State of Housing Rights

The right to housing is not specifically included in the French Constitution, although it has been recognised as an "objective of constitutional value".

Paragraph 11 of the Preamble of the 1946 Constitution states that "All people who, by virtue of their age, physical or mental condition, or economic situation, are incapable of working, shall have the right to receive suitable means of existence from society". The law of 5 March 2007 institutes an enforceable right to housing.

At European level, France has signed and ratified the revised European Social Charter, accepted article 31 and has also ratified the Additional Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints (although it has not yet made a declaration enabling national NGOs to submit collective complaints for verification). France is also a signatory of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

At international level, France has ratified the ICESCR, which guarantees the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing (article 11).

Collective Complaints

In 2006, FEANTSA successfully made a collective complaint against France, denouncing a wide range of shortcomings resulting in violations of the right to housing in general and more specifically of the right of access to self-contained and adequate accommodation, and the right to housing of Roma populations and travellers in order to guarantee the right to housing for all and, in particular, for vulnerable populations, and to tackle the problem of homelessness.

On this subject see: Nicolas Bernard, “Le droit au logement dans la Charte Européenne Révisée: à propos de la condamnation de la France par le Comité Européen des Droits Sociaux”, Facultés Universitaires de Saint-Louis, Brussels, 2007

Other decisions of the Committee have subsequently condemned France for violations of the right to housing (see below.

For additional cases involving Roma communities, see European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) v. France (No. 64/2011) as well as the Council of Europe’s resumé of cases involving Roma.

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The possibility for every person to have adequate housing was recognised by the Constitutional Council as an "objective of constitutional value" on the basis of three principles:

the protection of the dignity of the human person against all forms of degradation (constitutional principle taken from the Preamble of the Constitution),
the nation shall provide the individual and the family with the conditions necessary for their development (para. 10 of the Preamble of the Constitution),
the nation shall guarantee to all, in particular to children, mothers and elderly workers, protection of their health, material security, rest and leisure. All people who, by virtue of their age, physical or mental condition, or economic situation, are incapable of working shall have the right to receive suitable means of existence from society (para. 12 of the Preamble of the Constitution).

The right to housing is affirmed by article 1 of the law of 6 July 1989 concerning relationships between tenants and landlords:

The right to housing is a fundamental right; it is exercised within the framework of the laws governing it.
The exercise of this right involves freedom of choice for everyone with regard to their housing due to the maintenance and development of a rental sector and a home-ownership sector open to all social categories.
No person may be refused rental accommodation on account of their origin, family name, physical appearance, sex, family situation, state of health, disability, morals, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union activities or membership or non-membership, whether actual or presumed, of an ethnic group, a nation, a race or a particular religion. (…)

And article 1 of the law of 31 May 1990 on the implementation of the right to housing:

"Guaranteeing the right to housing constitutes a duty of solidarity for the entire nation".
"Any person or family experiencing specific difficulties, in particular due to inadequate resources or living conditions, has the right to community support, subject to the terms set by this law, for access to adequate and self-contained housing or to maintain themselves therein, and to have a supply of water, energy and telephone services."

Article L. 115-1 of the Family and Social Action Code, created by the law of 29 July 1998 on measures to combat exclusion:

"The fight against poverty and exclusion is a national imperative based on respect for the equal dignity of all human beings and a priority for all the nation's public policies.
"It is intended to guarantee throughout French territory effective access for all to the fundamental rights in the fields of employment, housing, health protection, justice, education, training, culture, and of the protection of the family and children".

The law of 5 March 2007 establishing an enforceable right to housing enables those in sub-standard housing or on a long-term waiting list for social housing to assert their right to housing. The law establishes amicable settlement procedures and litigation options in the case of a violation of the law. The State is the guarantor of the right to housing:

The right to adequate and self-contained housing" referred to in article 1 of law no. 90-449 of 31 May 1990 concerning the implementation of the right to housing is guaranteed by the State to any person legally residing in French territory in permanent conditions defined by decree in the Council of State and who is unable to acquire or maintain such housing through his own means.
This right is exercised by amicable arbitration and then, if necessary, by litigation subject to the conditions and modalities set by this article and articles L. 441-2-3 and L. 441-2-3-1." (L. 300-1 of the Construction and Housing Code)

This law of 5 March 2007 introduces the notion of no return to the streets for any person sheltered in an emergency accommodation facility. This rule is included in article L. 345-2-3 of the Family and Social Action Code. Access to an accommodation facility is available at all times to any homeless person in a situation of medical, psychological or social distress. The law of 25 March 2009 sets out the right to social assistance for persons in such accommodation.

The housing of travellers is defined by the law of 5 July 2000, which requires communes with more than 5,000 residents to create reception areas and family sites.

Article 6, concerning public policy, of the law of 6 July 1989 on rental relationships sets out the obligation of the landlord to provide decent accommodation: the notion of decency was introduced by the law of 13 December 2000 and defined by a decree of 30 January 2002.

The law of 25 March 2009 on mobilisation for housing inserted a definition of unfit housing in article 4 of the law of 31 May1990:

"Unfit accommodation is defined as premises or installations that are used for residential purposes and are, by their nature, unsuitable for this use, together with accommodations whose condition, or that of the building in which they are located, exposes the occupants to clear risks to their physical safety or health."

The Public Health Code for insalubrity, lead poisoning and premises that are unfit for habitation, and the Construction and Housing Code for risks set out procedures for a right to accommodation during work to bring housing up to standard, or to rehousing if the housing cannot be made habitable.

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