“FINANCIAL CREDIT FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP IS NOT AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION FOR THE WORLD’S POOR” | Land Portal

An interesting publication by the UN Expert on Housing, when one considers the right for a land to shelter that was just agreed between Ekta Parishad and the Indian Government:

“FINANCIAL CREDIT FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP IS NOT AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION FOR
THE WORLD’S POOR” – UN EXPERT ON HOUSING

 NEW YORK (2 November 2012) – Financial markets have taken over the
housing sector, resulting in a detrimental effect on the enjoyment of
the right to adequate housing, especially for the poor, UN Special
Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik said today, urging governments to adopt broader
policies and interventions for the housing sector. 

“The ongoing worldwide housing crisis, in which there are millions of
vacant houses and apartments and an alarming rise in foreclosures and
homelessness, is the starkest evidence of the failure of housing finance
to address the housing needs of all segments of society,” Ms. Rolnik
said during the presentation of her annual report* to the UN General
Assembly in New York. 

Ms. Rolnik emphasized that housing finance policies based on credit are
inherently discriminatory against lower-income households, exposing them
to increased financial risks and pushing them further into debt and
poverty. She also noted that “in many cases, housing finance policies
have resulted in increasing inequalities in access to housing, increased
tenure insecurity, poor location and low habitability, social
segregation and, sometimes, increased homelessness.”

“Despite this clear evidence, I am extremely concerned to find, three
years into the deepening financial and economic crises, that States are
still promoting credit for individual homeownership as a
“one-size-fits-all” solution, in both developing and developed
countries,” warned the expert. “The provision of credit to finance a
massive production of houses does not fulfill the multiple and
interconnected elements of the right to adequate housing.” 

“Instead of doing more of the same, States should promote more
comprehensive and holistic housing policies and interventions, such as
public investments in infrastructure and basic services, upgrading and
rehabilitation of human settlements, public land and housing provision,
rent regulation and collective and cooperative solutions,” said Ms.
Rolnik, stressing that a mixture of tenure solutions, based on genuine
and meaningful participation of those affected, is essential to shield
the housing sector from economic and financial shocks. 

“I call for a shift from housing policies based on the
‘financialization’ of housing to a human rights-based approach to
housing, which can help us learn from past mistakes and promote the
right to adequate housing for all,” Ms. Rolnik said. 

(*) Read the full report of Special Rapporteur on housing:
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N12/459/18/PDF/N1245918.pdf?OpenElement
[1] or https://www.un.org/en/ga/third/67/documentslist.shtml [2] 

ENDS

_Ms. Raquel Rolnik (Brazil) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on
adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of
living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context by the UN
Human Rights Council in May 2008. Ms. Rolnik is an architect and urban
planner with extensive experience in the area of housing and urban
policies. Learn more, visit:
__https://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/index.htm_ [3]

_For more information and MEDIA REQUESTS__ please contact:_
_IN NEW YORK:__ Fred Kirungi (+1 917 367 3431 / __kirungi@un.org_
[4]_)_
_IN GENEVA:__ Lidia Rabinovich (+41 22 917 9763 /
_lrabinovich@ohchr.org [5]_) or write to __srhousing@ohchr.org_ [6]_._

For MEDIA INQUIRIES related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 /
xcelaya@ohchr.org [7]) 

UN HUMAN RIGHTS, FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/unitednationshumanrights [8]
 TWITTER: https://twitter.com/UNrightswire [9] 
GOOGLE+ gplus.to/unitednationshumanrights
 YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR  [10]

Check the Universal Human Rights Index: https://uhri.ohchr.org/en [11]

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