Right to adequate housing

The Report of the UN 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 contextinvestigates the impact of housing finance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty.

In the report, the Special Rapporteur, Raquel Rolnik analyses the ruling paradigm of housing policies that focus on housing finance as the main means of promoting homeownership. The report assesses the impact of prevalent housingfinance policies on the right to adequate housing of those living in poverty.

The Special Rapporteur concludes that the full realization of the right to adequate housing, without discrimination, cannot be promoted solely by financial mechanisms and requires broader and more holistic housing policies and State interventions.

She calls for a paradigm shift from housing policies based on the financialization of housing to a human rights-based approach to housing policies.