The right to adequate housing is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in a range of additional human rights instruments. Adequate housing must conform to certain standards and fulfill the basic needs of humans to personal space, security, and protection from the weather. The right to adequate housing means that every man, woman, youth, and child, is equally entitled to a secure, habitable, and affordable home, and must be protected against forced evictions. The realization of this basic right is essential to enjoying the right to live in dignity, mental and physical health, and the right to an adequate standard of living.
Whereas Israel once built public housing units for weaker populations, today the government offers limited subsidies to those who cannot afford housing costs. Many low-income families and individuals are thus unable to access affordable housing. With prices in the rental market skyrocketing, adequate housing has become unreachable for many more members of society. Unlike many developed countries, Israel lacks legislation regulating landlord and tenant relations and fails to provide basic protections for tenants in the rental market.
When it comes to street-dwellers, the state is obliged, in cooperation with local authorities, to establish shelters and rehabilitation centers for street-dwellers, but this procedure is not always enforced. The state also has the power – in practice – to evict individuals from their homes, often in unjustified circumstances and without providing them with alternative housing.
In light of these worrying trends, ACRI recently launched a new and much-needed project that seeks to protect and promote the basic right to adequate housing for all members of society. We are working through the parallel channels of legal advocacy and public outreach to place this issue high on the public agenda and to bring about broad-based changes in policies and practices.
Resources on the Right to Housing
ACRI, Coalition partners Call for Real Affordable Housing in Jerusalem, February 2010
Ending Discrimination in Housing Projects in Tel Aviv, Jaffa, October 2009
Guaranteeing Safe Public Housing for Family in Rocket-Stricken South, July 2009
‘No Forwarding Address’: New Report on Policy toward the Homeless, June 2009
Key Mortgage Law Reform Prevents Harmful Eviction of Mortgage Debtors, May 2009
ACRI Protests Participation of Exclusive Acquisition Group in Housing Bid, May 2009
ACRI Petitions against Revocation of Housing Assistance to Single Mom, April 2009
Preventing the Discrimination of Buying Groups, by Gil Gan-Mor, TheMarker, March 2009
ACRI: Let Public Discuss Housing Reforms before Implementing Changes, December 2008
Following Pressure by ACRI, Rights Groups, Knesset Passes Key Reform, November 2008
“Adequate Housing is a Right”, The Jerusalem Post, September 2008
Following ACRI Petition, Housing Ministry Publishes Full Procedures Online, August 2008
“Building Prompts Cries of ‘Apartmentheid'”, The Forward, August 2008
“Real Estate or Rights: Housing Rights and Government Policy in Israel,” ACRI’s groundbreaking report on housing rights, July 2008:
Mortgage Borrowers Unable to Meet Payments Won’t be Thrown onto Street, February 2008
Photo by: Flavia Di Segni
