Model Emergency Housing Legislation: Protecting the Right to Housing during COVID-19
This model emergency housing Act developed out of a body of work on the right to housing by the Open Society Initiative for Europe and the Open Society Justice Initiative. The advent of COVID-19 made more urgent the need to enforce the right to housing. People were directed to stay home at the same time that many lost the source of income that enabled them to pay for their home. Individuals and families in precarious living situations, or without housing at all, were particularly susceptible to the fast-spreading and often deadly virus. Some states responded by passing emergency relief measures, but others did nothing.
Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to protect the right to housing, the Justice Initiative formed a steering committee to develop a draft model housing Act. This model legislation is comprised of sample legal provisions that could be used to ensure the right to housing during the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis following it, and is intended to serve as a catalyst for comprehensive legislation to ensure that the right to housing is protected for all at this critical time.
Protecting the Right to Housing During the COVID-19 Crisis
This briefing paper highlights the patchwork approach that States across the world have taken in order to protect the right to housing during the COVID-19 crisis, and examines the need for more comprehensive emergency legislation to prevent evictions during a global pandemic.
Housing Groups Call on Governments to Adopt Comprehensive Legislation to Ensure Housing during COVID-19
The Open Society Justice Initiative and the Open Society Initiative for Europe have joined The Shift and a coalition of human rights groups in unveiling comprehensive model emergency legislation to protect the right to housing during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis.