There are no laws in Belgium that directly criminalise the fact of being homeless.  Belgian national laws and the regulations of certain municipalities do however include provisions that may have an impact on the daily life of homeless people.  Generally, the activities of homeless people (e.g. sleeping rough, silent begging) will not result in a penalty.  Some specific activities, such as aggressive begging or disturbing public order (e.g. through public nuisance, drinking, night noise and vandalism) may however be penalised.

Czech law does not define homelessness, nor does it directly aim to persecute homeless people.Criminal law is invoked only in the case of more serious offences. Therefore criminal law does not negatively impact the everyday lives of homeless people, with the exception of squatting,which is a criminal offence in the Czech Republic. Most of the activities of homeless people are therefore dealt with in administrative proceedings.Panhandling and drinking alcohol in public are prohibited by local regulations in certain areas of Prague, though sleeping rough is permitted.

From The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/21/welfare-reforms-appeal-challenges-benefits-cap-bedroom-tax

This report sets out to document the criminalization of homelessness in Canada by exploring the relationship between homeless persons – in particular, street youth - and law enforcement officials (both the police and private security). Drawing from over 240 interviews with street youth in Toronto in 2009, as well as a review of official statistics on Ontario Safe Streets Act tickets in Toronto over the past 11 years, we explore the ways in which homelessness has been criminalized through a law and order agenda.

http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/legal/homeless-mother-appeals-housing-waiting-list-ban/7002234.article

Source: Inside Housing

A homeless mother is appealing a landmark court decision allowing a local authority to use powers under the Localism Act to strike her off the housing register.

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing 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 housing finance 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

An Inside Housing article highlights family problems as a major trigger for youth homelessness in the UK.

Research by Homeless Link indicates of those young people approaching councils with homelessness applications, 44 per cent said their parents were no longer willing to house them, with 14 per cent saying a friend or relative would not accommodate them.

Start of the pilot project on promoting the protection of the right to housing-homelessness in the context of evictions

FEANTSA experts in association with the School of Law, NUI Galway and Human European Consultancy will lead a major EU-funded research project on evictions across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States.

"Being homeless is not a crime!" Call for action: International solidarity with homeless people in Hungary

We invite our friends all over the world to join our struggle against the criminalisation of homelessness in Hungary.

We invite our friends all over the world to join our struggle against the criminalisation of homelessness in Hungary.