs arising from the non-payment of rent and service payments (Fondo de Garantía de Alquileres).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The capital-grant-subsidy has been the most frequently promoted programme to target low-income households. The approach offers cash subsidies by private companies to cover part of the price of a dwelling for sale. The Chilean experience has been considered the model for other countries, widely replicated in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). Outside of Latin America, the capital-grant approach has been implemented on a large scale in South Africa since 1994.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- As mentioned earlier in the report, the availability of public rental housing in many developed countries has diminished substantively or disappeared altogether. Most developing countries have never had a substantive stock of public housing, and those that have privatized it. A partial exception is the Republic of Korea where, in 2002, the Government announced a plan to build 1 million public housing units for rent over the next decade. Similar attempts have been made in recent years in Indonesia as part of a national programme for 1,000 Towers, some of which were intended for low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa), albeit with mixed results.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Despite the decline in support for rental housing, the absolute number of tenants worldwide is rising. Across the world, approximately 1.2 billion people (around one third of the urban population and one sixth of all people in the world) live in rented accommodation, the great majority in towns and cities. In many European countries the private rental sector, including informal, is playing a growing role for the poor, owing to inadequate access to social housing and greater constraints in accessing ownership. In developing countries, the largest proportion of tenants is in urban Africa; in Asia, tenants comprise approximately one third of the urban population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Fundamentally, tenure insecurity is a political economy issue-the laws, institutions and decision-making processes relating to the access and use of housing and land are highly influenced by existing power structures within society. Thus it is increasingly recognized that land administration and urban planning cannot be considered purely technical matters. They can be manipulated to serve private interests, with major risks of exclusion and discrimination. This is especially problematic when the rule of law is absent or out of reach of the poorest and most vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Local authorities should conduct a citywide assessment of existing tenure categories and the degree of security of tenure that each provides. The assessment should ascertain the underlying causes of tenure insecurity, such as inadequate urban planning, exclusionary zoning and building regulations; market forces; the political economy; or cultural and social factors, including discrimination. Authorities should identify settlements and groups throughout the urban and peri-urban area that lack tenure security and other aspects of the right to adequate housing, including homeless populations. They should also identify areas subject to gentrification and sudden raises in rents and housing prices that could produce future tenure insecurity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- General patterns demonstrate that certain responsibilities are often exercised more effectively by national level governments while other responsibilities tend to be better suited to local governments. National level governments are often better placed to ensure a fair distribution of resources, so that areas with fewer resources and greater needs are not simply left to fend for themselves. National level governments usually have greater capacity to develop and enforce national standards, to monitor and compare programmes and outcomes in different regions and localities, to finance housing programmes, regulate mortgages and credit, fund housing subsidy and income support programmes, and oversee taxation and resource allocation. To varying degrees, national governments may also attempt to influence or direct the policies of local and other subnational governments through incentives, conditions, priorities or required outcomes linked to the provision of funding for locally administered programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- A community land trust is a form of common land ownership, wherein land is considered to be a commonwealth, and only structures and other improvements are considered private property. Community land trusts aim to remove land from the speculative real estate market; to provide access to land and housing to people who would otherwise be denied access; to expand long-term community control of land resources; and to preserve the affordability of housing permanently.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Self-made and unplanned settlements, with precarious housing conditions, epitomize tenure insecurity in a very visible form. In many cities they now represent the largest single channel of land and housing supply for the majority of the population. Attempts to measure the scale of these settlements and their level of tenure insecurity have been problematic for the reasons just highlighted, and also because of the great diversity in settlements and tenure characteristics across countries and regions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The Chilean model has been praised as a best practice for its transparency, the scale of its shift of housing provision to private market providers (which were seen as more efficient and effective than Government in addressing the diversity of housing demand) and its targeting of the poor. The model has been widely replicated in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)). Outside Latin America, the capital-grant approach has been implemented on a large scale in South Africa since 1994.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- There is also growing awareness of the failure of the housing microfinance industry to reach the poorest. Many housing microfinance programmes, being financially oriented, appear to target the higher-income urban poor (i.e., those with incomes above 50 per cent of the national poverty line) and near poor (a household income of up to 120 or 150 per cent of the national poverty line), the "economically active poor", sometimes those with formal employment and often those with diversified household livelihood strategies. The ultra-poor, i.e., those who are below the fifteenth percentile in the income distribution, often dispersed in rural areas which are costly to serve with credit or physical infrastructure, are not addressed by these programmes. The requirement of secure tenure may further define the client group as being the relatively "better off" poor.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- A more recent form of housing microfinance, developed mainly in Africa and Asia, are community funds. These funds work with group loans and/or savings in order to assist communities to finance land regularization and acquisition, infrastructure and service provision, and home improvements. Community funds provide financial and technical support for the purchase of land parcels and communal infrastructure (roads, drainage, water distribution and connection, etc.). This process typically involves negotiations with other stakeholders such as the original owners of the parcel and Government. Some organizations (e.g. the National Housing Cooperative in Kenya) provide both individual housing microfinance loans and community group loans. International umbrella organizations have been created to enable and assist the operations of local community-based organizations such as Slum Dwellers International and the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres in India.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 68c (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls for a paradigm shift from the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies. In that context, she makes the following recommendations:] Collective forms of tenure should be encouraged: States should support cooperative, collective and communal forms of tenure by designing and investing adequate resources through, inter alia: legal recognition and protection of cooperative and collective ownership of land and housing in urban areas; and support for housing policy and financial mechanisms, including access to credit and State subsidies, tax benefits to collective institutions, State provision of technical assistance and urban land that is well located for collective housing organizations;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- A housing cooperative is a legal association formed for the purpose of providing housing to its members on a continuing basis. It is owned, maintained and controlled by its members. Housing cooperatives are based on collective ownership and management and can take various forms, including tenure cooperatives (in which owns housing development are owned and the members own equity shares in the cooperative), rental cooperatives (in which members pay rent to the cooperative), finance cooperatives (in which the cooperative provides loans to members for building construction or repairs) and building cooperatives (wherein building construction is undertaken and land is developed on behalf of members). Some cooperatives combine two or more of those functions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The classic cooperative model has evolved mainly in Europe, and the "Scandinavian" cooperative model, founded in 1923, is one of the most influential. In Sweden, cooperative housing accounted for 22 per cent of all housing in 2011. Swedish cooperative organizations have received significant state support since the 1950s, when housing subsidies were applied equally to all forms of tenure, including cooperatives. The Swedish legislation provides a clear legal framework for the operation of housing cooperatives by defining the legal status of the relevant associations, such as the Savings and Construction Association of Tenants (HSB) and the cooperative housing organization known as Riksbyggen, and of the tenant owners. Additional rules and regulations are adopted by the associations themselves with tenant majority approval.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 68c (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls for a paradigm shift from the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies. In that context, she makes the following recommendations:] Collective forms of tenure should be encouraged: Cooperative and collective forms of tenure are inextricably linked to enhanced democratic participation and community-led governance. States should therefore support activities of civil society organizations that play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of collective forms of tenure, in particular for low-income groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph