The issue of housing in Iran: an aspect of human rights violations
13-December-2021
Category: Uncategorized
10-December-2021
Newsgroup: Uncategorized –
Breathing in Confinement: On the occasion of World Human Rights Day, we extend our respect to the political and civil prisoners in Iran, as well as our gratitude for their activities in the field of human rights.
The following article is about deprivation of the right to housing as an aspect of human rights violation in Iran. This article is the result of the efforts of researchers who are directly involved in social issues.
Introduction
Preserving the dignity of human beings requires guaranteeing freedom, equality of privileges and rights for all people, as well as abiding negative and positive obligations stipulated in international treaties and finally, the establishment of institutions to oversee the implementation of these rules. The realization of many of these rights requires social welfare.
The right to housing is an inalienable right in human societies which cannot be restricted except in cases prescribed by law. The right to housing is interpreted broadly as the right to live in a safe, quiet, and dignified place. Because the right to adequate housing is an aspect of the right to life, international human rights treaties, and in particular the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, have committed member states to Provide citizens with access to adequate housing. The Covenant also suggests various regulatory mechanisms to address violations of this right and considers compensatory measures for those affected. Therefore, providing adequate housing for citizens as one of the obligations of governments is of particular importance.
In addition to the legal basis of governments ‘obligations in this regard, how governments respond to this obligation not only demonstrates governments’ accountability, but also their commitment to human rights.
Therefore, after a brief review of international law on the right to housing, in the following article we have tried to investigate the issue of the right to housing in the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran and also to explain the experience of Iranian citizens in this regard.
The right to housing in international treaties
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the exaltation of human beings free from fear and poverty can only be achieved if they enjoy all of their economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. Paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has recognized that the right to housing is the inherent dignity of the human beings and is essential for those residing in a country. So that people can move freely in their country and have the right to choose their home and where they live. The States Parties to the Covenant are required to recognize the dignity, equality, and inalienable rights of all members of the human family on the basis of liberty, justice and peace.
Apart from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also addresses the right to housing. Article 11, paragraph 1, of the Covenant says: “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent.”
In addition, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in paragraph one, states: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil, Political and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, other treaties also recognize the right to housing as an integral part of human rights. For example, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, International Labor Organizations treaties, 1948-1989, Refugee Convention, 1951, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 197, Global Strategy for Shelter Until 2000, 1988, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, Agenda 21, 1992, Human Housing and Habitat Conference Agenda Until 1996 and the policy recommendations of international organizations in different years.
In 1991, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted its General Recommendation No. 4 on the Right to Proper Housing. This document states the “right to housing” in the most comprehensive possible way. “In the Committee’s view, the right to housing should not be interpreted in a narrow or restrictive sense which equates it with, for example, the shelter provided by merely having a roof over one’s head or views shelter exclusively as a commodity. Rather it should be seen as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity.” The appropriate housing characteristics are: Legal security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructures, affordability, habitability, accessibility (adequate housing must be accessible to those entitled to it. Disadvantaged groups must be accorded full and sustainable access to adequate housing resources). And finally, cultural adequacy which appropriately enable the expression of cultural identity and diversity of housing.
According to the Comment, property security includes the legal rights of landlords to their homes as well as the rights of tenants. Infrastructure services and facilities include access to safe water and sanitation, electricity, roads and access to social, educational and health services. Such housing should be accessible to all groups of people regardless of their income. “States parties should establish housing subsidies for those unable to obtain affordable housing, as well as forms and levels of housing finance which adequately reflect housing needs.”
Human rights are universal, indivisible, and interconnected. The duty of all states, regardless of their political, economic and cultural system, is to preserve and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The right to housing in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic
Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the “right to adequate housing” has been recognized as an important component of “living standards”. Since then, all governments have enacted special regulations in the shelter sector and have established institutions to allocate funds and formulate specific policies, regulations, programs and projects in the housing sector. Iran took relevant steps with the establishment of the Ministry of Housing and Development in 1964, which renamed as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in 1974.
In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, citizenship rights are divided into three categories, the first one of which are the rights that unconditionally apply to all members of society. The right to housing falls into this category.
In addition to signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two above-mentioned International Covenants, the Government of Iran, as a member, has been committed to comply with some international treaties, including the “Agenda of the Second United Nations Human Settlement Conference Turkey-Istanbul 1996”. Some of these commitments are: Paying attention to the right to adequate housing – Empowering all members of society to access adequate shelter – Efforts to help implement macroeconomic policies and strategies- Providing shelter as a social priority – Providing legal security for Land property – Guaranteeing and securing financial and credit resources and other resources for the private sector as well as the government sector for the purpose of developing the housing sector – Access to effective and appropriate technologies and methods to solve the housing problems especially in developing countries – Increase rental housing, and cooperative housing units by increasing the participation of the public, private and social sectors in this field.
In addition to the international obligations of the Government of Iran regarding the right to housing, which according to the Civil Code are imperative, the right to housing is also considered in the principles of the Constitutional Law. The third principle of the constitution, referring to the right to housing, states: “In order to establish a right and just economy compliant with the Islamic rules, the government is obliged to eliminate all kind of deprivation in the field of housing.”
However, regarding the right to housing, the most important principle of the Constitutional Law which is in line with the concepts of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, is Article 31. It states: “Having housing commensurate with the needs is the right of all Iranian individuals and families. “The government has a duty to provide the basis for the implementation of this principle by giving priority to those who are most in need, especially the villagers and the workers.”
In principle 43, an essential commitment of the Islamic Republic of Iran is provision of housing as one of the basic needs of society. Article 43 paragraph 1of the Constitution states: “In order to ensure economic independence, eradication of poverty and deprivation, meeting the needs of the citizens and ensuring their development and freedom, the country’s economy is based on the following criteria:… Providing basic needs, housing, food, clothing, healthcare, education and the ability to make family for everyone.”
In addition to the Constitution, other laws on the right to housing have also been passed including the Articles 167 to 174 of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan Act (2011-2015).
The issue of housing in Iran
One of the reasons that housing is considered as a basic human right in the Universal Declarations and the laws of governments is that home is a place to reside in mental and physical peace. Therefore, proper housing is one of the needs of all human beings. Numerous laws in the international arena, on one hand emphasize the importance of the right to housing and on the other hand, oblige governments to take the necessary measures to ensure that all citizens are granted access to the adequate housing.
In Iran, despite the provisions of the Constitution for housing, according to the latest national census conducted in 2016, 30.7% of households in the country are renters. In another word, out of 18 million and 100 thousand households in the country, about 6 million and 600 thousand are tenants (Statistics Center of Iran, 2016). Tehran province, with 48.8% of rental housing has the highest figure in the country. (Mehr News Agency, June 19, 2020).
In addition to rental statistics, other data indicate that the average rental rate in the current year shows 30% increase compared to the last year. Furthermore, one of the indicators showing the increase in costs in the housing sector is the share of housing in the expenditure of households. In 2016, housing accounted for more than 36% of household expenditures, rising to 45% in 2021. (Online News, June 2, 2021).
Therefore, it seems that the housing expenditure in Iran is not only the matter of paying high rents, but in the situation with rapidly growing annual inflation rate, announced as 44.2 percent in 2021 (Eqtesad News, August 2021), it has caused a very difficult situation for the citizens.
In addition to the available data and statistics, considering the impact of housing on preserving the dignity of citizens, it is also important to pay attention to the experience of citizens. Therefore, in this article, through interviews with tenants in Tehran province in 1400, we have asked the citizens about their firsthand experience of renting to see whether the government has been able to fulfil its commitment in this regard.
Tenants’ experience in Tehran
In our interviews we asked about the experiences of tenants living in Tehran, the capital of the country, with the highest number of tenants. The interviewees were single individuals, young couples as well as multi-person families. The interviews indicate that the use of rental housing is not limited to the early years of citizens’ lives, but many of them are unable to own a house even at their retirement age or for life. The problem is not only limited to the center of the capital but also in the suburbs of Tehran. The people who participated in the interview belonged to different age groups and different regions of the province.
One of the interviewees was a worker who over the 25 years since his marriage, had lived with his wife and two children in at least 7 houses in various cities of Tehran province. At present, although they have deposited all their 100 million tomans savings as a mortgage, they still have to pay a monthly rent of one million and five hundred thousand tomans. On the eve of retirement, the worker not only describes buying a house as a dream, but also worries about ability to pay mortgage and rent in the future. He said: “It doesn’t matter how much you save, the landlord wants to make a living with the rent you pay.” One of the challenges for this 55-year-old worker is the high cost of rent, which is about half of the family’s income.
Another interviewee had lived with her spouse and young child in six different homes during the eight years as a tenant. On some occasions, he had to relocate twice in a year. This 40-year-old worker, who had paid a deposit of nearly 10 million tomans, lived in an attic without adequate space for family members which in no way looked like a house. It was only a shelter for which he had to pay 800,000 tomans per month. However, he said that given the high amount of rents in the suburban areas of Tehran, they had been “lucky”, and that where they lived was an exceptional opportunity which was not easy to find. “Renting a big house costs a lot of money which I cannot make,” he said. The experience of another tenant confirmed the same.
In an example of a large family, a father on the verge of 80 years old, lived with his wife and several single children in the central areas of Tehran. They had rented a 100-square meter house for which they had to pay a monthly rent of 7 million tomans. They believed that the lack of savings was why they had to pay the high rent, which resulted in the loss of family’s income in the unstable economic conditions. They did not have money to pay a deposit and all members of the family participated in paying the high amount of monthly rent. According to them, what would never be changed for the family was being a tenant, and what was easily predictable was that they would be “forced to choose smaller and smaller houses” because with the rapidly rising prices, there were no change in their income.
Another example was a couple who were in the first year of their marriage looking for their second home. The short-term experience of being a tenant was “exhausting” for them. At the beginning of their life together, they had been looking for an affordable home. But after a few months, rising housing prices left no choice for them other than returning to their parents’ home.
The other couple, who had lived together for 10 years in 8 different houses, had to leave Tehran due to high rental rates. They had to look for another house because, contrary to the government’s promises to limit the yearly rise of rents in Tehran to 20% , the landlord had requested a 50% increase in rent, and they could not afford paying nearly two million tomans per month for a 60 square meter house. They stated that their main problem was not only paying high rents for small houses without facilities, but also the constant increase in rents. Even though they were both employed, they had to cut most of their expenses such as medical care, food and clothing to pay their monthly rent.
Thus, another dimension of problem becomes evident, which is the fact that housing in Iran with its high rate of inflation is seen as a commodity rather than an absolute requirement for life.
According to the state news agencies, it takes an average of 33 year for a couple to own a home. This shows that tenancy has become a norm for all families and not only the young ones. Seventy percent of families are below the housing poverty line with at least 30% of their monthly expenses are spent on rent.
In addition to what was mentioned in the interviews, some of the ads for rental housing show the scope and depth of the existing problem. While the area of houses is shrinking so that 18- square meter spaces without bathrooms and toilets are also rented as home, the sharp rise in rents has led to the emergence of the phenomenon of shared houses which accommodate several families. Living in conex boxes, cars, rooftops, etc. are other examples that show the dimensions of the problem. People who still live independently in rented houses spend a significant portion of their income on rent, which means cutting their other expenses, including food.
In addition, the lack of relevant laws is another problem. Even those who can afford to pay high rents are affected by the lack of law. Landlords are not committed to the duration of the contract; they increase the rent rate continuously. Resolving these issues requires the adoption of appropriate and enforceable laws.
However, the lack of an approved rental rate sometimes benefits the tenants. Occasionally, where the tenants are unable to pay the rents, the landlords set a lower price. However, the duration of the contracts can be changed due to the lack of a strong legal framework and the lack of legal protection for the tenants. And this is to the detriment of the tenants, because considering the rising rents, they do not feel secure to live in a home, even for one year.
Although the right to housing is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is enshrined in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, a brief look at the experiences of tenants reveals many problems in the field of housing. On one hand, owning a home has become an unattainable dream for tenants, and on the other hand, paying high rents is an important concern that bears the risk of becoming homeless and poor.
This indeed threatens the health and lives of families. In fact, the spread of poverty and lack of housing has deprived the tenants of access to adequate food, medical care and other necessities.
It should be noted that this issue has been ignored in the policies and legislation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the adoption of policies such as limiting the rise of rents to 20%, as well as imposing a tax on vacant houses, is only a show with no guarantee to be enforced.
Accordingly, it is necessary for human rights activists as well as international regulatory bodies to pay attention to the issue of housing in Iran based on documented reports in this field, beyond the existing laws, and to consider this issue as a violation of human rights with prompt action to fix it.