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The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The right to adequate housing is most clearly recognized by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 11). The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights underlined the importance of interpreting the right in broad terms, identifying seven aspects of the right that States must progressively realize: security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. All the aspects and safeguards pertaining to eviction and resettlement derived from the right are relevant to disaster response, as are the human rights principles of participation and non-discrimination and equality.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 64.3
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:] The tenure rights of "non-formal owners", namely those without individual, formally registered, property ownership, should be honoured: For those with insecure tenure, measures should aim at strengthening their security of tenure, for instance by granting rights to housing or land at places of origin, either immediately or in incremental stages. When restitution or return is not desirable for the affected persons or is not possible owing to land having disappeared or to compelling safety reasons that prevent the return, alternative housing or land should be granted at another location.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- For low-income households, ensuring a high degree of security of tenure in the private rental market is of the utmost importance since poor tenants cannot afford the costs associated with a change of dwelling or with challenging evictions and cannot compete in a completely unregulated private rental market (even when receiving housing benefits). It is therefore also necessary to ensure that regulation and accountability are respected in order to prevent economic de facto evictions and to enable low-income households to access affordable rental housing in urban areas that are well located.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The existing gaps are complex and difficult to overcome as they are deeply rooted in culture, discriminatory social attitudes and practices, as well as weak or gender-blind systems which delay progress in the realization of the right, and fail to effectively make visible the existing barriers. Those challenges require more than ordinary efforts to enforce laws and put policies into practice; additional actions directed to provoke those changes in cultural patterns are required, and this can be obtained particularly through the combination of awareness-raising and public education, as well as through legal enforcement and legal aid, and provision of appropriate resources through the adoption of specific budgetary measures.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stressed that discrimination on the grounds of property status or place of residence is prohibited under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Property status includes those holding real property (for example land ownership or tenure) and those who lack it. The Committee further clarified that the exercise of Covenant rights, such as access to water or protection from forced eviction, should not be conditional on, or determined by, a person's current or former place of residence, or land tenure status, such as living in an informal settlement. Furthermore, the Committee has noted that States parties must give due priority to those social groups living in unfavourable conditions by giving them particular consideration.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Tenure should be secured in situ unless there are exceptional circumstances that justify eviction consistent with international human rights law. Regulations aimed at protecting public health and safety and the environment or at mitigating risk for the population should not be used as an excuse to undermine security of tenure. In situ solutions should be found whenever it is possible to: (a) mitigate and manage risks of disaster and threats to public health and safety; or (b) balance environmental protection and security of tenure; except when inhabitants choose to exercise their right to resettlement.
- 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)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4a
- Paragraph text
- [Property has a vital social function including adequate housing of the urban poor. States should balance property rights with the social function of property in designing and implementing housing and other relevant policies. In particular, States, including relevant authorities, should promote access to secure and well-located housing for the urban poor through, inter alia, the following measures:] Conduct citywide audits of vacant and underutilized land, housing and buildings;
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4b
- Paragraph text
- [Property has a vital social function including adequate housing of the urban poor. States should balance property rights with the social function of property in designing and implementing housing and other relevant policies. In particular, States, including relevant authorities, should promote access to secure and well-located housing for the urban poor through, inter alia, the following measures:] Conduct assessments of spatial needs to house the urban poor, including homeless persons, taking into account current and anticipated trends;
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- States should establish, in consultation with communities, a local dispute resolution mechanism, which is socially legitimate and culturally appropriate, to address disputes that arise during these processes. Dispute resolution mechanisms should be impartial, fair, competent, transparent and human rights-compatible, and affordable and accessible to all. Negotiation and mediation between parties to a dispute should be encouraged wherever possible in order to promote mutually beneficial outcomes that secure the tenure rights of all parties.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness is at the end of the housing spectrum and must be understood as a prima facie violation of the right to adequate housing (i.e., where any significant number of individuals are deprived of basic shelter or housing, a State is prima facie failing to discharge its international human rights obligations). During her mandate, the Special Rapporteur intends to organize consultations and expert discussions to explore various dimensions of this violation of the right to adequate housing, including the obligation of the State to address homelessness.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Possession rights. The legal recognition of the rights of those occupying public, private or community land and housing for a prescribed period, through adverse possession of land and housing, above the rights of absentee owners or the State, is an important measure to ensure that land and housing is being used in the most socially productive manner and to fulfil the right to adequate housing for all. For example, article 183 of the Brazilian Constitution recognizes usucapio of urban land used for a home after five years of possession without interruption or opposition, provided that the possessor does not own any other property.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Use rights. The right of people to use public or private property for their housing needs under certain conditions should be recognized and protected in law and policy. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, Certificates of Comfort give the holders a right not to be removed from the plot unless resettlement is deemed necessary and an alternative plot is identified and made available. In Mozambique, a right to use and improve State land can be granted to individuals or groups, which allows persons to mortgage or sell their buildings and other improvements on that land.
- 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)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Access to social security. Social security is critical to guaranteeing human dignity and the enjoyment of human rights when people are faced with circumstances that deprive them of their capacity to otherwise realize them. Sometimes homeless persons or individuals without a registered address are unable to access social security either owing to eligibility criteria or indirect bureaucratic obstacles. These obstacles amount to discrimination on the basis of tenure status. States should take all necessary steps to remove barriers faced by persons who are homeless or have an ambiguous tenure status in receiving social security, including by ensuring that a registered address and other residence requirements are not a de jure or de facto prerequisite to receiving benefits.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Remedies for violations of the right to adequate housing may include restitution, reparation, the provision of alternative adequate housing, rehabilitation of housing or livelihoods, financial or non-financial compensation for loss and damage, and punitive sanctions against the perpetrator. An injunction, precautionary measures or other judicial or administrative intervention may be required to prevent imminent forced eviction or other violation. Remedies may also include repeal or amendment of law or policy and quashing of administrative decisions. In this regard, States should ensure that policies and decisions affecting tenure security are subject to administrative and judicial review. In the case of an unjustified failure of the State to adopt appropriate and timely measures to address tenure insecurity taking into account its use of available resources, redress may include an injunction to devise and implement a reasonable plan of action towards security of tenure for aggrieved 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Achieving the objectives of Habitat III will rely on the unique ability of human rights to effect transformative change through the application of universal norms and guiding principles to specific contexts and in response to emerging challenges. This essentially describes the key features and benefits of a human rights approach. Human rights can effect the kind of spatial, geographic, social and attitudinal change required to address the structural causes of exclusion and inequality, so that cities become places of opportunity and well-being for everyone - where adequate housing, food, water and sanitation, education, employment and health are realized as fundamental rights.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Land administration programmes, housing policies and urban planning. Discrimination on the basis of tenure status is prevalent in land, housing and urban policies. Land administration programmes typically only register freehold rights, while ignoring the multiple other existing tenure forms. Housing policies commonly also promote freehold, with benefits and support, such as access to finance, made conditional on homeownership. Meanwhile, many urban planning processes aim to benefit only those with registered tenure rights and fail to take into account the circumstances of urban poor communities whose arrangements are not legally recognized. These exclusions impair the enjoyment of human rights by those without freehold or other legally recognized tenure rights vis-a-vis other sectors of the population. States should ensure that land administration, housing policies and urban plans protect and secure a variety of tenure arrangements, prioritizing the most vulnerable and marginalized. For example, the Mexico City Housing Improvement Programme offers credit regardless of 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Land acquisition. Land occupied by urban poor households with an ambiguous tenure status is disproportionately acquired by States for "public purpose" projects, such as infrastructure development, requiring the eviction of residents. This situation may amount to discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing on the basis of tenure and economic status. In selecting sites for public purpose projects, States should ensure that the urban poor are not disproportionately affected, and that all alternatives have been considered.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Millennium Development Goals had a direct and detrimental impact on the development of a rights-based pro-housing urban agenda. Essential aspects of the right to housing in urban centres were rendered invisible, in particular, security of tenure, homelessness, adequate location and affordability of housing and related services - none of which were referenced in the Goals. The focus on housing structures and bathrooms in target 7.D diverted attention from the critical economic, social, governance and environmental challenges of urbanization identified by Habitat II. Moreover, the Millennium Development Goals lacked accountability mechanisms, with no reference to meaningful engagement with rights holders, access to justice or the realization of the right to adequate housing as would have been the case had human rights been used to unite the Goal under a common framework for their implementation.
- 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)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Centrality of the right to adequate housing for the development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at Habitat III in October 2016 2015, para. 76e
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur recommends that the urban rights agenda should:] Reflect the experiences of city residents and establish a process of ongoing participation and engagement, particularly with those who currently lack access to adequate housing. Access to justice should be ensured for all aspects of the right to adequate housing. Human rights institutions, ombudspersons and other human rights bodies should be actively engaged in promoting and protecting the right to housing at the city level;
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Decentralization has been strongly promoted in the area of housing. The Habitat Agenda, adopted at the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996, affirmed that "Governments should strive to decentralize shelter policies and their administration to subnational and local levels within the national framework, whenever possible and as appropriate". Proponents of decentralization in housing related programmes have argued that it enables local participation in housing management and decision-making, avoids excessive bureaucracy, allows sensitivity to local needs, draws on local capacities, increases transparency and local control and allows for more creative and innovative programming.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the former Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in the report on her mission to Indonesia (A/HRC/25/54/Add.1), as a result of decentralization, significant powers have been partially devolved to the provinces, districts and municipalities. However, the decentralization of planning and land administration did not appear supported by institutional capacity, resources or organizational tools (paras. 10-11). During her mission she identified many of the obstacles to the implementation of the right to adequate housing associated with decentralization when it is not properly informed by human rights, such as "the fragmentation of programmes between various agencies and the inefficiencies of existing coordinating mechanisms" (para. 25) and the limited capacity of local governments to provide alternative housing to people who had been evicted from their homes (para. 51).
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- What is so stark about the pouring of those vast amounts of money into housing is that hardly any of it is directed towards ameliorating the insufferable housing conditions in which millions live. If even a portion of those amounts was directed towards affordable housing and access to credit for people in need of it, target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure adequate housing for all by 2030, would be well within reach. Financialization under current regimes, however, creates the opposite effect: unaccountable markets that do not respond to housing need, and urban centres that become the sole preserve of those with wealth.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 64.5
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations:] Communities and settlements, not just houses, should be rebuilt or resettled: Reconstruction should not only apply to physical structures but should also include or prioritize, as appropriate and according to the needs and requests of affected persons, the rebuilding or setting up of basic infrastructure and services and the upgrading of settlements.
- 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)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- In the context of housing, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has established that national level housing strategies based on human rights are a critical component of ensuring the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing. The Special Rapporteur notes that subnational and local strategies based on human rights with measureable goals, timelines and complaints procedures, properly coordinated with national strategies, are equally critical to 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Dichotomies of legal/illegal, formal/informal and deserving/undeserving applied in the global South parallel the criminalization of homelessness in northern countries. The urban poor are made "illegal" and "encroachers" by the denial of fair access to land and legal status or title. People who have been rendered homeless in urban centres are relocated to city peripheries and deprived of economic opportunities and social networks, a process that has been labelled "socio-spatial stigmatization".
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- However, existing guidance with respect to disaster situations has given little attention to the right to adequate housing. When reference to the right is made it is limited, with the right narrowed down to the need to provide shelter, housing or to aspects related to protection. The few attempts to discuss the right in a more comprehensive manner have remained at the level of an individual organization's guidance and not in the form of authoritative policies of broad application. Equally, United Nations human rights mechanisms have, with notable exceptions, not addressed the specificities of disaster situations and their impacts on the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing or other human rights, remaining at the level of generalities.
- 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Having examined the impact of these policies in various regions of the world, it is the view of the Special Rapporteur that they have largely failed to promote access to adequate housing for the poor. Evidence indicates that housing policies based exclusively on facilitating access to credit for homeownership are incompatible with the full realization of the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty, failing to supply habitable, affordable and well-located housing solutions accessible to the 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)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- There is no doubt that forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of a wide range of internationally recognized human rights. Providing protection against such practices is thus a core function of security of tenure. Forced evictions have been addressed by human rights mechanisms and courts at all levels in considerable detail. Extensive guidance is available as to the prohibition of forced eviction and the strict procedural safeguards that must be followed in situations in which evictions are carried out, including meaningful consultation with affected communities.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The right to adequate housing has been the focus of extensive commentary. It was the subject of two general comments (Nos. 4 and 7) by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights before any other Covenant rights were similarly interpreted, and it is now one of the most considered economic, social and cultural rights. At the same time, as we move into the fifteenth year of the mandate and despite considerable efforts by civil society to ensure its realization, the well-elaborated norms and commentary on this right have not necessarily been translated into substantive progress.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Freehold ownership. Individual ownership confers full control over housing and land, subject to law and local regulations, as well as adverse possession rights and the State's expropriation powers. This quality makes it a desirable form of tenure for many households. Since ownership rights are generally expensive to acquire, housing finance is often necessary. Tenure security is jeopardized when owner-occupiers are unable to cope with loan repayments and default on their mortgages. Foreclosures by banks and other credit institutions pose a serious threat to the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, with the poorest disproportionately affected. States should take all measures to protect security of tenure of owner-occupiers and prevent the loss of homes and homelessness as a result of foreclosures.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph