Mobilising anti-discrimination law to defend housing rights in Europe: Socioeconomic disadvantage and the right to housing

Benito Sanchez, Juan Carlos [UCL]

This paper focuses on socioeconomic disadvantage as a significant source of inequality in the realm of housing. Taking into account international and European human rights law, as well as selected domestic systems, it will show how anti-discrimination law has a significant role to play in addressing socioeconomic inequalities in the field of housing. Part I will explore the notion of non-discrimination on the grounds of socioeconomic status. Part II will examine two specific mechanisms to incorporate socioeconomic considerations into anti-discrimination legislation: public sector equality duties, and the inclusion of socioeconomic disadvantage as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Part III brings the discussion further into the context of housing. The paper concludes by suggesting that anti-discrimination law can be mobilised to secure the effective exercise of the right to housing by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.