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A/68/289 40. A variety of rental sub-markets exists, 75 including rooms in inner city tenements, custom-built tenements, rooms in informal settlements, renting land and building rental units to let or building units in the backyard of dwellings. The trend is particularly noticeable in Latin America, where informal owners enlarge their homes to house tenants in order to rise their incomes. 76 In Sub-Saharan Africa, taking in lodgers within the existing structure is common in several countries. 77 The transformation of Government-built housing to include rental units is widespread in Northern Africa as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. 78 In Asia, informal rental ranges from unlicensed high-rise buildings that accommodate migrant workers in the “urban villages” of China to rented plots in some Indian and Thai cities where tenants build their own shelter. 79 Most of those options — ignored by regulations — offer very precarious conditions to tenants. 41. Most informal landlords let property that lacks a building license, do not issue written contracts, 80 do not abide by rental and tax legislations and requirements, and in most cases are unaware(as are their tenants) of the existing relevant legislation. 81 42. The informal rental sector is a crucial component of the housing sector in developing countries and is also increasing today in many European cities, 82 filling a gap created by the current housing policies that do not adequately address the housing needs of low-income households. Unfortunately, slum upgrading __________________ 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 13-42184 Kumar, “The research-policy dialectic” (see footnote 41 above), p. 664. C. Escallón, Arrendamiento Alternativa Habitacional y Vivienda Popular en Colombia (Universidad de los Andes y Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá; see also A.G. Gilbert and others, In Search of a Home: Rental and Shared Housing in Latin America) (UCL Press and the University of Arizona Press, 1993). M. Grant, “Lodging as a migrant economic strategy in urban Zimbabwe”, Development Southern Africa, vol. 24, No. 1, (March 2007), pp. 77-90; see also P. Amis and P. Lloyd eds., Housing Africa’s Urban Poor (Manchester University Press, 1990); UN-Habitat, Quick Guides for Policy Makers: Housing the Poor in African Cities 7 — Rental Housing — A Much Neglected Housing Option for the Poor (Cities Alliance, 2011); M. Huchzermeyer, “Tenement city: the emergence of multi-storey districts through large-scale private landlordism in Nairobi”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, No. 31 (2007), pp. 714-732. UN-Habitat, Affordable Land and Housing in Africa (see footnote 4 above), p. 48; see also L. Bank, “The rhythms of the yards: urbanism, backyards and housing policy in South Africa”, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, vol. 25, No. 2 (2007), pp. 205-228; O. Crankshaw, A. G. Gilbert and A. Morris, “Backyard Soweto”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol. 24, No. 4 (2000), pp. 841-857. Kumar, “Landlordism in Third World urban low-income settlements” (see footnote 67 above), pp. 753-782; Kumar, “Room for manoeuvre” (see footnote 44 above). In Uruguay, while 79 per cent of tenants in Montevideo had signed a written contract in 2006, 21 per cent had only a verbal agreement — see L. Macellaro “Estudio sobre el mercado de viviendas de alquiler en Uruguay”(Montevideo, 2010); “Caracterización del mercado de arrendamientos urbano para el segmento de la población de bajos ingresos: informe final de resultados”, realizado para el Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, UN-Habitat First Initiative (Centro de Estudios de la Construcción y el Desarrollo Urbano y Regional, 2007). In Thailand, only a minority, 45 per cent, have a written contract. See also M. Morange,” Backyard shacks: the relative success of this housing option in Port Elizabeth”, Urban Forum, No. 13, pp. 3-25. J. E. Torres, “Estudio sobre el mercado de arrendamiento de vivienda en Colombia: informe final” (Bogotá, 2011), p. 12. Emily Kelling and others, “London’s backyard informality”, workshop paper presented at a conference of Research Committee 43 (Housing and the Built Environment) of the International Sociological Association, Amsterdam, 10-12 July 2013. 15/24

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Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to non-discrimination in this context

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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

Date: Aug 7, 2013

Summary: The Special Rapporteur builds on the findings of her previous report (A/67/286) and analyses two alternative housing policies — rental and collective housing — that can play a key role in the promotion of the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing for those living in poverty. She calls for a paradigm shift from the financialization of housing to a human rights- based approach and recommends that States promote various forms of tenure, including private and public rental, and collective tenure. From a human rights perspective, Governments are required to make effective use of their available resources to ensure the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, including by prioritizing the poorest. That obligation implies more than a roof since the right to housing entails access to an array of services and facilities that guarantee an adequate standard of living.

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Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to non-discrimination in this context

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