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Hungary's "Petty Offence Act," adopted in November 2011 and in force since April 2012, gave the penal system the power to imprison individuals who were habitually residing in public spaces. According to the law, repeat offenders, or people who make a habit of habitually residing in a public space - in other words, the homeless - face increasingly severe fines, up to 500€, which can be converted into a maximum of 75 days in prison.

Human rights organisations, as well as groups in Hungary working with the homeless, such as A Város Mindenkié (the City is for All), began to mobilize following the law's adoption. On November 12th, Hungary's Constitutional Court struck down the portion of the Petty Offence law criminalising the habitual presence of rough sleepers in public spaces. According to the Court, homelessness is a social problem, the penal system should not address it through repression.

http://www.budapesttimes.hu/2012/11/16/anti-homeless-laws-sent-packing/

For more information visit The City is For All website or contact: balint.misetics@gmail.com

Background

The right to housing is one of the most basic human right ensuring human dignity.  It has been codified in a range of international and regional human rights instruments and many national constitutions and laws embody provisions of the right to housing. However, their concrete implementation remains unsatisfactory in many countries.

Mission statement

Housing Rights Watch is a European network of interdisciplinary groups of associations, lawyers and academics from various European countries who are committed to the promotion, protection and fulfillment of the right to housing to all. It seeks the realization of the right to every person to live in dignity and to have secure, adequate and affordable place to live. The network was set up in Cardiff in November 2008 in order to facilitate exchange and mutual learning among housing rights experts and advocates.

Objectives

• Share information on legislative and judicial initiatives (case-law database, judicial analysis, monitoring of normative outcomes);
• Support judicial proceedings at local, national and international level ;
• Monitor and intervene on the factual and systemic denial of  rights observed at various levels ; 
• Monitor the development of the housing situation from a rights-based perspective ;
• Support change in public policies at national and European level with the aim of better implementing the right to housing;
• Support the setting up of national networks on the right to housing across Europe.

Annual Conference

Contemporary Housing Issues in a Changing Europe - Galway, Ireland, 20 & 21 April 2012: EN  FR

Tools and Tips

NEW!  Leaflet on using the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights to access housing rights: English  francais  Greek  Italiano  Espagnol

A toolkit for understanding Housing Rights in Europe (October 2011) - The Importance of Litigation in Housing Issues (PPT)

Correspondents

Contact

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