Discrimination in housing

This report aims to analyse the substance and scope of protection against discrimination in housing under European and international law. European Union law will be analysed in the light of major developments in this field in other legal systems, in particular in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee of Social Rights, as well as the work of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and the committees of the United Nations. The report will also consider anti-discrimination legislation adopted at national level by Member States of the European Union and certain other European States, as well as major legal decisions made by national courts.

The report is made up of four parts. It begins by presenting the concepts and legal instruments underpinning protection against discrimination in housing at European and international level. It also gives an overview of non-discrimination legislation that has been adopted by Member States and by selected non-Member States (Part I). The report then analyses the various forms of discrimination that can hamper access to housing and the way in which European and international norms attempt to combat this. First, discrimination can originate in the nature of housing available on the market, which may not be suitable for certain types of individual, and as a result cannot be accessed by them. In this instance, discrimination relates to the supply of housing on the market (Part II). Second, discrimination can arise when housing is allocated if a property owner takes a discriminatory decision refusing to let or sell a property to an individual (Part III). Lastly, discrimination can arise during the occupation of housing. This can take the form of depriving someone of their housing by breaking, refusing to renew or not transferring a letting agreement or by eviction, or it can be through affecting the individual’s quality of life in the property through harassment or lack of access to basic service infrastructure (Part IV).

The European Network of Legal Experts in the Non-discrimination Field http://www.non-discrimination.net/

European Commission: DG Justice: Tackling discrimination http://ec.europa.eu/justice/discrimination/index_en.htm

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