The Right to housing is not constitutionally guaranteed, nor is it included in national law. However, local authorities have the right to allocate up to one in every four vacant dwellings in public housing to persons in need of housing. This excludes public housing designated as youth residences or elderly housing.
Under paragraph 59 of the Danish Public Housing Act, each municipality assesses whether a person is eligible for a dwelling on an individual basis and with respect to general administrative law principles, such as equality and objectivity. A decision made by local authorities in relation to housing under this paragraph cannot be appealed by any other administrative authority. Paragraph 80 in the Danish Social Service Act also obliges local authorities to provide temporary shelter if a person or family have lost their homes through no fault of their own, eg. in the case of fire. This right does not apply to those who are evicted, divorced, people living in insecure accommodation or in inadequate housing.
Paragraph 110 in The Danish Social Service Act is concerned with the right of the homeless. It is stated here that the local authorities are obliged to provide temporary shelter for homeless people with social issues such as addiction, psychological illnesses etc. This also counts for homeless citizens who already have a permanent home but are unable to use it relevantly.
In terms of the Council of Europe, Denmark has signed, but not yet ratified the Revised Charter and the Additional Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints.
