Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 136 entities
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The dominant impact of wealth and private investment has also created and perpetuated spatial segregation and inequality in cities. In South Africa, for example, the impact of private investment in the urban core of cities has sustained the discriminatory patterns of the apartheid area, with wealthier, predominantly white households occupying areas close to the centre and poorer black South Africans living on the peripheries of cities. That "spatial mismatch", relegating poor black households to homeownership in peri-urban areas where employment opportunities are scarce, rather than rentals in the urban core, for example, has entrenched their poverty and cemented inequality. Similar patterns of racial displacement from urban centres and segregation in evidence in large cities in the United States have led to more severe impacts of financialization and the mortgage crisis being experienced by African-American households. Financialization also creates gender segregation. In Australia, analysis has shown that average-income single female workers can afford to live in only one suburb of Melbourne and cannot afford to live anywhere in Sydney.
- 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
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness disproportionately affects particular groups, including women, young people, children, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees, the working poor, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, each in different ways, but with common structural causes. These include: (a) the retreat by all levels of government from social protection and social housing and the privatization of services, infrastructure, housing and public space; (b) the abandonment of the social function of land and housing; (c) the failure to address growing inequalities in income, wealth and access to land and property; (d) the adoption of fiscal and development policies that support deregulation and real estate speculation and prevent the development of affordable housing options; and (e), in the face of urbanization, the marginalization and mistreatment of those who are most precariously housed in informal settlements, living in temporary overcrowded structures, without access to water, sanitation or other basic services and living under the constant threat of eviction.
- 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
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Responsibilities of local and other subnational governments in relation to the right to adequate housing 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Housing is an area of concurrent national and provincial competence in South Africa, but the Constitution requires the national and provincial governments to assign responsibilities to a municipality "if that matter would most effectively be administered locally and the municipality has the capacity to administer it". Within that context, the Constitutional Court established that measures taken to realize the right to adequate housing must be "reasonable" - that they must be comprehensive, coherent, flexible and effective; have due regard for those in poverty and deprivation; utilize available resources; be free of bureaucratic inefficiency or onerous regulations and ultimately be capable of realizing the right to adequate housing. The Court also emphasized the fact that responsibilities must be clearly allocated to the different spheres of government with appropriate financial and human resources, and that local governments have an obligation to ensure that services are provided in a sustainable manner. The Court held that the housing programme had failed to adequately prioritize those in the greatest need.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The discrepancy between income levels and soaring housing and rental prices coupled with unemployment led to increased payment default, foreclosures and homelessness. These processes were exacerbated by the adoption of legal and institutional adjustments aimed at facilitating foreclosure, which have been promoted in recent years as "imperatives for developing a housing finance system". The paradigm that promoted homeownership as the most secure form of tenure has been proven false, as increasing foreclosure rates have been one of the main results of the recent crises. In Spain, more than 350,000 foreclosures have occurred since 2007 and in 2011, about 212 foreclosures and 159 evictions occurred daily. The crisis has disproportionately affected the poorest and most vulnerable, who were the "last" to join the mortgage markets and the first to suffer the consequences of the crises owing to their low resilience to economic shocks and low repayment abilities. Recent research indicates that the majority (70 per cent) of defaults in Spain are related to the unemployment crisis and that 35 per cent of the foreclosed properties belong to migrants.
- 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
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Patterns of inequality are often starkest in developing countries. In Africa, if current trends continue, the number of households living in informal settlements will continue to increase while the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals is predicted to rise by almost 50 per cent in the next decade.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Once homeless, women's experiences are acute. They are exposed to high rates of violence, including rape. In its inquiry into the situation of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recognized the link between Aboriginal women's poverty, homelessness and their disappearances and murder.
- 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
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Rural homelessness has been the result of decreasing food security from household production, climate change, corporatization of agriculture, loss of land through subdivision at inheritance, declining civil security in rural areas, extreme poverty, unregulated resource exploitation and natural disasters. Rural homelessness usually leads people to migrate to urban areas in search of work and 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)
- Environment
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Committee's recognition in its general comment No. 6 and in periodic reviews that the right to life requires positive measures to address homelessness and poverty stands in marked contrast with the absence of consideration of these obligations in the Committee's consideration of alleged violations under the Optional Protocol.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- All data on progress and outcomes should be made public, ensuring that the urban poor are able to access and understand the information. Progress reports should be presented to a range of national mechanisms, such as legislatures, national human rights institutions, and public forums, as well as to international mechanisms, including human rights treaty bodies and the Council through the universal periodic review.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 9e
- Paragraph text
- [Urban poor individuals and communities are essential actors in strengthening tenure security. States should be accountable to the urban poor for the implementation of these guiding principles by, inter alia:] Periodic reporting of progress at national and international levels.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 2d
- 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:] Review and reform urban plans and regulations in order to integrate settlements;
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- National and regional case law offers similar guidance. For instance, the Supreme Court of India has called upon the State to provide some security of tenure to marginalized groups, such as pavement dwellers, and the South African Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights have addressed security of tenure and protection against eviction for the urban poor and inhabitants of informal settlements.
- 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
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Mapping and framing security of tenure 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Informal settlements are self-made, spontaneous, self-managed and unplanned settlement and housing arrangements, initiated by urban poor themselves. They are generally characterized by precarious infrastructure and housing conditions. The term informal settlement has become common, but many other terms are used, such as "slums", "bidonvilles" and "favelas", among others.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The sections below provide a review of alternative housing policies for the urban poor that have been largely ignored by States in recent years - rental arrangements and collective and tenure - while analysing their compatibility with the promotion of 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)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Originally designed to target the poorest and most disadvantaged, capital-grant programmes have had difficulties reaching low-income households, mainly owing to the inability of low-income families to assemble significant down payments or to meet the monthly payments of market-rate loans. In some cases, the subsidy was set so low as to prevent, a priori, the possibility of purchasing a housing unit without additional substantial credit or savings. Even when able to meet the credit or savings requirement, many of the new owners could not afford to maintain the accommodation or pay the charges for their water and electricity, and were forced to sell their homes. Capital grants can use means testing to determine eligibility; however, targeting mechanisms have proven very complex and costly, as they require accurate and updated information on income and household consumption, which is often in poor supply in developing countries owing to, inter alia, high levels of informal employment. Because reliable income and asset data are rare, some countries rely on proxy measures of income to determine eligibility and benefit levels, such as the ownership of a car or the volume of electricity consumed by a household. However, even the best proxy systems can suffer from substantial exclusion and inclusion errors.
- 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
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Market-based housing finance inevitably targets the more affluent segments of society, which have the necessary capital to take on the initial housing loan and generate profit to lenders through the payment of interest. Mortgage finance has been traditionally considered unattainable for the poor owing to issues such as lack of title, informal and illegal settlements, restrictive zoning and occupancy regulations, low and erratic income and large-scale employment in the informal sector. Banks traditionally focus their marketing on the upper-income groups, tending to adopt an over-collateralized approach to lending (multiple guarantors, low loan-to-value ratio, etc.), which inherently excludes low-income groups. Mortgage markets, therefore, in effect discriminate against low-income borrowers. Research commissioned by the FinMark Trust in 12 countries across Africa found that less than 10 per cent of local populations are eligible for mortgage finance. In Eastern European countries in transition, recent estimates by UN-Habitat indicate that rapid house price increases coupled with high unemployment and higher interest rates on mortgages have excluded more than 80 per cent of new households from the new housing construction market.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In the aftermath of the Pakistan floods of 2010, it was acknowledged that the poor and vulnerable bore the brunt of the catastrophe, having no assets or safety nets. Those who were displaced by the floods and lost their assets and means of livelihood consisted disproportionately of landless tenants and labourers, living in non-/semi-permanent 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)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to adequate housing in disaster relief efforts 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Vulnerability is widely recognized as an important element in disaster risk reduction and management. The most vulnerable, such as those living in poverty or with insecure tenure, are more likely to live in disaster-prone land; they are also at greater risks of displacement and loss of livelihood in the event of a disaster; and they will recover with more difficulty from the disaster.
- 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
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Migration and the right to adequate housing 2010, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The global economic crisis is another element affecting global migration. Although remittances have proven to be more resilient than other forms of capital flow, the impact of the economic crisis has led to a drop in remittances affecting receiving families and countries across the world. Moreover, cuts in public budgets and services as a result of the crisis particularly affect migrants, who often need to resort to public services and infrastructure in the host country. The increase in unemployment disproportionately affects migrant workers in those sectors significantly affected by the economic crisis, such as construction, tourism and domestic work. With no regular employment and little income, migrants are less likely to afford to pay rent or mortgages. They are thus at risk of defaulting and becoming homeless. As explained in the Special Rapporteur's annual report to the Human Rights Council in 2009 (A/HRC/10/7), in Spain migrants were particularly affected by the crisis, and it is estimated that 180,000 Latin American families were at risk of default in 2008. Furthermore, discrimination and xenophobia are on the rise, including as a result of the economic downturn, and many Governments have succumbed to demagogic policies matching or reinforcing the nationalistic sentiments of their constituencies.
- 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
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Analysis of two alternative housing policies: rental and collective housing 2013, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- In recent years market-based housing finance has rapidly spread throughout the world, mainly targeting the more affluent segments of society that have had the initial capital to take a mortgage, profiting lenders through the payment of interest. Traditionally, mortgage finance has been considered unattainable for the poor owing to issues such as lack of land titles, low and erratic income and employment in the informal sector.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The post-Hurricane Mitch period also saw development in the legal framework related to land and housing issues, though the judicial system remained weak and so the potential benefits of the new legislation remained inaccessible to the poor. Missing from the current strategy in Honduras is a comprehensive programme to increase the supply of urbanized land and improve tenure security for the poor and the marginalized.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph