Summary

Pursuant to her mandate under Human Rights Council resolution 34/9, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Leilani Farha, visited France in April 2019 to identify positive outcomes and challenges with respect to the realization of the right to adequate housing.

The Special Rapporteur found that France had adopted several laws, policies and programmes intended to guarantee the right to adequate housing. The majority of individuals in France enjoy access to adequate housing. Furthermore, the country has a large social housing stock and has allocated substantial resources for housing benefits and emergency housing.

Despite these efforts, housing affordability has become a significant problem. In most metropolitan areas, there is an insufficient supply of social housing for those most in need. While the right to housing can be claimed, applicants who do so are often allocated housing only after several years. National law strictly prohibits discrimination in terms of access to housing, but many persons perceived as coming from the Arab world or Africa do experience such discrimination.

Informal settlements inhabited by Roma, migrants and other groups in vulnerable situations are often denied basic services and regularly subjected to forced evictions, in violation of human rights standards. Homelessness is increasing at a significant pace and there are too few emergency shelters and longer-term housing options for these groups. Refugees and migrants live in some of the most egregious conditions. There is a lack of units for independent living for persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur concludes her report with a call for immediate action and with several recommendations to ensure that the human right to adequate housing is fully enjoyed by all.