Housing IS a Human Right

But What Does That Mean?

The Law Center joins those who have experienced homelessness to demand a human right to housing and an end to homelessness once and for all.   

In the United States we must do more than talk about a human right to housing; we must learn the existing rich international legal content, discover the strengths and weaknesses of other countries’ approaches, and prioritize the progressive realization of the right here at home. 

Understanding the Human Right to Housing

The human right to housing is a holistic and powerful frame, carrying the weight of international law and tapping into the United States’ deep cultural belief in human and civil rights. It is strong enough to fully end homelessness by addressing not only the affordability and basic supply of housing, but interdependent issues such as racial equity, public health, and educational opportunity. This holistic approach is uniquely able to prevent homelessness and housing instability from happening in the future. 

Increasingly, people throughout the United States are beginning to understand that housing is, and must be, a right. The concept particularly resonates with those who recognize that all humans have inherent dignity.  

The concept of a human right to housing may be relatively new to U.S. policymakers, but it has a long and rich history, both in the U.S. and in other countries, and in international legal systems. Much of the modern human rights system, including the human right to housing, was pioneered by U.S. policymakers and advocates, from President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to the NAACP. But with the Red Scare of the 1950s, many domestic advocates were forced to turn from the international system to domestic civil rights remedies, and the rest of the world proceeded to further develop the system, without U.S. advocates’ wider engagement until the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. However, even in the 1960s, advocates like Martin Luther King, Jr. realized our domestic system wasn’t producing the results needed, and, as he (optimistically) stated, “We have moved from an era of civil rights, to an era of human rights.”