This episode focuses on the right to adequate housing,
which is set out in the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
After briefly introducing the right to housing,
we'll consider the different elements of that right
and what they require of governments.
The right to adequate housing
is one of the most well-recognized
and best established economic and social rights.
It is central to human dignity and without it
it is effectively impossible
to exercise a range of other human rights,
including family life, privacy and health.
The right to adequate housing or - elements of it -
is included in a large number of national constitutions,
and in regional human rights instruments,
including the European Convention on Human Rights
and the European Social Charter.
Article 11(1) of the Covenant provides that:
'the States Parties to the present Covenant
recognise the right of everyone
to an adequate standard of living
for himself and his family, including adequate housing'.
As with all economic and social rights,
and as discussed in episodes three and four,
governments must move to increase and expand
enjoyment of this right as quickly as they can
in line with the resources that they have available.
As part of that, governments need to prioritise
ensuring that everyone has access to basic shelter.
Ending homelessness is a key part
of giving effect to the right to adequate housing.
What is adequate housing?
In its 1991 General Comment number four
on the right to adequate housing,
the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
outlined seven elements of 'adequacy'.
The first is 'legal security of tenure'.
All persons - whether living in private rental accommodation,
social housing, owner occupation, emergency housing,
informal settlements or otherwise
should possess a degree of security of tenure
which guarantees protection against forced eviction,
harassment and other threats.
They should be guaranteed by law
so is to enable people to live in their home in security,
peace and dignity and to protect them from victimisation
by private or social landlords, neighbours and others.
The second element is 'availability of services,
materials, facilities and infrastructure'.
An adequate house must contain certain facilities
essential for health, security, comfort and nutrition.
Everyone - regardless of where they live -
must have access to things like safe drinking water,
energy for cooking, heating and lighting,
sanitation and washing facilities, waste disposal
and emergency services.
Third, housing must be 'affordable'.
This isn't just about taking steps
to facilitate home ownership.
Rather it means the costs associated with housing
must not be so high that the satisfaction
of other basic needs are threatened or cannot be met.
In other words, mortgage payments, rent levels
or the cost of utilities like electricity or gas
shouldn't be so high that people have to cut back on food
or other necessities to make ends meet.
The fourth element is 'habitability'.
Inhabitants must have adequate space
and be protected from cold, damp, heat, rain wind,
threats to health or structural hazards.
And the physical safety of occupants must be guaranteed.
So, where social housing is designed in such a way
as to constitute a fire hazard,
or the government does not take sufficient measures
to ensure the private rented housing is of a decent standard
the right to adequate housing is not being given effect to.
Fifth, adequate housing must be accessible
to those entitled to it.
This means that if everyone is to enjoy the right
to adequate housing, people with special housing needs -
for instance people with physical, mental,
or intellectual disabilities -
must have housing available to them off of a nature
or in a form that makes it accessible to them,
and the needs of these groups
have to be fully taken into account
in housing law and policy.
This is crucial if everyone is to enjoy
the right to adequate housing without discrimination.
Sixth, housing cannot just be anywhere.
Adequate housing must be in a location
which allows access to things like employment opportunities,
healthcare services, schools,
child care centres and other social facilities.
Nor should housing be built on polluted sites,
or in immediate proximity to pollution sources
that threaten the right to health of those who live there.
Finally, housing must be 'culturally adequate'.
The way housing is constructed,
the building materials used and the policies supporting these
must enable the expression of cultural identity
and diversity of housing.
The right to adequate housing is not an example
of one-size-fits-all.
Housing law and policy must recognise and support
different cultural understandings of housing.
Housing law and policies that prevent indigenous communities
or ethnic minorities from engaging in cultural practices
essential to their status
as members of particular communities are discriminatory.
An example of this would be a failure to facilitate
the nomadic tradition of gipsies and travellers.
To conclude, the right to adequate housing
also prohibits forced evictions.
A forced eviction is the permanent
or temporary removal against their will
of people from the homes and/or the land which they occupy,
without the provision of, and access to,
appropriate forms of legal or other protection.
There is a wide range of procedural protections
that should be applied by government
in relation to forced evictions.
For instance, governments most genuinely consult
with those affected.
They must give adequate and reasonable notice for evictions
and they must ensure that legal remedies are available
to victims of evictions.
This includes providing legal aid to people who need it.