Presentation given by JJ Costello, Shelter Cymru, Wales at a FEANTSA conference on "People who are homeless can be housed:
An insight into successful practices from across Europe", Cardiff, Wales, 2008
Business Model Canvas (BMC)- A new venture concept
Housing Rights in Advocacy
1. A Judiciable Right to
Housing in Practice
Good Practice Workshop
JJ Costello
2. Shelter Cymru
A charity
A dual focussed campaigning and service
provider organisation
Serving a Welsh population of 2.95 million
3. Welsh Housing Context
1.32 million homes
73% owner occupied
12% local authority rented
10% private rented
5% other socially rented
Unfit properties (2004) are 4.8% of total
Average house price - £158,000 (200,000 euro)
Average rental - £525 a month (664 euro)
Average earnings - £27,447 a year (35,000 euro)
Homelessness – 14,875 households contacted local
authorities regarding homelessness (2007)
80,000 on lists for social housing
4. Shelter Cymru’s Services
80 people involved in delivering advice and
support services to people in housing need
Cost of £3.1 million (3.9 million euro)
Assist approx. 7000 households a year
Homelessness Status
35
30 2000-2001
25 2001-2002
20
%
2002-2003
15
10 2003-2004
5 2004-2005
Imminently
0
Term Risk
Homeless
Homeless
Roofless
Homeless
Statutory
2005-2005
Medium
Not 2006-2007
2007-2008
5. Welsh Rights
English and Welsh law provides rights:
The right to help and/or housing for certain
categories of homeless households in certain
circumstances
The right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ for tenants
The ‘right to repair’ for tenants
The right to possession for landlords only after
due process
Help with housing costs for those on low
incomes
6. Rights-based services
Shelter Cymru employs:
- Housing law caseworkers
- Debt advisers
- Benefit advisers
- Support workers
- Housing solicitors
7. Rights-based services
(Cont’d)
Shelter Cymru offers:
Free, independent and confidential advice,
advocacy and legal representation
Available from well-used accessible community
locations
Supported by funding from the Legal Services
Commission, the Welsh Assembly Government and
local authorities
8. How rights are used in
practice
Homelessness
Advising people of their right to help
Enforcing rights through advocacy and legal
action
Clarifying and developing the primary law
through case-law
Alerting elected members to breaches in law
Alerting regulators to individual and systematic
breaches
Working with those who administer the rights to
address failure
9. How rights are used in
practice (Cont’d)
Harassment and illegal eviction
Pre-emptive injunctions
Ex-parte injunctions
Prosecutions and compensation
Repairs
Orders to carry out repairs
Local authorities undertake in default
Prosecutions and compensation
10. How rights are used in
practice (Cont’d)
Possession and due process
Defending possession proceedings
Pre-action protocols
Help with housing costs
Advice upon entitlement
Appeals against adverse decisions
11. The net result
In homelessness cases, outcomes are known in
75% of cases
51% of households enabled to stay in their
homes
35% of households assisted into other
accommodation
12. A Judiciable Right to
Housing in Practice
Good Practice Workshop
JJ Costello