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Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- In her previous report, the Special Rapporteur analysed the main housing finance policies implemented as a means of facilitating access of the poorest to homeownership. The sections below summarize the main findings with regard to the impact of those approaches on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Housing finance policies based on credit for homeownership are inherently discriminatory against lower-income households and, at their best, promote affordable access for upper- and middle-income groups. Housing finance policies often "redline" the poor, who are required to pay much higher prices for financial services, exposing them to financial risks and indebtedness. At the same time, housing finance policies tend to focus solely on access to a roof while failing to effectively and comprehensively address the various elements of the right to adequate housing: location, access to infrastructure and services, habitability, cultural adequacy and security of tenure. At the macro level, the disproportionate use of such policies has contributed to price volatility and to the ongoing housing affordability and availability crises.
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The access of poor households to rental housing is currently impeded by costs, mainly as a result of rising rent prices and a shortage of affordable rental housing. More and more households in Europe are facing difficulties in paying the rent (3.8 per cent of Europeans, and 8.6 per cent of those with income below 60 per cent of the median national income). Rent affordability issues are more widespread in developing countries where rental housing is even less available. The rent-to-income ratio for African cities is more than twice that of cities in high-income countries at 39.5 per cent of income.
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Adequate housing must be in a location that allows access to employment options and public services. This is particularly relevant to poor households since the financial costs of travelling to work can place excessive demands upon already limited budgets. With the support of State intervention, through rent subsidies to low-income households, the provision of State land to low-income rental and other measures, a private rental sector has the potential to promote access to better located, adequate housing for low-income households in urban settings.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Housing policies have increasingly been reduced to housing finance systems to promote homeownership. 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 for low-income households, as they fail to supply habitable and affordable housing to the poor that is secure and 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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
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. 28
- Paragraph text
- The Millennium Development Goals established an international agreement around seven goals linked to ending poverty, each with specific targets and indicators. In doing so, they created an international consensus regarding the select issues that were included in the agenda. While lacking references to human rights, the Millennium Development Goals affirmed certain goals that resonated with human rights to an adequate standard of living, food, work, water and sanitation, aiming to eradicate poverty and hunger, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all and halve the number of people denied access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.
- 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
- Water & Sanitation
- 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. 41
- Paragraph text
- Although some of the structural causes of inequality in cities and some of the grounds and experiences of discrimination are new, an international human rights framework can be responsive. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has now recognized discrimination based on social or economic situation, including homelessness or other housing status, as a prohibited ground of discrimination. The Human Rights Committee and other treaty bodies have begun to engage directly with these issues. The guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights specifically reference the need for States to repeal or reform laws that "criminalize life-sustaining activities in public places, such as sleeping, begging, eating or performing personal hygiene activities".
- 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
- 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. 53
- Paragraph text
- While cities are, for some, places of opportunity and the engines of economic development, for many others they are sites of poverty, inequality and exclusion. The drive for economic growth, to create "world-class cities" and to attract international and domestic investment, has too often occurred at the expense of social inclusion and protection. Increased economic opportunities in cities should provide a lever for greater inclusion and socioeconomic equality, yet urban economies have generally tended to deepen inequality. This tension, between cities as economic drivers and cities as generators of inequality, plays out distinctly with respect to land.
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The report builds on important work undertaken by the previous Special Rapporteur on the right to housing. In her 2012 report on the impact of finance policies on the right to housing of those living in poverty (A/67/286), she warned of emerging trends towards the financialization of housing encouraged by States' abandonment of social housing programmes and increased reliance on private market solutions. She documented attempts by States to rely on the private market and homeownership, which increases inequality and fails to address the housing needs of low-income and marginalized groups. More fundamentally, she called for a paradigm shift through which housing would once again be recognized as a fundamental human right rather than as a commodity. The present report takes up that challenge.
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In Egypt, after Prime Ministerial Decree No. 350/2007 removed restrictions on foreign purchases of property, land prices more than doubled in many areas, rising at a rate of 148 per cent per year between 2007 and 2011. Extension of credit for housing has been largely restricted to higher income households in Cairo and Giza, and approximately 3 million homes have been left empty or unfinished by their owners in urban areas. Poverty continues to increase and more than 12 million people live in informal 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Policy responses to the financialization of housing have tended to prioritize support for financial institutions over responding to the needs of those whose right to adequate housing is at stake. Spending on bailouts of banks and financial institutions after the 2008 financial crisis far outstripped spending to provide assistance to the victims of the crisis. In fact, many national Governments made substantial cuts to their housing programmes. As noted above, the World Bank continues to promote "financial liberalization" rather than active State intervention in housing provision in emerging economies, despite the evidence that financialization generally increases inequality and fails to address the needs of the millions of households living in situations of homelessness or grossly inadequate informal 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2a
- Paragraph text
- [In order to improve security of tenure, especially for vulnerable and marginalized persons and groups living in urban poor settlements, States, including relevant authorities, should take the following measures:] Conduct citywide assessments of tenure arrangements;
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2b
- Paragraph text
- [In order to improve security of tenure, especially for vulnerable and marginalized persons and groups living in urban poor settlements, States, including relevant authorities, should take the following measures:] Identify insecure settlements and population groups, including the homeless;
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2c
- Paragraph text
- [In order to improve security of tenure, especially for vulnerable and marginalized persons and groups living in urban poor settlements, States, including relevant authorities, should take the following measures:] Develop citywide strategies for securing tenure and upgrading settlements on different categories of land and with different tenure arrangements;
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2g
- Paragraph text
- [In order to improve security of tenure, especially for vulnerable and marginalized persons and groups living in urban poor settlements, States, including relevant authorities, should take the following measures:] Establish fair and effective land dispute resolution mechanisms;
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2i
- Paragraph text
- [In order to improve security of tenure, especially for vulnerable and marginalized persons and groups living in urban poor settlements, States, including relevant authorities, should take the following measures:] Adopt or revise legislation to recognize and protect multiple tenure arrangements.
- 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
- Poverty
- 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
- 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
- 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. 4c
- 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:] Allocate available public land for the provision of low-income 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4d
- 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:] Adopt measures to combat speculation and underutilization of private 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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- 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. 4e
- 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:] Adopt inclusive urban planning strategies and regulations;
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 4f
- 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:] Adopt measures to regulate and stimulate the low-income rental market and collective forms of tenure; and
- 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
- 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. 4g
- 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:] Adopt measures to regulate the housing finance market and 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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- 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. 5i
- Paragraph text
- [Non-discrimination on the basis of tenure status must be guaranteed in the context of, inter alia:] Humanitarian assistance, including access to 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
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The inability of the poor to access secure and well-located urban housing is often a direct result of policies that promote the commodification of land and housing to the detriment of their social function. As housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, especially in city centres, people have no choice but to resort to insecure self-help alternatives, including sleeping in public places.
- 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
- 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. 44
- Paragraph text
- Allocation of public land for the provision of housing. States should utilize available public land, including land obtained by municipalities through tax foreclosures and other means, to meet current and anticipated housing needs of the urban poor, using suitable secure tenure arrangements. States may choose to provide adequate housing or ensure that the conditions exist to enable recipients to construct or rehabilitate housing themselves.
- 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
- 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
- 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. 66
- Paragraph text
- Tenure security of the urban poor is affected by the activities of a diverse range of business actors, including property developers, construction companies, speculators, real-estate agencies, landlords, mega-event organizers and banks. While States must protect all individuals against violations of human rights, business enterprises also have human rights responsibilities. The responsibility to respect the right to adequate housing requires that business enterprises avoid causing or contributing to infringements of the right, and address adverse impacts when they occur. It requires that business enterprises seek to prevent adverse impacts on, inter alia, security of tenure that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.
- 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
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Real-estate investments of a predominantly speculative nature can have the effect of undermining security of tenure of the urban poor by contributing to the unaffordability of land and housing. The result may be regression in the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing and increased homelessness. Business enterprises should refrain from entering into such property investments to avoid these adverse human rights impacts.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The urban poor should drive the process of strengthening their tenure security. Global experience shows that the realization of the right to adequate housing depends as much upon the mobilization and advocacy of social movements as the concerted efforts of States. Governmental and other relevant actors should support the empowerment of urban poor individuals and communities by being accountable for the implementation of these principles.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph