The Supreme Court in R (on the application of Imam) (Respondent) v London Borough of Croydon (Appellant) [2023] UKSC 45 has unanimously held that general funding pressures are not an excuse for non-compliance with a local authority's duty under s193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 to provide suitable accommodation to a homeless individual.
Date: The complaint was registered on 3 April 2023.
Jurisdiction: Council of Europe – European Committee of Social Rights
Country: France
Legal basis: It concerns Articles 1 (the right to work), 11 (the right to protection of health), 30 (the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion), 31 (the right to housing) and E (non-discrimination) in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions of the revised European Social Charter.
Organised by Housing Rights Watch, Fundación Secretariado Gitano and Cáritas Española
28 September, Caixa Forum (Madrid) - 9.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.
Date of the decision: The Collective complaint was registered on 18 September 2023
Jurisdiction: Council of Europe – European Commitee of Social Rights
Country: France
Fondation Abbé Pierre and FEANTSA published their 8th annual Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe. This report reveals new estimates of the number of homeless people in Europe and draw a specific focus to the issue of unfit housing.
The war in the Ukraine has both highlighted and added to Europe’s ongoing housing emergency. This crisis is hitting the poorest households hardest, severely affected by soaring prices, as well as homelessness services, which have seen an increase in the number of their clients.
María José Aldanas, coordinator of Housing Rights Watch
Sonia Olea, human rights officer at Caritas Spain.
The Right to housing is guaranteed in the Spanish constitution (1978). Article 47 provides that one of the “guiding principles of social and economic policy” is the right of Spanish citizens to decent and adequate housing. These "guiding principles” do not receive the strong jurisdictional protection enshrined in the Constitution for "fundamental rights".
