BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
1 Title: The Housing and Construction Industry – Will New Measures Move Britain Forward
Names: Dr Francine Baker, London South Bank University
Email: bakerf@lsbu.ac.uk
Abstract: The United Kingdom's government has introduced a number of measures in 2011 and 2012
with the aim of promoting the construction industry, and ensuring adequate housing in the United
Kingdom. The paper will consider features of the following; the 'Get Britain Building' fund; the
'NewBuy Guarantee scheme'; and the 'Red Tape Challenge'; within the context of existing measures
and the new decentralised planning regime under the Localism Act 2011. A key tenet of the
government's Housing Strategy is its, apparently '£420 million', 'Get Britain Building' fund. The Get
Britain Building fund, launched on 21 November 2012 was encouraged by a coalition of organisations
from within the construction sector, the British Precast, the Builders Merchants Federation, the
Federation of Master Builders and the Modern Masonry Alliance, to create a new business
environment to help the UK construction industry. The strategy impacts on Northern Ireland, Scotland
and Wales, as well as on England.1 On the 11 March 2012 the UK Government formally announced
the 'NewBuy Guarantee scheme', whereby the Government guarantees part of a homebuyer's
mortgage, allowing them to take out much larger loans than they might otherwise be eligible for. The
new scheme is also supposed to boost the construction industry by up to 50,000 jobs if the guarantee
is fully used.2 In 12th January 2012 the UK government turned its Red Tape Challenge to a review of
over 200 building regulations that sets standards for the design and construction of buildings, and
construction related regulations on contracts. The goal is to increase and speed up the supply of
private rented and social housing without compromising on quality, security or sustainability.
The paper will evaluate the impact these strategies and measures may have on the provision on the
construction industry and housing, and whether or not it will make a difference to the country's
economic growth, and the quality of life of its residents.
Title: When are squatters likely to be militant? The regulation of residential squatting in
England and France
Names: Dr Jane Ball, Newcastle University
Email:jane.ball@newcastle.ac.uk
Abstract: Militant squatters protesting about their housing need have a peculiar status. Like Foucault's
madman, they might appear as lone voices telling truth to a capitalist society or they can be
stigmatized outsiders. Nonetheless, they can acquire social or property rights by political protest or
the passage of time, a rocky journey to becoming insiders in society.
This paper arises from observing a long tradition of protest against housing conditions by militant
squatters in France and elsewhere, but this is not so commonly seen in England. There are a series of
possible reason for this such as: housing crisis; a particular history of urbanisation and collective
action; and an economic view of their function, but there are legal factors too.
This paper looks first at the history of squatting and the development of the law - adverse possession
in England and prescription extinctive in France. This can allow for occupants of land to become the
rightful owners with the passage of time. Good faith is necessary to acquire title in France but not
England. This means that squatters in France and similar systems can never obtain title to land in this
way and must obtain satisfaction by political means. This paper thus reviews the transaction costs of
different kinds of regulation.
1
Grant Shapps welcomes overwhelming demand to Get Britain Building, 15 Feb., 2012, Communities and
Local Government, http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/2089674 last viewed 26 March 2012
2
Industry support grows for NewBuy Guarantee, 12 March 2012, Communities and Local Government,
http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/housing/2104857 last viewed 26 March 2012; 3 Housing and
construction champions announced, 8 Feb. 2012, Communities and Local Government
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/housing/2084753 last viewed 26 March 2012.
2 Title: Rights-based Housing and Social Supports for People with Intellectual Disabilities: Issues
for Policy and Practice in Ireland
Names: Michael Browne, PhD Research Fellow, Child and Family Research Centre,Department
of Political Science and Sociology, NUI Galway
Email:m.browne11@nuigalway.ie
Abstract: Firstly, the paper will explore briefly the key underlying rights-based principles of
providing integrated housing and related social supports to people with intellectual disabilities based
on the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and other selected
Human Rights instruments. The principles discussed will include in particular:
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Maximising individual capacity and potential through provision for supported decisionmaking
Independent living choices and options across the life-cycle
Meaningful participation in exploring housing options
Individually-tailored support services
Information and advocacy support
Equality and non-discrimination
Participation in cultural life
Community/neighbourhood integration
Secondly, the paper will look briefly at the existing integrated housing-social supports policy context
in Ireland as it applies to people with intellectual disabilities. Thirdly, it will point to existing research
evidence on the components of rights-basedhousing and related supports from the perspectives of
people with disabilities. The paper will set out some preliminary findings from a case study which
involved a research engagement with children/young people with an intellectual disability, their
families and service provider staff and will provide a brief discussion of their perceptions of housing
choice, options, the extent to which the social supports required for independent living are available
and accessible and the blocks/barriers that exist.
Finally, the paper will explore the following policy domains:
· An equitable and 'reasonable' allocation of State resources for rights- based housing and related
social supports for people with intellectual disability
· The balance between enhancing the 'natural' neighbourhood support system and providing external
supports
· Impact of a self-directed payments model of for housing supports for people with intellectual
disabilities
3 Title: "You can judge them on how they look… .” homelessness officers, medical evidence and
decision- making
Names: Joanne Bretherton, Caroline Hunter (University of York) and Sarah Johnsen (Herriot
Watt University)
Email: caroline.hunter@york.ac.uk
Abstract: Unusually in the international context (Fitzpatrick and Stephens, 2007), the landmark
Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 provided a set of justiciable 'rights' to homeless people and
imposed duties on local authorities to assist persons who met a set of criteria set out in the Act (the
current legislation is contained in the Housing Act 1996, Part 7). One of the criteria ("vulnerability")
often requires consideration of medical evidence. As the individuals assessing whether or not an
applicant is 'vulnerable', homelessness officers are key actors in decision-making. Homelessness
officers represent, as Bengtsson (2009) suggests of housing managers in the UK, classic examples of
Lipsky's (1980) 'street-level bureaucrats', in that they exercise discretionary power in the
interpretation of legal rules. In exercising this discretion they work in an environment that "can be
characterised as a space where law and alternative normative influences co-exist" (Halliday, 2004,
p.87). This paper examines the evidence from an empirical study of how decisions are made by
homelessness officers where medical evidence is involved. It explores how far officers assess the
"expert" medical evidence that is put to them, how far they rely on their own intuition and judgment
and the other factors which influence their ultimate decision.
Title: Independent Living by People with Disabilities: How to Square the Circle in Ireland?
Names: Lillian Buchanan, Disability Federation of Ireland Email: Lillianbuchanan@disabilityfederation.ie
Abstract: The Irish government's commitments to mainstreaming, whereby people with disabilities
are enabled to live independent, fulfilling lives, have been greatly strengthened by both the current
and the previous governments. The promise to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities is one piece of evidence. In addition there are national strategies, policy statements,
legislation and other international obligations that apply. At the same time Ireland's housing policy
has become progressively less ambitious as the housing bubble burst and the public purse shrank.
There is a large inventory of empty development housing built on spec and rapidly diminishing capital
funds for social housing. The Housing Service Executive has less and less money to fund supports
such as the personal assistants some people require to manage. Consequently, there is a real risk of
public commitments becoming empty promises. The paper will illustrate the dilemma with a case
study of the situation in a particular local authority area. The paper however explores reasons to be
optimistic, despite these adverse 'fundamentals'. The potential is examined for making progress in a
world where 'new build' AND 'new money' are not ready options. The paper considers how the
processes set up under the National Disability Strategy and those to be established under the National
Housing Strategy for People with Disabilities help to overcome the barriers to the cross-agency
working that is essential to get satisfactory outcomes for people. It also explores developments at
local level that are beginning to deliver effective collaboration. In addition the paper will assess the
prospects for independent living by investigating the impact of Budget 2012 on the sustainability of
the social infrastructure that supports people with disabilities in Ireland.
4 Title: The Role of Education and Academic Awards in identity formation: A examination of
Social Housing Professionals in Ireland
Names: Dr. Deborah Butler, Respond!
Email: Deborah.butler@respond.ie
Abstract: The nature of education and training that professionals in public sectors (such as social
housing) need to gain capacity and professionalism, is a complex and multifaceted area. The role
which academic qualifications may or not play in terms of career progression, life chances and
professional recognition is somewhat unclear. However, this lack of clarity can sometimes be
attributed to concepts such as a housing professional being new and often disputed among workers in
the public and private sector. Qualitative research into the culture and identity of occupational groups
involved in social housing provision and management in Ireland has been relatively scarce. Research
has concentrated, almost exclusively, on the individual involved in the housing construction and
output side of housing provision. This neglect is surprising given the importance of housing in
people's lives. This chapter examines the identities, experiences and education of those working in the
Irish social housing field. It explores how individuals utilise various forms of identity work to sustain
credible occupational identities, often in the face of considerable challenge from their academically
qualified colleagues (in the area of architecture and surveying and so on). It focuses on the importance
of communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation in allowing a coherent professional
identity to emerge. The centrality of caring and cared-for citizen is highlighted and the importance of
flexibility and responsiveness is noted, as social housing professionals struggle to care for their clients
within the highly bureaucratic system of local authority structures.
Title: Tenure: Ownership and Right to Occupy; Whose Home is it Anyway?
Name: Ray Cashell, Chair of Shelter Northern Ireland and Lecturer in Housing Studies,
University of Ulster
Email: r.cashell@btinternet.com
Abstract: The two key aspects of a home as “Shelter” are: That it provides Shelter; i.e. it protects
against weather and intrusion. And that it is secure; i.e. it cannot be taken away without very good
reason. The problem for most people in the world is that “owning” a home with these characteristics
cannot be afforded in cash terms. Almost everyone has to find an alternative arrangement; informal
insecure settlement with no title; charitable gift of shelter; rent; mortgage; inheritance. Each option
has a very different set of assumptions, processes and legal entitlements; and “ownership” as a label is
applied to the occupier in some cases but not others. This paper attempts to dissect current terms and
assumptions, still based on medieval relationships, and to suggest ways of moving forward to a more
rational set of definitions of ownership and right to occupy, so each person can have a secure home,
however that has been constructed and financed. The paper focuses on the ownership and occupation
of homes provided under government sponsored programmes for housing on these islands, but the
models have wider implications, especially as trends develop where Government sponsorship does not
necessarily imply Government funding or underwriting.
5 Title: The Problems and Possibilities of Mediation in Residential Housing Disputes
Names: Julian Sidoli del Ceno, Senior Lecturer in Law, Birmingham City University.
Email: julian.sidolidelceno@bcu.ac.uk
Abstract: This paper seeks to examine the theoretical issues behind the possible widespread
introduction of mediation in the settlement of residential landlord and tenant disputes. Adjudication
has been widely used in England and Wales since the statutory introduction of tenancy deposit
protection under the Housing Act 2004. Mediation, however, remains a rarity with few formal
avenues that residential landlords or tenants might go down. There has been scepticism about the
potential for mediation in this as in other areas of law. Concerns include the perceived inequality of
bargaining power and the seeming abandonment of absolute rights which mediation and compromise
imply. The latter point was famously raised by Owen Fiss in "Against Settlement" in 1984 and also
more recently by senior members of the English judiciary. However, it will argued that these
objections are not inherently insurmountable. To that end the concerns of those who consider
themselves mediation sceptics will be addressed by providing an alternative theoretical reading that
underpins the process. It will argue that many of the supposed objections to mediation are based on
false assumptions and a sometimes wrong-headed view of justice. The account presented will detail
an account of so-called ontological 'wellbeing' and describe a morality of aspiration. Finally, an
alternative account of justice will be presented that focuses less on abstract rights but rather on its
creative, transformative potential. The paper does not seek, however, to champion mediation in
residential landlord and tenant matters per se but merely to suggest that many of the standard
criticisms require further debate.
Title: Abusive Clauses in Mortgage Loan Contracts
Name: Ms. Celia Martinez-Escribano, University of Valladolid
Email: martinezescribano@yahoo.es
Abstract: In the last years, cases of abusive clauses in mortgage loan contracts have become
extremely frequent in Spain. In most of the cases, the debtor ignored them at the time of signing the
contract. But with economical crisis and the consequent difficulties to pay the loan, some of these
clauses came into force -for instance, high interest rates for delayed payments- and debtors became
conscious of their existence. In other cases - floor clauses-, low interest rates of the last years have
revealed the existence of these terms of the contract. When all these clauses have been known by the
debtors, they refused to accept them. These clauses were imposed by the banks in the contracts.
Consumers associations denounced such situations, and claims on these matters started to appear in
the courts. With this landscape, several reflections from a legal point of view must be considered.
Consumers' protection is not provided in a satisfactory way in this field, and some measures must be
adopted. Courts hold that these clauses are void, but the solution must be found in a former step,
perhaps at the time of signing the contract or even through external controls. For instance, the Land
Registry, where the mortgage must be registered, could play a relevant role to prevent abuses.
According to these ideas, the purpose of this paper is to examine the current problems related to
abusive clauses in Spanish mortgage loan contracts and to propose measures that contribute to
improve the situation. As a result, the existence of abusive clauses in this kind of contracts could be
reduced.
6 Title: From Ladders to Snakes: Housing poverties in contemporary Ireland
Names: Joe Finnerty and Cathal O'Connell
Email: j.finnerty@ucc.ie
Abstract: The typical or idealised housing pathway in Ireland has been commonly described as a
ladder (on which e.g. newly-forming household gets on to the first 'step' of house purchase). {A
variant on this imagery suggests a tenure pyramid or hierarchy,with the rental tenures at the base and
owner occupation at the apex (DoECLG, 2011)}. The combination of the global 2008 'credit crunch'
and the bursting of the Irish housing bubble is likely to have significant, albeit varying, impacts on
those at varying steps on this ladder, with the likelihood of a reversal of trajectory for many
households. Of particular interest in such downward trajectories, or 'snakes' (Room 2000; Elphicke,
2008), over the coming years will be the scale and impact of house repossessions on households in the
owner-occupied tenure. Proposed research on this topic would highlight the nature of owneroccupation in a risk society, but also the impact of various buffers, from legally enshrined rights to
housing, to voluntary or statutory codes of mortgage institutions and mortgage interest relief, to rent
supplements and the workings of the private and social rental tenures, on the workings of the Irish
housing 'snake'.
Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government (2011) Housing Policy Statement.
www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/PublicationsDocuments/FileDown
Load,26867,en.pdf
Elphicke, N. (2008) 'The Impact of the Recession: Rising House Prices in the UK'
www.socialsituation.eu/workshop-presentations/housing-april2009/Housing%20seminar%20final_NElphicke.pdf
Room, G. (2000),'Trajectories of Social Exclusion' in Gordon, D. and P. Townsend (eds.) (2000),
Breadline Europe (Bristol: Policy Press).
Title: The Right to Housing and the Right to Support in International Human Rights Law
Names: Noelin Fox, NUI Galway.
Email: n.fox1@nuigalway.ie
Abstract: Two of the key elements in achieving the right to independent living is having access to the
same types of housing as other citizens and access to supports needed to enable people live in their
own homes. The CRPD desc ribes independent living as the right to choose where and with whom to
live, having the supports needed to live and participate in community and not being obliged to live in
any particular living arrangement. In addition, the CRPD specifies the right of people with disabilities
to an adequate standard of living and social protection. At the same time the right to adequate housing
and to social security are recognized human rights in the ICESCR and are further detailed on the
general comments. The non discrimination principle inherent in all international; human rights
instruments dictates that all human rights be applied without discrimination of any sort and in the case
of disabled people this includes not just direct and indirect discrimination, but also the refusal of
reasonable accommodation. The CRPD is a ground breaking development as it specifies what is
required to make human rights real for disabled people. It confers no new rights but rather explicates
how all universally recognized human rights can be ensured for disabled people. This paper will
analyse the interaction between the right to independent living and to an adequate standard of living
and social protection arising from the CRPD and the right to adequate housing and to social security
arising for the ICESCR. It will in particular, examine the implications of the non discrimination
mandate and the concept of substantive equality present in these instruments, for the realization of
these rights for people with disabilities. Finally it will explore what obligations are placed on
government in terms of legislation, policy and practice in housing and social security systems to give
effect to these rights.
7 Title: The role of Land Use Law and Housing regulations in Spain and the States in a
comparative Perspective: The new administrative law after the crisis
Names: María Luisa Gomez-Jimenez, Málaga University and Visiting Researcher CES
Harvard
Email:fpmlgomez@gmail.com
Abstract: The aftermath of the crisis Ireland and Spain and the lessons we can learn from it are
connected to the specific existing regulations (connected to housing rights definition).
The case of Study of Spain and Ireland and its comparison to the States are relevant to determine
weather regulation can impact negatively in the process of crisis recovery.
The example is clear when coming to the definition of housing rights of specific groups of population
and their limitations to gain equal chances to housing opportunities. Therefore, is significant the
emergence of a new administrative law which can be aimed to provide new tools to fight against this.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that the trends for this new Administrative Law are common in whole
Europe, these should be described in a different way, taking into account, the description of different
scenarios in which the measures are enacted. This paper focuses in the comparative analysis of these
tools and the relevant role of regulation in the response of a situation of an economic crisis in Spain in
a comparative perspective.
Title: Achieving Successful Social Regeneration - what lessons have been learned?
Names: Dr Rory Hearne, Dolphin House Regeneration
Email: roryhearne@gmail.com
Abstract: Much of the regeneration literature documents regeneration trends across Europe where
urban renewal aims at improving the quality of housing and environment and achieving social
transformation through relocation of poor populations. This paper departs from that and instead
focuses on the role of social interventions in achieving successful regeneration. The paper appraise a
number of social regeneration plans implemented in disadvantaged social housing estates in Ireland. It
analyses the aims of the plans and assesses the key themes addressed by the plans and what outcomes
were achieved. It questions to what extent addressing poverty is to be achieved through social mixing
or interventions and what role state bodies (at local and central government) and community and
voluntary organisations have played. It also investigates the impact of recent austerity budgets on
areas of social regeneration such as education, policing, estate management, community development.
Finally it puts forward some suggestions for developing social regeneration initiatives in the context
of a much tighter economic climate that have emerged from the work in a regeneration project in
Dublin's inner city. Dr. Rory Hearne is a regeneration co-ordinator in the Dolphin House estate where
he is working with the Rialto Rights In Action Project to implement a Human Rights Based
Approach. He has been working and researching in the area of social housing, regeneration and
political economy for over 10 years and is author of Public Private Partnerships in Ireland
(Manchester University Press).
8 Title: Realising housing rights in practice: the experience of local authority tenants in Dublin's
inner city
Names: Rory Hearne, Dolphin House Regeneration
Email: roryhearne@gmail.com
Abstract: Tenants in the Dublin City Council local authority apartment complex in Dublin's inner
city adopted have been enduring substandard housing conditions for decades. In 2009 local
community workers and tenants came together to implement a human rights based approach to
attempt to bring about an improvement in the conditions. This paper details the process of community
organisation of the tenants - how they were engaged, undertook much of the process themselves and
managed to achieve significant progress. For part of this paper the tenants outline, in their own words,
their experience of the human rights approach. The paper also analyses the failures at state and private
market level to address these conditions. Particular focus is placed on estate level management,
neoliberal housing policies, and regeneration Public Private Partnerships. The paper investigates the
impact of the recent change in government and what potential remains for tenants, communities and
other housing practitioners to influence housing policy in a more radical fashion.
Title: Crafting a Right to Housing in Europe: Three Interpretational Weaknesses
Names: Dr. Jessie Hohmann, University of Cambridge
Email:jessie.hohmann@gmail.com
Abstract: A human right to housing represents the law’s most direct and overt protection of housing
and home. Unlike other human rights, through which the home incidentally receives protection and
attention, the right to housing raises housing itself to the position of primary importance. The right
offers possibilities for reimagining the contours of social citizenship across Europe, responding to
challenges of poverty, marginalisation and inequality. However, legal interpretations of the right to
housing have, so far, failed to answer the vexed questions about the right’s content, meaning, scope,
and – ultimately – its potential to alleviate the human suffering and misery attendant on the violation
of human rights. This paper analyses three major interpretational ‘gaps’ or weaknesses in the legal
interpretation of the right across regimes and jurisdictions. First, there is a lack of definitional
specificity in the right, such that any stable definition of the right, and more importantly, any clarity
with regards to state obligations under it, is difficult to locate. It is, ultimately, difficult to say what
the right to housing is and thus what can be claimed in its name. Second, the interpretation of the
right is overly procedural, even programmatic in nature, privileging means at the expense of ends.
Finally, on the whole, the jurisprudence and interpretive statements lack adequate connection with the
circumstances of suffering that constitute the actual violation of the right, such that the legal
interpretation of the right to housing remains at a level of abstraction from actual questions of
homelessness, forced displacement and inadequate living conditions. Using illustrations from the
cases and interpretative statements emanating from European human rights instruments, this paper
argues that the three failures represent serious weaknesses in the legal right to housing. It then turns
to consider the possibilities of the right beyond its current interpretation.
9 Title: Rethinking Regulation of the Home: Legal Rights and Policy Choices
Names: Nicholas Hopkins and Emma Laurie, Law School, Faculty of Business and Law
University of Southampton
Email: nph1@soton.ac.uk
Abstract: The British approach to legal regulation of the home has traditionally drawn a clear
distinction between owner-occupation, on the one hand and renting, on the other. The central
argument of this paper is that even if this dichotomous approach was ever appropriate, it no longer
represents an adequate way to regulate the increasingly complex legal relationships between people
and their homes. Our position is not that all homes should be regulated in the same way but, instead,
that differences must be objectively justified, rather than being based simply on out-dated tenure
classifications. The paper draws on European comparative research to provide a context in which to
challenge tenure distinctions as they have developed in the UK. The paper will first deconstruct the
meaning of "owner" and "renter" to distinguish between differences that are inherent in the legal
relationships between people and their homes and those which represent policy choices that have been
'layered' on top. In doing so, we seek to expose both the limited extent of the inherent legal
differences and the heterogeneity that exists within each of these tenures. This analysis will then be
set in the broader context of the factors that have led owner-occupation to dominate the British
housing market. We seek to chart how the growth of home ownership has developed alongside the
ideology of being a home owner, and how the British fascination with ownership has affected
attitudes to renting and, as a consequence, government policies towards regulation of the landlordtenant relationship. In light of the global financial crisis which has required the British government to
reassess its housing policies, we will question whether we have entered a post-home ownership era in
which it is now imperative to re-evaluate the approach to regulation of the home.
Title: Articles 16 and 31 of the Revised European Social Charter: A Question of Synergy?
Names: Mark Jordan, Law School, NUI Galway Email: markjordan@live.ie
Abstract: This paper concerns the right to housing under the Revised European Social Charter
(RESC) and, in particular, seeks to explore the relationship between Articles 16 and 31 of the RESC
as outlined in the annual reports and in particular the ERRC V Greece Complaint No. 15/2003. The
paper will examine the potential for development of this relationship via the collective complaint
mechanism. The paper will also consider how the principle of legitimacy offers a framework for
understanding the parameters of the right to housing under the RESC. The paper begins with an
examination of the right to housing as set out in Article 16 of the European Social Charter and Article
31 of the RESC. The analysis will focus upon the operation and development of the right to housing
as evidenced through the reporting mechanism and more progressively, via the collective complaint
mechanism, taking particular heed of the decision in the FEANTSA v France Complaint 39/2006. The
paper then goes on to consider the synergy between Articles 16 and 31 by isolating consubstantial
elements present within the two articles before going on to consider how the principle of legitimacy
could potentially frame the parameters on this relationship. The paper concludes with a consideration
of how this relationship could potentially develop via the collective complaint mechanism and in
particular considers the issue of participation within the concept of adequacy.
10 Title: Housing, rights, and independent living for people with disabilities in Kenya
Names: Elizabeth Kamundia, National University of Ireland Galway
Email: e.kamundia1@nuigalway.ie
Abstract: Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is on
living independently and being included in the community. This topic has not been explored much in
Kenya; however, there are several reasons to do so. First, the issue touches on core human rights such
as equality and the inherent dignity of persons. Second, using the statistics provided by the World
Bank/World Health Organisation World Report on Disability, 2011, and the Kenya Census 2009,
Kenya would have a population of at least 5.8 million people with disabilities, most of who live with
their families but without the necessary supports to ensure their participation and inclusion in the
community. Third, there does exist a legal framework to provide sufficient basis to explore
independent living and living in the community in Kenya. Kenya is a signatory to the CRPD and by
dint of Article 2(6) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010; the CRPD is part of Kenyan law. The Persons
with Disabilities Act of Kenya does not have a specific reference to independent living, however,
various sections of the Act contain aspects that are directly tied to independent living. This paper
looks at Article 19 in that context, with a background of the cultural setting of Kenya, through the lens
of progressive realization of social economic rights, that are anchored in the Constitution of Kenya,
2010 and with regard to Africa's contribution on Article 19 during the negotiations of the CRPD.
Title: The Role of Brownfields as sites for mixed use development projects in America and
Europe
Names: Prof. Jan G. Laitos & Teresa Abel, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law,
USA
Email: jlaitos@law.du.edu
Abstract: Many communities around the world are rethinking future growth of metropolitan
regions. Instead of creating land use regimes that bring about traditional segregated uses and spatially
divided development patterns, urban zoning and planning can instead be deployed to promote both
sustainability and affordability by permitting and encouraging integrated uses. Such “mixite,” or
mixed use development, is a land-use concept that focuses on creating urban core areas where people
are not functionally separated from what they do, or from different economic classes. Rather, these
spaces are where the inhabitants can (1) live, work, shop, and play, without daily use of an
automobile, and (2) comingle with individuals who may be of different socio-economic strata,
including people who are older, with disabilities, or even living in poverty. The implementation of
mixite themed planning requires urban space that is largely free of pre-existing uses. Such spaces
exist within urban settings in the form of brownfields, greenfields, greyfields, and
redfields. Brownfields are lands that have the potential to be redeveloped as mixed use development,
but the lands have been adversely affected by prior uses – the land may be, and usually is,
contaminated, idled, or derelict. Greenfields are uncontaminated, rural suburban sites. Greyfields
include moribund shopping centers and vast, empty parking lots. Redfields consist of
underperforming, financially underwater, or foreclosed commercial real estate. Mixed use spaces
seem most likely to arise in locations that previously had been considered contaminated brownfield
sites. Indeed, in America and in the United Kingdom, brownfield sites are increasingly being
transformed into sites where much needed integrated uses can emerge, providing housing for those
who otherwise might not have affordable residences. This presentation focuses on the legal barriers to
and social benefits of brownfield development in America and Europe as a way of creating urban
mixed use spaces.
11 Title: The Consumer Protection Code 2012 and the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears: The
Irish Regulatory Response in Perspective
Names: Karen Lynch-Shally, School of Law, NUI Galway
Abstract: Mortgage markets were at the epicentre of the global financial upheaval which erupted in
2007. The economic and social ramifications of the crisis have given rise to a change in the trajectory
of global mortgage policy. In a pre-crisis context, competitiveness was identified as a mechanism
through which to secure consumer protection objectives and, consistent with the impetus towards
financial inclusion, enhanced market access was an overriding policy objective. The crisis has
however, exposed weakness in the theory of rational and efficient markets, upon which the
contemporary de-regulatory approach had been premised, highlighted the contagion potential of
integrated markets and emphasised the distinction between the concepts of accessibility and
affordability in a mortgage credit context. In response to evidence of deficits in market stability and
sustainability emphasis has been placed on mortgage underwriting practices and consumer protection
frameworks as key components of market reform. Inevitably, the nature of the regulatory response has
varied across national markets reflecting the idiosyncrasies of individual markets and the varying
social and economic impacts of the crisis. In an Irish context, the statutory framework for mortgage
market participants has undergone a significant transformation with the introduction of a Code of
Conduct on Mortgage Arrears and a revised Consumer Protection Code. Whilst the former is
specifically focused on implementing a framework for dealing with cases of arrears and pre-arrears
the Consumer Protection Code 2012 delineates the conduct of business parameters for the mortgage
sector with effect from 1st January 2012. This paper examines the contents of the Codes with
reference to evolving International benchmarks and the Draft EU Directive on Credit Agreements
relating to Residential Property.
Title: The Concept of Adequate Housing in Human Rights Law
Names: Dr. Neil Maddox, Barrister-at-law, Department of Law, NUI Maynooth
Email: neil.maddox@nuim.ie
Abstract: The “right to be housed”, such as it is, in international human rights law is, as with many, if
not all, rights found in the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, not a guarantee that the
State expend unlimited resources to provide individuals with luxurious accommodation. It is, instead,
focused on the concept of adequacy since its inclusion in the UDHR in 1948. This goes beyond the
minimal notion of shelter to encompass such matters as tenure, availability of services, affordability,
habitability, accessibility, location and cultural adequacy. In an Irish context issues of security of
tenure (for example under s.62 of the Housing Act 1966), and the cultural adequacy of
accommodation (in the context of providing fixed accommodation to nomadic groups by way of
social housing) has led to considerable legal debate as to the compatibility of Irish legal and policy
norms with Human Rights Instruments, both domestic, regional and international. This paper
examines the concept of adequate housing in International Human Rights law, then examines the
domestic debate as to the right to adequate housing in light of this. It seeks to set out a formula so that
the core minimum standard of the right can be ascertained in any given context.
12 Title: Housing and Homelessness in Brussels: paradigm changes and public policies
Names: Lucie Martin, SMES-B (Mental Health & Social Exclusion)
Email: lucie.martin1@gmail.com
Abstract: Despite being rated as one of the richest capital of Europe, Brussels is paradoxically
confronted by high levels of poverty. Indeed, the population of the city does not benefit from the
wealth that is being produced. Unemployement is highly spread, social inequalities are growing and
the phenomenon of homelessness is increasing. One of the correlative difficulties that precarious
populations must face is housing: affordable accomodation is scarce and the needs for social housing
is exploding. While opinions converge on the final objective of public policies concerning the
homeless issue, namely finding back accomodation, they differ on the way and on the agenda needed
to reach these objectives. Whereas the idea of the "continuum of care" and "scale approach" (system
of emergency shelter/transitionnal housing progressions) is widely spread, we have seen, through their
critics, the emergence of another approach based on accomodation as the start for recovery, well
known as "housing first". Even if this approach is still at an embryonnage stage in Brussels, the city
shows yet a growing interest in the matter. In this context, this contribution would try to analyse the
uniqueness of Brussels's regional characteristics. It includes, among others, the articulation of the
diverse social action paradigms that drive the homeless sector, their particular formation and the
obstacles they have to overcome. As a consequence, we would like to examine the stakes generated
by this specificity: how a cross-cutting sector that defines its public by "the lack of housing" questions
the link between housing/accomodation policies and homelessness, as well as the formation of the
political measures towards different targuet groups. This investigation would allow us to look at the
paradoxes of an extremely politicized associative sector that historically failed to place the question
on the political agenda and which is surprisingly neglected by politics. These are then essentential
questions when we consider changes in contemporary housing and homeless issues.
Title: Public Interest Law and Regeneration: The Case of Ballymun Community Law Centre –
Connecting the Dots through Community Economic Development
Names: Maria Antonieta Nestor, Trinity College Dublin
Email: nestorma@tcd.ie
Abstract: Regeneration efforts in Ireland and the involvement of public interest law are best
exemplified by the urban renewal efforts of Ballymun and most recently Limerick. It is possible to
find that because of regeneration, access to legal aid services has become part of
development/regeneration agenda rather than an access to justice one. Looking at access to justice and
the provision of legal aid services under a much wider approach aimed at combating poverty and
social exclusion rather than from a pure legal stance suggests that law becomes part of a myriad of
efforts that, as a whole, interact to address issues of poverty and empower local communities,
prompting the practice of community economic development (CED) law/lawyering to come to the
fore. In Ireland, although the development of CED, particularly CED law/lawyering, has been
influenced by the community law centre movement and the search for alternative options to the
statutory civil legal aid scheme, urban revitalization efforts such as regeneration of affordable housing
has also meant that the revitalization of low-income communities is taking a central stage in "our
version" of CED law/lawyering. This paper therefore is aimed at finding how CED law and CED
lawyering is practiced in Ireland by examining the case of Ballymun Community Law Centre arguing
that public interest law and regeneration efforts can be connected through the further development of
CED.
13 Title: A Human Property Right? The Impact of Article 8 European Convention of Human
Rights on Repossession of the Home
Names: Sarah Nield, School of Law University of Southampton
Email: s.a.nield@soton.ac.uk
Abstract: The decisions of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in Manchester cc v Pinnock
[2010] UKSC 45 and Hounslow LBC v Powell [2001] UKSC 8 recognise the possibility of a human
rights based protection to occupiers facing repossession of their home. This protection springs from
the developing jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 8 of the European
Convention of Human Rights (Respect for the Home and Family Life), which is incorporated into
domestic English law by the Human Rights Act 1998. This jurisprudence recognises that home is not
defined or limited by recognised property rights but by the "sufficient and continuing" links that an
occupier enjoys with the place in which they live. Furthermore, it acknowledges that the exercise of
legal rights to repossession of an individual's home is an extreme interference with respect for the
home and thus must be justified (in both substance and process) and be proportionate in its effect.
This paper explores the emerging jurisprudence at the interface between human rights and proprietary
rules governing repossession. It does so by identifying the reach and content of the challenges that this
emerging jurisprudence presents to property rules governing possession of the home and the processes
by which those rules are enforced through possession proceedings. The first set of challenges looks to
those who are subject to an Article 8 duty to show respect for the home under the Human Rights Act
1998 and the growing influence of State's positive duties to ensure a compatible legal framework. The
second set of challenges marks the shift in emphasis from property rights to subjective personal
connections that an occupier enjoys with their home and the characterisation of repossession as a
potential violation of respect for the home rather than a positive vindication of property rights. The
third set of challenges considers how repossession can be justified at the macro level of policy and the
micro level of its proportional impact upon the particular victim. Within this enquiry the importance
of process is critical with the need for judicial discretion to assess proportionality presenting a direct
challenge to mandatory grounds for possession which inevitably colours the nature of property rights
themselves. Finally the paper considers the fundamental challenge presented by the shifting balance
between the certainty of impersonal property rules and individually orientated discretion to raise the
prospect of a human rights based home protection characterised not as a traditional property right but
as a flexible acknowledgement of the vulnerable status of the particular home occupier.
14 Title: The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilites: Exploring the Synergy
Between Article 12 (legal capacity) & Article 19 (independent living)
Names: Sinead O’Donnell & Charles O’Mahony, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI
Galway
Email:c.omahony3@nuigalway.ie
Abstract: The UN Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (2006) is driving a
worldwide law reform programme as State Parties to the Convention seek to bring their law and
policy in line with their commitments under international human rights law. This paper will critically
examine the synergy between Article 12 on legal capacity and Article 19 on t h e right to live in
dependently within the community. The synergy between these two articles is that in order t o live
independently in the community everyone needs to be recognised as having legal ca p a c it y .
Equally independent living allows for the facilitation of and the growth of legal capacity. The
opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to live in dependently has historically been denied to
persons with disabilities who have been perceived to lack legal capacity, a presumption that has
resulted in segregation. This paper will consider the potential of the UN Convention to remove
barriers that block persons with disabilities from participating and living independently in the
community on an equal basis with everyone else. The paper will go on to consider the approach of the
UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in its initial response to State Parties
Reports, focusing on their comments in respect of Articles 12 and 19. The paper will also explore the
interplay between what appear to be civil and political rights contained in Article 12 and socioeconomic rights contained in Article 19. This exploration of civil and political and socio - economic
rights is crucial as civil and political rights require State Parties to take immediate action to comply
with their obligations, while socio -economic rights are subject to the notion of "progressive
realisation".
Title: Housing in the constitutional context: a comparative study
Names: Ms. Michelle L. Oren, Prof Rachelle Alterman, Technion - Israel Institute of
Technology
Email: mlleoren@technion.ac.il
Abstract: The field of comparative law is an old practice and a very young discipline. We study
foreign constitutions because they enable us to know better our own legal system and its moral order.
In a multidisciplinary approach we may look at foreign constitutions to know more about the
meaning, as it can be implicitly read in the text and how that meaning shifts with changes in the
political structure or cultural norms. This paper is part of a larger comparative study of the right to
housing as reflected in national constitutions. In the paper we shall present a content analysis of over
60 of the world's constitutions, looking at housing related articles and questioning to what measure
interpretations of the meaning of housing, both by general comment No.4 of the International
Covenant of Social Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR) and accumulated knowledge of housing
studies, have been incorporated into this type of legislation.
15 Title: Penalizing social housing: housing exclusion meets criminality.
Names: Cory Potts, policy researcher at FEANTSA, Fulbright research scholar (2011-12) in
Belgium studying Criminology.
Email: willcorypotts@gmail.com
Abstract: I met "George" in a Seattle park in 2010. George had been recently denied aide from
Capitol Hill Housing, a Seattle non-profit that claims to help the recently homeless find affordable
housing. Aide was withheld, according to the association, because George had been convicted of firstdegree trespassing. George's criminal conviction was the result, however, of his homelessness: he had
"trespassed" on a Seattle public park at midday, the same park from where he had been banned for
camping. But violating a ban is trespassing in Seattle, a crime. George violated his ban trying to get
back to his camp in the park, which in turn made George a criminal, which in turn prevented George
from finding a home. This is an example of criminalization, with an ironic twist in store for the
homeless--who are criminalized because homeless and remain homeless because criminalized. In this
paper, I explain the notion of security behind Seattle's law enforcement schemes and housing policies.
Next, I take up Wacquant's (1999) thesis, which is that the United States has been exporting security
as a law enforcement strategy to Europe since the early 1990s. Through its affects on the homeless
and housing, I follow the notion of security first in England, where social landlords may evict tenants
who receive Anti-Social Behavioral Orders, and on to Belgium, where receiving an administrative
sanction may trigger an applicant's removal from the social housing register.
Title: Landlords, Neighbours and Misbehaving Tenants: Dispute Resolution Mechanisms under
the Residential Tenancies Act 2004
Names: Dr Áine Ryall, Faculty of Law, University College Cork
Email: a.ryall@ucc.ie
Abstract: A neighbour living in close proximity to a rented dwelling may be disturbed by a tenant's
actions including noise nuisance, threatening and intimidating behaviour or other 'anti-social' activity.
Prior to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA), any such neighbour had limited avenues of
redress where a tenant, whose behaviour was interfering with their use and enjoyment of their
property, refused to act reasonably. The RTA overhauled the regulation of private rented tenancies
and included specific provisions designed to provide remedies for neighbours of troublesome tenants.
In particular, RTA section 15 imposes a duty on the landlord to enforce the tenant's obligations under
the tenancy in favour of any person who could be potentially affected by the tenant's behaviour.
Where the landlord has allegedly breached this obligation, an aggrieved person may refer a complaint
to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). The PRTB was established under the RTA and, in
addition to various other statutory functions, is the body charged with resolving disputes between
landlords and tenants in the private rented sector. A comparative study of how other jurisdictions deal
with anti-social behaviour (commissioned by the PRTB and published in 2007) found that Ireland was
unique among the jurisdictions studied in making special provision for anti-social behaviour disputes
in the private rented sector. This paper examines RTA section 15 and provides a critical analysis of
the case law on alleged tenant misbehaviour that has emerged from the PRTB since it began dealing
with disputes in 2004. It concludes that there is limited awareness of section 15 and that the
convoluted, multi-layered dispute resolution process established under the RTA fails to deliver
effective remedies in this context. At a more general level, the close analysis of this particular aspect
of the RTA reveals a series of fundamental problems with the regulatory system governing private
residential tenancies in Ireland, including legislative complexity, lack of awareness of rights and
obligations, unacceptable delays in the dispute resolution process and, above all, the difficulties
involved in enforcing orders made by the PRTB.
16 Title: "The sale of housing stock and unfair competition from new sale professionals"
Name: Dr. Inmaculada Sánchez Ruiz de Valdivia, University of Granada
Email: inmasan@ugr.es
Abstract: In times of crisis that, at present, we are living in Spain and around the world, the sale of
housing stock becomes one of the most serious problems facing undoubtedly the buyer and the seller.
The large number of properties sometimes paralyzed in the hands of the promoters or promotersbuilders (in the vast majority of cases, SMEs) and in the hands of banks and savings banks now
become the new sales professionals, sentence purchasers of homes with zero defects to buy homes or
limited guarantees in question. Starting TRLCU Article 149, a provision that allows the injured party
(buyer- user-) obtain compensation for certain damages other than those included in the liability
regime of Article 17 of the Law on Management of Building-material damage to assets own property
other than private and personal injury - gives no right to compensation for all damages resulting from
the broad concept of ruin defined by the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on section 1591 liability ex
CC- among others, moral damages and damages materials business assets. For repair the injured
should go to general contract and tort liability of the Civil Code, the exercise of the art. 128, 2 nd
paragraph, except TRLCU leaves anyway. Through this communication we will try to determine what
can a home buyer purchases a home defects to zero guarantees and how they are now regarded banks
and savings banks in launching their products making it a clear competitive properties to the
promoter. We aim to clarify whether these "new professional sellers" did not think the Planning Act
or the Building or the case law can be passive subject of the action of art. 149 of the Revised General
Act for the Protection of Consumers and Users. An action that, as we enter a regime of strict liability
of the builder and promoter, both professionals, for damages caused by defects in the home when they
are not recoverable under a specific legal regime contained in art. 17 LOE.
Title: Ruling Discourse on Social Housing: Dutch Government vs the European Union
Names: Els Sol, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute, School of Law
Email: c.c.a.m.sol@uva.nl
Abstract: During a very long period of time there have been discussions and negotiations between the
Dutch government and the European Commission on the service of social housing. Deployment of the
discussions were the financing arrangements/aid measures that the housing associations claimed,
which might under the EU ruling be or not be considered state aid as defined by European law. This
discussion on state aid between the Netherlands and Europe started in 2002, when the Dutch
government submitted out of free will to the Commission a draft of a new Housing Act for
notification. The draft includes the existing aid measure for housing corporations. According to
Minister Dekker of Housing, Communities and Integration, the government's intention was to receive
a legal decision of 'no state aid' from the Commission. When it became clear that no new Housing Act
was forthcoming and official contacts confirmed that it probably anyway concerned existing aid,
which does not need a notification, the government withdrew the notification related to the Housing
Act. However at that same moment, the Commission started an investigation to see if the aid is indeed
state aid in the sense of Article 107 TFEU. And in July 2005 the Commission announces his
preliminary position as a result of its investigation. The Commission did not accept the existing
financing of housing corporations. Despite the provisional standpoint in this letter, the message hit the
Dutch social housing world like a bomb. The final exemption decision announced on 15 July 2009,
however, made it clear that the Commission places strict requirements on this financing. The letter of
July is one of the high points in a dispute that started in 2002 and is still going on. By means of
European rules on state aid and social housing the casus of the Netherlands versus the European
Union and the consequences for social housing are clarified in the paper.
17 Title: Property and Power in the English Countryside: The case of housing
Names: Peter Somerville, University of Lincoln
Email: p.somerville@lincoln.ac.uk
Abstract: This paper argues that, in spite of huge social changes over the course of the 20th century,
fundamental relations of class and power in rural England have retained the same form, based on
landownership. The countryside continues to be dominated by landowners, who now include large
numbers of nouveaux riches, while the landless (and carless) find it increasingly difficult to access
housing, employment and basic services and amenities. Landowner dominance is maintained not only
by the rule of private property and property markets, but also by a state planning system that is
heavily biased towards landowning classes and against the poor. The position is complicated,
however, because the social forces involved play out in different ways in different rural areas. It may
even be that there is no such thing as 'the rural housing question' (Satsangi et al, 2010) but rather a
multiplicity of questions that need to be answered.
Title: A Vision of Equality – What might Housing tenures look like in the future?
Names: Camile Loftus, Research and Policy Analyst, Focus Ireland, Eli McMahon,
Development Officer, Focus Ireland, Wayne Stanley, Research and Policy Analyst, Focus
Ireland
Email: stanleyw@focusireland.ie
Abstract: The Government’s new Statement of Housing Policy aspires to moving away from the
hierarchical structure that has characterised housing in Ireland. It expresses a vision of equity across
tenures “to enable all households access good quality housing appropriate to household circumstances
and in their particular community of choice”. This paper will explore the differentiated nature of
housing rights across the range of social housing tenures, and outline policies that could be put in
place to achieve the goal of equity across tenures. The paper will also consider what these different
housing rights could mean for people moving out of homelessness. Housing options are diverse,
ranging from home ownership, waged renting in the private rental sector, tenancies with a local
authority or an approved housing body (AHB), to tenancies within the private rented sector subsidised
by a number of different funding mechanisms. The rights of individuals and families within each of
these tenures vary. Rent levels that tenants pay, their rights to purchase or to transfer to different
tenancies, and their security of tenure all vary depending on the particular social housing option they
live in. Only tenants in the private rented sector currently have access to independent mediation via
the Private Residence Tenancy Board. While there is legislation in train that proposes to bring AHB’s
under the remit of the PRTB, this is not being considered for local authorities. Quality standards also
vary; in terms of energy efficiency ratings, compliance with regulations, and entitlements in relation
to repairs and dwelling maintenance - even within local authority housing the differentiation is
significant.
References: Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (June 2011) Housing
Policy Statement, Dublin, DoECLG
18 Title: Forced evictions and right to housing in the context of the economic crisis: The case of
Spain
Names: Dr Vanesa Valino, Prohabitatge
Email: vanesa@observatoridesc.org
Abstract: The Spanish's economic policy has consisted in the unbridled construction of houses in
private ownership. In order to facilitate access to those houses, the popular classes were over-indebted
through the indiscriminate granting of mortgages. Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis,
with an unemployment rate of 21%, thousands of families have been affected by evictions caused by
foreclosure proceedings or by nonpayment of rent. Spanish legislation does not provide any
mechanism to settle that situation. On the one hand, the Insolvency Act (Ley Concursal 22/2003) only
solves corporate insolvency. On the other hand, the Civil Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil
1/2000) establishes the bank's right to auction houses in foreclosure. If no buyers appear, as is often
the case these days, the bank can take ownership of the house for 50 percent of its value, according to
the estimate at the time of purchase. The banks then can go after the homeowners, who are personally
liable for the full amount of the loan after the foreclosure. Furthermore, even though the amount of
social housing to relocate affected families represents less than 2%, significant amendments haven
been made to the Civil Procedure Act to enable landlords to recover their housing quickly and easily
in case of non-payment of rent. In order to stop this situation different responses are taking place.
First, protesters are gathering in front of people's houses to stop evictions. Second, the main Spanish's
trade unions together with other organizations have prompted a Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP)
aimed at promoting an amendment to the legislation. Third, through the principles of the abuse of
rights and the illicit enrichment, there have been a few court rulings that prevent the banks to go on, as
they have taken ownership of the house. All of them point out the necessity to stop evictions and to
abandon speculative culture.
19 Title: Mediation in Housing Conflicts as an Instrument for the Prevention of Homelessness
Names: Dr. Isabel Viola, Civil Law, Faculty of Law, University of Barcelona, Mr. Josep
Castanyer, Director of the ProHabitatge Association.
Email: isabelviola@ub.edu
Abstract: On 14 September 2011, the European Parliament adopted Resolution B7- 0475/2011 on an
EU strategy for homeless people. This resolution contemplates prevention as one of the key elements
for eradicating homelessness. In recent years, various European countries like Ireland, Finland or
France have adopted national strategies to fight against homelessness. Other countries develop
regional strategies, like in England, Scotland, Wales or the North Rhine-Westphalia region in
Germany. Most of them make explicit reference to the prevention of homelessness as the most
effective and least costly way of fighting it (CEC, 2010). The Council of Europe laid the groundwork
for structuring homelessness prevention policies through the jurisprudence stemming from article 31.2
of the Revised European Social Charter in relation to housing, which specifies what it understands by
"prevention," "reduction" and "gradual elimination" of homelessness. For its part, the
Recommendation of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe1 considers that
the "prevention of homelessness" can include legal protection of tenants against unfair and
disproportionate contractual conditions, indiscriminate termination of contracts and forced eviction,
and the legal protection of people under the threat of eviction should be taken into account, in
particular the obligation to consult the affected parties in order to find alternative solutions to eviction.
In this context, and in the framework of the European Directive 2008/52/CE certain aspects of
mediation in housing conflicts in civil and commercial affairs, we consider that mediation in housing
conflicts is an alternative mechanism for conflict resolution and prevention of homelessness which, in
its turn, facilitates the empowerment of people. The residential conflict appears as a result of the legal
relationship that may exist between the parties (leases, evictions or mortgage foreclosures) and of the
relationships between people living in a dwelling or between neighbors. Thus, mediation focusing on
housing conflicts extends family mediation services (like those included in the English Homelessness
Act; 2002) to over occupancy conflicts, conflicts between people who share a dwelling irrespective of
whether there are family ties, conflicts between tenants and owners to avoid evictions (like the
FAWOS experience in Austria), or neighbors in a single block of dwellings in the framework of a
homelessness eradication strategy.
Title: Comparing rights-based and non rights-based approaches to homelessness: a comparison
of Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
Names: Ms Beth Watts, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York, University of York
Email: bw577@york.ac.uk
Abstract: This paper considers the contrasting approaches to homelessness in Scotland and the
Republic of Ireland. Over the last decade or so, Scotland has developed a strong legal safety net for
homeless household, which in effect gives the vast majority of homeless households individually
enforceable legal rights to settled housing. This approach has attracted international recognition, with
FEANTSA strongly endorsing 'rights based approaches to homelessness'. Over the same period,
homelessness in the Republic of Ireland has become a focal point for policy reform, attracting
significant investment, but reforms have not followed the path promoted by advocates of 'rights based
approaches'. Instead, Ireland has pursued a 'social partnership' model, seeking to build consensus and
develop a 'problem solving approach' among key stakeholders. Drawing on national key informant
interviews and two case studies involving interviews with service providers and single homeless men
in Edinburgh and Dublin, this paper presents preliminary findings on whether rights-based approaches
are the best or only way to adequately respond to homelessness. The evidence from this study
provides measured support for legal rights based approaches, such as that pursued in Scotland. The
approach appears to offer significant advantages over Ireland's 'social partnership model' in terms of
ensuring that those in most need can access settled housing and in guarding against the tendency for
homeless services to manage, but not resolve homelessness. Moreover, some of the perceived risks
associated with rights based approaches do not appear to manifest themselves in the Scottish case
20 study considered here. Nevertheless, the findings also suggest caution in assuming that giving
homeless people a legal right to settled housing is a panacea for responding effectively to the problem.
Title: Homeownership and Migration: Impact on Social Capital
Names: Dinali Wijeratne - National University of Ireland, Galway
Email: m.wijertine1@nuigalway.ie
Abstract: The nature of ethnic diversity in Ireland due to swelling immigration in the past decade has
had an impact on the homeownership rate. Literature suggests that the nature of homeownership;
owning or renting, as well as the size and location of houses or apartments impact the extent of
engagement in social connections. Also since becoming homeowners, mobility barriers encourage
homeowners to invest in social capital more enthusiastically compared to residents in rented
apartments. In this paper we are trying to answer the question "Is homeownership especially
conducive to building social capital by the foreign born and what relations exists between
homeownership and immigrants". It also makes an attempt to study the impact on social capital from
being a homeowner, and being an immigrant, using anonymised 5 per cent of samples from 2006
census. The study finds that there is an inverse relationship between being foreign born and being a
homeowner. Also being foreign born, you have a greater tendency towards social interactions. Finally
we find that homeownership does not increase volunteering for foreign born individuals with weak
evidence that it actually reduces volunteering, specifically for the UK born.
Title: Adverse Possession - Does the owner get his just deserts?
Names: Una Woods, School of Law, University of Limerick Email: una.woods@ul.ie
Abstract: Two caricatures of the landowner pervade the case law and literature on adverse
possession: One portrays him as the innocent victim of an unjust law which fails to adequately protect
his interests; in the other he presents as the villain of the piece, guilty of neglecting the care or
oversight of the land. The need to protect the owner forms part of the rationale underpinning recent
reforms to the English law introduced by the Land Registration Act 2002. However, the
blameworthiness of the owner's actions or more accurately, his inaction, was traditionally used to
justify the doctrine; the doctrine was said to prevent a plaintiff from sleeping on his rights. This
sleeping theory is no longer regarded as being designed to encourage the active exploitation or
development of his land. Rather, it is accepted that the doctrine acts as an incentive to the owner to
monitor his land. Although many have described this monitoring role as insufficient on its own to
justify the law on adverse possession, Fox-O'Mahony and Cobb have recently argued that the role
which the doctrine plays in promoting owners to act as good land stewards acts as a complete
justification in this respect (see 'Taxonomies of Squatting: Unlawful Occupation in a New Legal
Order' 71(6)(2008) Mod L Rev 878). They also accuse the Law Commission of England and Wales of
'moral essentialism' in its treatment of landowners in the rationale it sets out for the reforms of the
doctrine (see 'Living outside the system? The (im)morality of urban squatting after the Land
Registration Act 2002' 27(2)(2007) 236). This paper examines whether the doctrine represents a
proportionate response to the failure on the part of owners to monitor their land. In addition, it
discusses whether the view presented by Fox-O'Mahony and Cobb of the morality of the position of
the owner could also be described as essentialist. It concludes by discussing the extent to which the
law in this area has been shaped by sympathy or antipathy towards the owner, using the doctrine in
Leigh v Jack (1879) 5 Ex D 264 as an illustration.
21