A/HRC/34/51/Add.2 the right to adequate housing was a much needed instrument. In follow-up to the end-ofmission statement, the Government acknowledged that due consideration could be given to a framework law on housing, and that it could serve to enshrine the principles of action in this sector, taking into account potential gaps that would need to be identified. III. Right to adequate housing A. Overview 23. Portugal is a centralized State with 308 municipalities and two autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira). Each level of government bears responsibility for housing; the role of the central government comes predominantly in the form of cash transfers, and the formulation of national laws, programmes and standards, while municipalities are responsible for their implementation, and for providing resources to supplement those provided by central government. 24. The housing sector has particular characteristics that have an impact on the implementation of the right to adequate housing. Portugal boasts exceptionally high home ownership rates for the European region (75 per cent of the population in 2013). In 2011, there was a housing stock of approximately 5.9 million conventional dwellings, but only some 4 million families in the conventional housing sector, meaning there was no shortage of housing.12 Between 10 and 12 per cent of units stand vacant and/or are slated for demolition, 3.4 per cent of which are dilapidated and uninhabitable. In 2011, it was estimated that 132,656 units of housing were needed: 6,612 (5 per cent) households living in “non-conventional” dwellings;13 3,373 (2 per cent) classic families resided in hotels and similar or in unions; 42,009 (32 per cent) families shared accommodation with others; and 80,662 (61 per cent) for the minimum reserve of the housing market. Between 2001 and 2011, Portugal made significant progress in reducing the amount of housing needed (by 22 per cent) by a concerted effort to resettle those living in non-conventional dwellings.14 25. As a result of the priority given to home ownership, the rental sector is limited: only 2 per cent of all housing stock is allocated to social housing, one of the lowest rates in Europe. Rental as a long-term alternative to ensuring access to affordable and well-located housing is no longer the preferred tenure system in Portugal. This represents a significant change in the structure of the housing sector: in 1970, rentals accounted for almost 46 per cent of the total of main household residence; in 2011, this figure had dropped to around 20 per cent. 26. Until recently and for several decades, Portugal had stringent rental legislation that fixed rental rates regardless of income levels and market value of the unit; rental contracts could also be included in inheritance. In central locations in Lisbon and Porto, many were paying very low rents and had old rental contracts. In turn, it was common for landlords to neglect and abandon properties, and to avoid carrying out even the most basic maintenance, renovation and conservation of buildings, units and common areas because they did not generate enough income. Many such units were derelict and in urgent need of rehabilitation. 12 13 14 INE, Housing rehabilitation: an overview 2001-2011, p. 29. INE defines conventional dwelling as a room or suite of rooms and its accessories built, rebuilt or converted for habitation by one household. It should have separate access to a street or to a common space within the building. INE Housing rehabilitation (see footnote 12), p. 29. 7