Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an ad equate standard of living, Miloon Kothari. Mission to Spain

Abstract

At the invitation of the Government of Spain, the Special Rapporteur visited the countryfrom 20 November to 1 December 2006. The general objectives of the mission were to examineand report on the status of realization of the right to adequate housing and other related rights inthe country, with particular attention to aspects of gender equality and non-discrimination; toengage in dialogues with the Government and civil society in their efforts to secure these rights;and to identify practical solutionsand best practices in the realization of rights related to themandate.In this report, the Special Rapporteur noteswith satisfaction that adequate housing isrecognized as a constitutional right in Spain and points to the positive steps that have been takenby the central and regional authorities in order to implement the right to adequate housing.Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur alsonotes that economic and financial factors,including widespread speculation, have had negative impacts on the right to adequate housing inSpain. Affordability and the lack of public housing stock, in particular rental housing, hasaffected large sectors of the population.One of the most significant elements of Spanish housing policy, compared to otherEuropean Union countries, is the priority givenduring the last decades to the homeownershipmodel through different instruments such astax policy and public housing. The SpecialRapporteur believes thatthe functioning of the market, the current homeownership model and itspossible negative impact on low-income housing options should be seriously reflected upon andnecessitates State intervention in the market.At the end of his report, the Special Rapporteur addresses a number of recommendationsthat he believes to be necessary to implement the constitutional and international obligations ofSpain. These recommendations include a comprehensive and coordinated national housingpolicy based on human rights and the protection of the most vulnerable as well as heavypenalization of practices such as“real estate mobbing”, corruption and discrimination in the realestate sector. The Special Rapporteur calls for immediate attention to be paid to particulargroups, including women, youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, Roma (gitano) communities, migrants and the homeless, and for ensuring justiciability of the right to adequatehousing.