Thematic Workshop: Protecting Vulnerable Tenants in The Private Rental Market

Friday 15 November 2019, (9:30 -17:00)

10:00-10:15 Introduction: The private rental sector in Europe - The role of European and International Instruments to defend tenants - The role of the EU: respect of the Art. 34 of the Charter of fundamental rights.

• María J. Aldanas (FEANTSA)

10:15-10:30 The need for private rented sector tenants to be able to raise proportionality defenses from a right to housing perspective.

• Juan Carlos Benito (Université Catholique de Louvain)

10:30-10:45 Recent progress in relation to the proportionality assessment in Ireland.

• Padraic Kenna (NUI Galway)

11:30-12:30 Rental Evictions as a cause of homelessness: The cases of United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium and Italy

• No fault evictions in the United Kingdom: Mark Jordan, University of Southampton Law School
• Suspending evictions without alternative accommodation in Spain: Sonia Olea, Advocacy team, Caritas Spain
• Interim measure issued by UN CESCR and a decision by a national judge on abusive rents in Belgium: Nicolas Bernard, Université Saint-Louis
• Situation of the private rental sector in Italy: Camilla Zamparini, Avocatto di Strada (FioPSD) 
• Other interventions about the situation in France (Marie Rothhahn, Fondation Abbé Pierre), the Netherlands (Joris Sprakel, Lawyer and Professor at the Hague University) and  Flanders (Joy Verstichele, Coordinator of the Flemish Tenant Platform)

• Hungary, Henrietta Dietz, Street Lawyers
• Slovenia, Milena Smit, Slovenia Tenants’ Association 
• Poland, Beata Siemieniako, Warsaw Tenants’ Union

15:30 Networking and progress sharing on the right to housing in this area: the way forward

You can read a summary of the meeting here.