Theright to housing (occasionallyright to shelter[1]) is theeconomic, social and cultural right to adequatehousing andshelter. It is recognized in somenational constitutions and in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights andInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.[2] The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility;affordability; location and cultural adequacy.[3]
TheUN Human Settlement Programme is known as UN-HABITAT.[4]
At least 84 states make an explicit reference to housing rights in their constitutions.[5]
Article 25 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to housing.
It states that:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
In theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), article 11(1) also guarantees the right to housing.[6]
Ininternational human rights law the right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right. This was clarified in the 1991 General Comment no 4 on Adequate Housing by theUN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.[7]
The Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation tosexual orientation andgender identity affirm that:[8]
Everyone has the right to adequate housing, including protection fromeviction, withoutdiscrimination and that States shall a) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure security of tenure and access toaffordable, habitable, accessible, culturally appropriate and safe housing, not including shelters and other emergency accommodation, withoutdiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or material or family status; b) take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to prohibit the execution ofevictions that are not in conformity with their international human rights obligations, and ensure that adequate and effective legal or other appropriate remedies are available to any person claiming that a right to protection against forced evictions has been violated or is under threat of violation, including the right to resettlement, which includes the right to alternative land of better or equal quality and to adequate housing, without discrimination.
The right to housing is alsoenshrined in Article 28 of theConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 16 of theEuropean Social Charter (Article 31 of the Revised European Social charter) and in theAfrican Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.[9] According to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, aspects of right to housing underICESCR include: legal security oftenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location and cultural adequacy.[3] As a political goal, right to housing was declared in F. D. Roosevelt's 1944 speech on theSecond Bill of Rights.
The right to adequate housing was a main theme in the Istanbul Agreement andHabitat Agenda. This includes a rule to "promote, protect and ensure the full and progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing" in Paragraph 61. TheUN Human Settlement Programme was created during 2001. The programme is the most important international forum for the right to housing.[10]
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One of the seven focus areas by the South African human right is The Right to Adequate House and this is beyond the mere provision of building materials.
The rights such as the right to public participation, equality, human dignity, and access to information are amongst the cross cutting rights linked with right to adequate housing as noted by theConstitutional Court in Government of theRepublic of South Africa and Others vGrootboom and Others 2001 (1) SA 46 (CC)[11]
InSouth Africa, section 26 ofChapter Two of the Constitution establishes that "everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing". TheDepartment of Human Settlements is tasked with implementing this mandate. Based on recent data, around 3.6 million South Africans still live in shacks or informal settlements (2013 data),[12] while it is estimated that around 200,000 arehomeless or living on the streets (2015 data).[13]
Based on a survey of human rights experts administered by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative in 2019, South Africa is doing only 69.6% of what should be possible at its level of income on the right to housing.[14]
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Mostjurisdictions in theUnited States have no right to shelter. One exception isMassachusetts, wherefamilies (but not homeless individuals) do have the right to shelter.[15] InCalifornia, runaway children have the right to be admitted to emergency shelters withoutparental consent.[16]New York City also recognizes a right to emergency shelter, established in the 1981 consent decree forCallahan v. Carey.[17]
The right to housing is recognized in the 1999constitution, specifically in section 43 which states that "every citizen ofNigeria shall have the right to acquire and own immovableproperty anywhere in Nigeria".[18] It further stated in section 44 that 'no movableproperty or any interest inimmovable property shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria except in the manner and for purposes prescribed by law that, among other things: requires the prompt payment ofcompensation and ensures parties access to the court for the determination of his interest in the property and the amount of compensation payable". The provisions of Section 16(2)(d) of theconstitution in the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of StatePolicy, which states that "the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that suitable and adequateshelter is provided for all citizens" implies the recognition of the need to provide shelter for citizens but such right excludes right to adequatehousing.[18][19] Additionally, Section 6(6) (c) of the constitution declared the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles non-justiciable.[19]
The housing conditions of people in Nigeria falls short of the international human rights law and standards, particularly vulnerable groups such as women,indigenous people,LGBTQ, internally displaced persons and people living with disability (PLW) in the rural settings ofAbuja,Lagos andPort Harcourt.[20] In 2014,WHO andUNICEF stated that 69% of theurban population of Nigeria were living in 'slums' without basic amenities like potable water,sanitation services, electricity,garbage collection, andpaved roads. Also, the 2013Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey revealed that 57 million and 130 million Nigerians had no access to safe water and adequate sanitation respectively.[20] According to theFederal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, there was a deficit of 22 million housing units in 2019. TheLagos state government stated that the housing deficit in the state is at 2.5 million units, with 70 percent of its total population living in informal housing. There is a 20 percent yearly housing demand increase inAbuja,Ibadan andKano. Generally, private market housing can only be affordable by a few. There isscarce rental housing which demand tenants to have advance rent of more than one year. Rent control or caps are not given attention in addition tolandlord–tenant relations, with regulation laws poorly enforced.[20]
Based on a survey of human rights experts administered by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative in 2019, Nigeria is doing only 35.5% of what should be possible at its level of income on the right to housing.[21]
InSpain's 1978 constitution, in section 47, it recognizes the right to housing.[22] Spain put a housing law in place to protect this right. The Housing Law was approved in 2023, which made reforms aimed at providing affordable housing as well asrental protections to citizens. One piece of the law intended to regulate rental prices in 'stressed areas', which are places where the average rent exceeds the average household income. The Housing Law also tries to prevent landlords from bringing in fees that were not agreed to in a housing contract.[23] However, there has been some controversy in Spain's implementation of the right to housing, since it has had at least one case taken to theUnited Nations about possible violations.[24]
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