A/HRC/25/54 14. Rental. Renting a plot, dwelling or room from a private or public owner provides access to housing for many urban poor households.13 Rental involves the right to use housing for a period of time at a given price, without transfer of ownership, on the basis of a written or verbal contract. 15. In addition to public and non-market rental options, States should promote private rental for the urban poor, including through policies to expand rental-housing stock. Such policies include tax incentives to owners, guarantees or insurance schemes against nonpayment of rent, and the provision of grants or low-interest loans to landlords to improve dilapidated housing units on the condition that they rent to low-income tenants. A Government incentive programme in New Jersey, United States of America, for example, provides grants to landlords to provide safe, suitable and affordable housing for low and moderate-income residents.14 In Slovakia, subsidies are provided for the construction of rental apartments for low-income groups, including for socially excluded Roma communities.15 Housing allowances for low-income tenants should also be considered.16 16. States should regulate the rental sector, including by placing flexible restraints on rent increases and limits on eviction consistent with international human rights obligations.17 These measures should balance the rights of tenants and landlords. For example, in Germany,18 where a majority of households rents, regulations place a cap on increases for sitting tenants providing a high degree of tenure security, while maintaining the profitability of private investments in rental.19 States should also encourage the use of standardized human rights-compliant rental contracts, and make them freely available and free from notary approval. 17. Freehold ownership. Individual ownership confers full control over housing and land, subject to law and local regulations, as well as adverse possession rights and the State’s expropriation powers. This quality makes it a desirable form of tenure for many households. Since ownership rights are generally expensive to acquire, housing finance is often necessary. Tenure security is jeopardized when owner-occupiers are unable to cope with loan repayments and default on their mortgages. Foreclosures by banks and other credit institutions pose a serious threat to the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, with the poorest disproportionately affected. States should take all measures to protect security of tenure of owner-occupiers and prevent the loss of homes and homelessness as a result of foreclosures.20 18. Collective tenure. Several types of collective tenure arrangements exist in which ownership, rental or use rights over land and housing are shared under joint governance structures. Rights are allocated to individuals according to rules established by the group or local custom. Collective arrangements can reduce the costs of securing housing by creating a single legal entity. Collective organization also promotes affordability by leveraging group resources to maintain and repair housing infrastructure, and by enabling group loans 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 See Special Rapporteur’s report to the General Assembly, A/68/289, paras. 23–26. The Landlord Incentives Programme, 2013. Act No. 443/2010 on subsidies for housing development and social housing (questionnaire response from Slovakia). Also, A/68/289 paras. 32–33. A/68/289, paras. 32–33. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 4, paras. 8 (c), and 17; and No. 7, paras. 9 and 11. A/68/289, para. 21. Questionnaire response from Germany. Kath Hulse, et al., Secure occupancy in rental housing: conceptual foundations and comparative perspectives, (Melbourne, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 2011), pp. 89, 122 and 213–215. See also A/68/289, paras. 34–38. See Special Rapporteur’s reports to the General Assembly A/67/286 and A/68/289. 9