Leilani Farha

“ Under national law, local governments have an obligation to inspect housing to ensure its safety and to protect tenants from being exposed to health risks caused by dilapidated housing. Authorities also have an obligation to ensure that private owners maintain property conditions to standards that comply with international human rights law. I learned that for many years, the City of Marseille did not employ a single individual with the necessary training to undertake such checks, and that even now this responsibility is carried out by insufficient staff. ”

“ Access to 'adequate housing' as understood in international human rights law is an issue confronting many in France: There is insufficient affordable housing supply, including social housing, for those in need. Housing prices and rental costs are on the rise. Homelessness is increasing at a significant pace in some centres – Paris for example saw, according to Government estimates, an 8 percent increase between 2018 and 2019 – and there are too few emergency shelters and longer term housing options for this population. ”

“ It is well understood that access to justice is a necessary requirement to ensure human rights are more than just policy objectives or hollow entitlements. The DALO law is intended to ensure that the State and social housing associations respond with priority to individuals whose right to adequate housing has either been violated or is at risk of being violated. ”

“ The justiciable right to housing is guaranteed through the model DALO law, and though France has a large social housing stock it is scarce and often inaccessible for those most in need, which means many low income households must find accommodation in the private market where there is a lack of affordable and decent housing. An impressive and widely known national hotline - "115" - has been created, where people in homelessness or dire housing conditions can call to seek immediate housing assistance, but in Paris, for example, less than a third of the calls are answered. ”

“ Living standards in France have drastically improved for a majority of the population and the poverty rate has stagnated at 14%; however, extreme poverty is on the rise. The government promotes cultural integration to address diversity and yet there is evidence of spatial segregation based on ethnicity and income level. Many migrants and asylum seekers with whom I spoke explained that they fled to France in part because it is the birthplace of human rights, and yet after arrival in the country they struggle to have their fundamental rights recognized and implemented. ”

“ France is the only European country to have made the right to housing directly enforceable. The DALO law accords priority in allocation for social housing to certain groups of people in vulnerable housing situations including persons living in homelessness, under threat of eviction, living in temporary emergency accommodation, in dangerous, uninhabitable, unhealthy, indecent or overcrowded units or those who have been waiting to be allocated into a social housing unit for an extensive period of time. ”

“ Under international human rights law evictions are only justifiable after all feasible alternatives to the eviction been explored, after residents have been consulted, and once alternative accommodation in proximity to the existing settlements has been offered or secured. Evictions into homelessness are strictly prohibited under international law and a severe violation of the right to adequate housing and other human rights, such as the right to health and security of the person. ”

“ I am concerned that the financialization of housing – where housing is promoted and used as a financial instrument rather than as a social good – will quickly evolve in France, particularly since the promulgation of the ELAN law on 23 November 2018. This law incentivizes the selling off of social housing units, setting a target for newly formed social housing conglomerates to sell 40,000 units a year. ”

“ France has a growing demand for rental housing, a widening gap between demand and supply, and an acute housing shortage for middle- and low-income families. These characteristics make it an attractive destination for private equity firms who, after the interest shown in the SNCF portfolio, have turned their eyes to the French housing market. ”

“ When a human right is at stake, it is not acceptable to justify State inaction on the basis of disputes regarding which level of government is responsible - national, regional or local level. The government entity that makes first contact with an individual or group of individuals whose human rights are at stake, must ensure the protection of these rights. ”

“ I am also deeply concerned by the use of hotel rooms as a longer-term solution for those living in homelessness. I visited several families living in these conditions. I met a woman from Guinea in the asylum process living in a hotel room with her infant child. She had experienced gender-based violence in her journey to France. She had been provided a small, damp windowless room, on the ground floor adjacent to common use toilets for patrons of the hotel bar as well as other residents. I also met a young family of five who had been sheltered in two non-adjoining hotel rooms for over a year. ”

“ Informal settlements are generally created and inhabited by the poorest, most marginalized groups including people of Roma origin from Eastern Europe (amounting to about two-thirds of the informal settlement population) , Traveller communities, as well as migrants and refugees predominantly from Africa and Arab states. They create and live in informal settlements because they have no other housing options.
According to the latest Government survey from July 2018 approximately 16,090 persons live in 497 informal settlements in France, with one third located in the Greater Paris region. ”

“ The implementation of the DALO law needs to be improved to ensure that all applicants identified as priority for accessing social housing or for rehousing can be offered a decent and affordable home close to their current place of residence within six months, irrespectively where they live in the country. The payment of fines must not replace the effective implementation of the right to housing. ”

“ France's legislative commitment to the justiciable right to housing, the President's recent public commitment to ending street homelessness, and France's status as one of the richest countries in the world, are indicators that iy is well positioned to address many of the concerns raised in this statement and fulfill its human rights obligations with respect to the right to housing. ”

“ Those evicted from their encampments in Calais are offered no proximate alternative housing solutions. The systematic nature of repeated evictions by police forces is a source of extreme stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation – on a population that is already traumatized. Alternative accommodation in reception centers for migrants and asylum seekers is only available more than 75 km from Calais. ”

“ While it takes significant time and resources to build social housing, it is imperative that this be made a priority and that other schemes be considered to ensure that those who have been on the DALO priority list for a long time are re-housed immediately. ”

“ In Toulouse I visited a former office building being used as a residence by more than 300 migrants and refugees, including women and single parent families. Though the complex has running water and electricity, there are inadequate sanitation facilities with residents having to erect three improvised showers in the building's outdoor parking lot and sewage problems arising as a result of overuse of toilets. The building has no cooking facilities, and is overcrowded. ”

“ The government should continue to provide financial subsidies and support to improve housing conditions in QPV and enhance ongoing efforts to invest in transportation infrastructure to ensure affordable transportation between suburban QPV and city centres. ”

“ These temporary shelter facilities are not properly equipped to meet the needs of many households, including families, women and girls and children. At times families are forced to separate in order to be sheltered. Moreover, many of those who find accommodation over the winter months face a return to living on the streets on 1 April. ”

“ According to information received, this programme stresses the need to provide access to the rights to water, sanitation, adequate housing, education and work. My visit to informal settlements, however, tells a different story. It appears that in order to discourage the growth of such settlements a two-pronged approach is adopted: residents are cut-off from what they need to survive including basic services such as potable water, sanitation facilities, garbage services, and electricity and are subjected to repeated forced evictions. ”

“ Of the 950,000 applicants since the DALO law came into force on 1 January 2008, 270,000 households were identified as priority cases for accessing housing and an impressive 167,200 households were provided with social housing. 62,900 households still require rehousing as of 20 February 2019. ”

“ The units located in QPV are also smaller than those located in the other districts tending toward overcrowding. QPV residents are also significantly more likely to live in a home with one or more serious defects, such as faulty wiring or a crumbling exterior. ”