Housing as a Human Right in Europe

Abstract

This article analyses the exercise of the right to housing in Europe in the light of European human rights standards. Special attention is given to the European Social Charter Article 31.1 which deals with the right to housing in general and overlaps with paragraph 2 on the prevention of homelessness and paragraph 3 on the affordability of housing costs. The European Convention of Human Rights also includes provisions on the right to housing, such as Article 3 (degrading treatment) and Article 8 (family), which overlap with provisions of the Charter. Together these provisions require States to guarantee citizens the right to receive temporary housing of dignity under all circumstances and access to standard housing without unreasonable delay. The last mentioned requires, in turn, that States have at their disposal a sufficient and sufficiently rotating stock of social rented housing, which is accessible to vulnerable persons and families. The article concludes that a multidimensional indicator is needed to assess the efficiency of the housing programs and measures to prevent and remove homelessness.