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The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 22
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness for persons with disabilities is also linked to the breakdown of family relationships. A study in Montreal, Canada, of homeless persons with intellectual disabilities found that almost all individuals who lived on the street or in shelters had had no contact with their families since becoming homeless. On mission in Chile, the Special Rapporteur visited a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army in Valparaiso where many of the residents were persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities who had been shunned or abandoned by their families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 79
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Subnational and local governments have also initiated important efforts to address the right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities. Article XIV (1) of the World Charter for the Right to the City provides for universal realization of the right to housing and emphasizes the need for accessible and suitable locations. In article X of the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City, it is recommended that cities adopt regulations to ensure the accessibility of housing for persons with disabilities. Some cities have sought to initiate inclusive zoning policies to prevent restrictions on supportive housing. Others have adopted measures to address affordability, such as housing benefits and/or allowances, grants or loans for required adaptations, lower interest rates on housing loans and reduced housing taxes for families with a family member with a disability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 65
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- In India, the High Court of Bombay has applied the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act to require increased allocations of land (tenements) to persons with disabilities. In a similar vein, the Supreme Court of Argentina, in a case involving a homeless mother and her son with a disability, stated that there should be a minimum guarantee of access to housing for those facing situations of vulnerability because of disability and ordered the immediate provision of shelter.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 27
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- In other circumstances, however, living with family is not an appropriate or safe option. Persons with disabilities are more likely to be subjected to abuse within families or other households. A study in Uganda found that half of interviewees with psychosocial disabilities reported having been subjected to abuse at the hands of their relatives. Another study found a high incidence of abuse among children with disabilities by someone upon whom they were dependent for survival and well-being. Individuals are sometimes tied or chained up by family members or left locked in isolation. The ability to speak out is limited by the individual’s isolation and dependence upon the perpetrator for support, and, in many situations, there is no one to turn to for help.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- In other circumstances, living in an institutional setting or remaining with family may be a decision made by a parent, guardian or family member on behalf of a person with a disability. Institutions that are originally presented as optional may subsequently deny residents the right to leave. Years of living in segregated settings have devastating effects on the autonomy of residents and their ability to exercise independent agency, making it difficult for them to trust or imagine a positive community-based alternative.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Many expected that the global financial crisis and its impact on the human rights of millions of households would act as an alarm bell, forcing States and international financial institutions to reassess the value of unbridled financialization and introduce reforms to ensure that the financial system addressed rather than exploited the housing needs of low-income households. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Individuals and families who were affected by the crisis were often blamed for taking on too much debt and new rules and regulations were put in place to restrict their access to mortgages. Austerity measures cut programmes on which they had relied for access to housing options, and the march towards the financialization of housing continued. The States that were the most severely affected by the crisis assumed responsibility for billions of dollars' worth of distressed debt (high-risk mortgages) and arranged for them to be sold off to private equity funds, thereby increasing rather than decreasing the role and power of corporate finance in national housing systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Japan has yet to recover and continues to see ever-growing numbers of homeless people. Unemployment rates tripled in a 10-year period in Argentina, resulting in a large number of households being unable to pay their mortgages, rent or utility bills. In Spain, Ireland and Greece, thousands of low-income and poor individuals suffered foreclosures or debt-related evictions and were thus forced out of their homes into encampments or into overcrowded accommodation with relatives and friends, or were left homeless. In these circumstances, increased suicide rates are not uncommon. In the United States, suicides spurred by severe housing stress - evictions and foreclosures - doubled between 2005 and 2010. Europe also saw a 6.5 per cent increase in suicides between 2007 and 2011. In States where social programmes were made available to those affected, similar spikes in suicide rates were not seen.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- For women and children victims of domestic violence the home ceases to be the safe haven it is meant to be and becomes the most dangerous place, in some cases leading to their death. Factors such as overcrowded residences, poor habitability and lack of accessible services (water, electricity and sanitation) increase the incidence of domestic violence. Many women in such situations are unable to remove the perpetrator from the house, owing to a lack of family, community and State supports. Further, many women are prevented from leaving violent situations because alternative housing and financial supports are unavailable. Those who do manage to leave home become vulnerable to homelessness and consequently may suffer further violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The humiliation homeless people suffer in their daily lives cannot be underestimated. Take for example, the experience of women who lack adequate sanitation facilities, especially during menstrual cycles, or of families who are treated like "human waste", forced to establish their households on or next to a garbage dump. Homeless people have told the Special Rapporteur, often through tears, that more than any material security, what they yearn for is to be "seen", to be recognized and treated by society as human beings with inherent dignity and respect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness. Those who face discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, place of origin, socioeconomic status, family status, gender, mental or physical disability, health condition, sexual orientation and/or gender identity and age are more likely to become homeless and, once homeless, experience additional discrimination. The intersections of other grounds of discrimination with homelessness vary in different countries. In some, for example, racial inequality intersects strongly with homelessness. In Brazil, African-Brazilians make up only 7 per cent of the population of wealthy areas and yet make up the majority in informal settlements. In the United States of America, black families are seven times more likely to be homeless than white families.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The ongoing legacy of discriminatory customary and statutory laws on divorce, inheritance and matrimonial property - as well as social practices that attribute housing to male heads of households and the resultant poverty - deprive women of security of tenure and render them particularly vulnerable to homelessness. When women are widowed, separated or divorced, need to leave violent households or flee situations of armed conflict or natural disasters, or are evicted from their homes, they face significant risks of becoming homeless. Divorced and widowed women in Bangladesh and Lebanon, for example, are reported to be living in dilapidated shacks in dangerous informal settlements and women fleeing violence in Kyrgyzstan and Papua New Guinea are left with few housing options.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has affirmed that the right to adequate housing is implied in the African Charter by its articles 14 on the right to property, 16 on the right to highest attainable standard of mental and physical health and 18 (1) on protection accorded to the family. It considers that forced evictions leading to homelessness are contrary to the Charter, and has urged all States to report on measures taken to address homelessness and to appoint an independent national body to monitor State compliance with 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
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Article 9 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families affirms that the right to life of migrant workers and members of their families shall be protected by law. The Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers drew attention to violations of the right to life in the context of forced evictions of migrants from a public park in Buenos Aires which resulted in two deaths (see CMW/C/ARG/CO/1, para. 19).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has focused on the need for comprehensive housing strategies to address homelessness, framed around the right to housing and ensuring monitoring and accountability with goals, timelines and complaints procedures. Similarly, in the case of street children, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights advocates a holistic approach that recognizes rights as interdependent and interconnected, through a coordinated approach across government departments and with the involvement of family and community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Many societal changes without adequate State responses contribute to homelessness. For example, the break-up of traditional family structures is a prevalent cause of homelessness. Men who move to cities for economic reasons often forgo shelter in order to save money to send back to their families in rural areas. In many States, long traditions of extended family support and kinship responsibility at the community level have been eroded. Illness, including the HIV/AIDS pandemic, is both a major cause and effect of homelessness.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The global economic crisis has had a distinct impact on women's homelessness. In Spain, for example, many single mothers were overindebted from home purchases. In many cases, former partners or husbands who shared mortgages refused to negotiate with banks for debt restructuring, relief or cancellation. When their homes were repossessed, they were left with significant debt, often living in insecure housing - at severe risk of homelessness.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness among children and young people has reached critical proportions. Factors that push children into leaving home include parents' unemployment and poverty; family disintegration and parental abuse; parental drug and alcohol addictions; and being orphaned owing to HIV/AIDS, Ebola, armed conflict or natural disaster. Some families, unable to support children because of extreme poverty, abandon or send them to urban areas to work. Children raised in residential institutions often find themselves homeless when they reach the age at which institutional care ceases. Identified "pull" factors include "spatial freedom, financial independence, adventure, city glamour and street-based friendships or gangs".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- A similar paradox has emerged in the consideration under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of homelessness resulting from evictions and the demolition of housing. The catastrophic effects of homelessness on the right to life have been addressed as human rights violations, but only in the context of interference with the home. States' positive obligations to address circumstances of grossly inadequate housing in order to protect and ensure the right to life have not been addressed. In Georgopoulos et al. v. Greece (see CCPR/C/99/D/1799/2008) the Committee considered the case of a Roma family living in a settlement with no access to electricity or sanitation and only two taps providing running water for the settlement. The settlement was described by the Prime Minister's Advisor on Quality of Life, as the worst in Greece and "an insult to our humanity" (ibid., para. 2.1). All attempts to improve the community's living conditions or to relocate the residents to a better settlement had been abandoned because of hostility towards the Roma. When the Georgopoulos family left their shed for a period of time to seek seasonal employment, municipal officials demolished it and prevented the construction of a replacement. The Committee held that the demolition of the authors' shed and the prevention of construction of a new home amounted to a violation of articles 17 (interference with the home), 23 (protection of the family) and 27 (right to enjoy one's culture).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, in Jasin v. Denmark (see CCPR/C/114/D/2360/2014) the Committee considered the effects of homelessness in the context of a single mother facing deportation to Italy. Osman Jasin had fled for her life from a violent husband in Somalia and was rescued by the Italian Coastguard while crossing the Mediterranean. In Italy, she tried without success to find housing, lived in the street with her one-year-old daughter, sleeping in railway stations and marketplaces. Ms. Jasin and her daughter left Italy to seek asylum in the Netherlands, but were returned to Italy, where she again lived in the street with her two-year-old daughter, sleeping in railway stations during a pregnancy. She was denied medical assistance during the birth of her second child because she had no address. When she was unable to pay to renew her Italian residency permit, she travelled to Denmark. The Committee found that returning her and her children to Italy would constitute cruel and inhuman treatment because they would likely become homeless again.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has had the opportunity to consider in its jurisprudence the obligation of States parties to address threats to women linked to lack of housing. In Ms. A.T. v. Hungary, the Committee considered the circumstances of a woman with two children who was viciously beaten by her husband and who feared for her life. She was unable to move to a shelter because there were no spaces available to accommodate her child, who had a disability. The domestic courts refused to grant A.T. possession of her home, in consideration of the property rights of her husband. The Committee held that women's human rights to life and to physical and mental integrity could not be superseded by other rights, including the right to property and the right to privacy. The Committee recommended that Hungary take positive measures to remedy the situation of A.T., to ensure better protection for women more generally and to ensure that A.T. was given a safe home in which to live with her children, as well as child support, legal assistance and reparation for the violations of her rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Families with children are at increasing risk of homelessness as parents are deprived of the income necessary for housing and supply of affordable housing is depleted. In Ireland, families with children have become the fastest growing group within the homeless population. Those families risk losing their children to public authorities for failing to provide 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
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In the context of article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, prohibiting arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence, the Committee has recognized certain components of the right to adequate housing under the Covenant. It has found that a termination of tenancy rights due to an absence from the country is arbitrary and therefore contrary to article 17 (see CCPR/C/112/D/2068/2011) and that housing constructed without formal permission on municipal property should be recognized as a "home" and protected from unlawful interference (see CCPR/C/106/D/2073/2011). The Committee has also acknowledged the devastating consequences of eviction on families and communities and has stipulated that it should not be permitted if it will result in homelessness (ibid.). In a concurring opinion in the Georgopoulos case, a member of the Human Rights Committee, Fabián Salvioli, noted that the Committee's decision in that case recognized the principle of the interdependence and indivisibility of rights and was consistent with "the trend in contemporary international human rights law away from the fictitious and artificial division of rights into 'categories'" (CCPR/C/99/D/1799/2008, para. 3).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Post-disaster housing conditions leave security, dignity and life hanging in the balance. For example, two major earthquakes in Nepal in April/May 2015 affected a third of the country's population, damaging or destroying more than 712,000 houses and displacing over 2.6 million people. In November 2015, 200,000 households were still living in makeshift or temporary shelters, suffering without adequate food, or access to livelihoods, schools or other essential services. Monsoons and winter further compounded their acute situation. Many expressed deep concern at the absence of medium-term plans for resettlement, and fear of eviction. In a post disaster context, the destruction and lack of documentation proving land ownership or other forms of tenure mean that many, including single mothers, who are residents of informal settlements or who have complex tenure arrangements are unable to make claims to secure a place to live.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Most families of street-connected children have experienced persistent discrimination, poverty and social exclusion. Street-connected children and young people face particular challenges, including the threat of being removed from their parents for neglect and put into orphanages or foster systems. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people are overrepresented in homeless populations in some countries and face additional stigmatization and social exclusion from their families and communities, and are more vulnerable to violence and more likely to be turned away from shelters.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- LGBTQI+
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 17a
- Paragraph text
- [In light of these considerations, the Special Rapporteur proposes the following three-dimensional approach anchored in human rights:] The first dimension addresses the absence of home - both the absence of the material aspect of minimally adequate housing and of the social aspect of a secure place to establish a family or social relationships and participate in community life;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, there are no constitutional protections through which the right to housing can be claimed. However, statutory provisions requiring local authorities to provide housing for those who are homeless are enforceable in courts. In addition, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is enforceable by domestic courts in the United Kingdom. In R. v. Enfield London Borough Council, ex parte Bernard, for example, when a woman with a disability was not provided with the accessible housing to which she was entitled under the Housing Act, she challenged the local authority's actions as a violation of her right to the protection of home and family life under article 8 of the European Convention. The court held that accessible accommodation was important because it would facilitate family life and would secure her "physical and psychological integrity". The court ruled that "it would have restored her dignity as a human being".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Police procedures. Residents of urban settlements and homeless persons face disproportionate levels of police intervention and use of force without due process. In many countries, police enter homes in poor settlements, sometimes in major operations, without a court order, violating residents' rights to protection against arbitrary interference with their privacy, family and home. Homeless persons, who have no choice but to sleep, eat and conduct other life-sustaining activities in publics spaces are commonly harassed, fined and detained for doing so. Police must follow due process and respect human rights in conducting law enforcement activities, including in urban settlements, and ensure that any use of force is strictly necessary and proportional to lawful objectives. States should decriminalize homelessness and ensure full respect by police of human rights of homeless persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Regulatory safeguards should be put in place to protect households facing default and foreclosure, including prohibiting eviction until the household has access to alternative adequate housing. In England and Wales, a pre-action protocol for possession claims obliges lenders and borrowers to follow procedures aimed at ensuring that repossession is a last resort after all reasonable attempts to resolve the situation have failed. In Richmond, California, the municipality voted to use its powers of eminent domain to seize mortgages of households that have defaulted or are at risk of default, when the investor refuses to sell. Under the scheme, the City pays the investor the current market value for the mortgage, often considerably less than the amount owing, and then supports affordable refinancing options for the homeowner. A decree-law in Andalucía, Spain, currently under appeal, allows the local Government to expropriate empty residences that have been repossessed by banks and developers in order to house families who have lost their homes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The consequences of inadequate housing and homelessness are severe, with implications for almost every other human right, including the rights to health, education, protection of the family, social security, work and, in many cases, life. Malaria, cholera, dengue fever and many other diseases that continue to ravage the poor in tropical countries are closely linked to poor housing conditions, as are tuberculosis, pneumonia and many other illnesses affecting those who are homeless in northern climates. Yet, despite the severity of the consequences and the fundamental human rights that are involved, homelessness and inadequate housing are still often seen as the preserve of socioeconomic policy and as insulated from the kind of legal human rights accountability that is applied to government policies affecting other human rights. Even when housing is recognized as a human right, how it should be implemented is not always clear to States and other stakeholders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Regarding migrant workers (and their families), the Rapporteur wishes to consider the particular vulnerabilities faced by such workers, especially if they are undocumented, in gaining access to and maintaining adequate housing and living conditions, whether owing to administrative or legal obstacles or to de facto discrimination and multiple discrimination. The Special Rapporteur hopes to work collaboratively with the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to assess policies, programmes and measures in relation to the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing, and to seek avenues for cooperation to ensure adequate housing and living conditions for migrant workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph