At an EU level, two recent Directives are relevant to the area of housing. Directive 2003/109 grants to long term residents rights to social security, protection and assistance which might improve the material situation of migrants and in consequence their housing conditions. Also Directive 2003/9 on reception conditions to asylum seekers provides that Member states should ensure a standard of living adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring asylum seekers' subsistence.
189
Mersmann, A. (2005) „Migranten in Wohnungsunternehmen, Wohnungsvergabepraxis und Partizipationsansätze“, in: Schader-Stiftung et al. (eds.) Zuwanderer in der Stadt. Expertisen zum Projekt, Darmstadt: Schader-Stiftung, pp. 175-210. See also Planerladen e.V. (ed.) (2005) Migranten auf dem Wohnungsmarkt: Befragung von Wohnungsunternehmen zu „Migranten als Mieter, Käufer, Kunden“. Ergebnisbericht, Dortmund.
190
The percentage is 36 per cent for males and 40 per cent for females within the active population between 15-25 years of age. Available at http://www.fondation-copernic.org/Flash-
Novembre2005.pdf (09.03.2006). 191
Making it happen in neighbourhoods: the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal, January 2005, p. 43: available at www.neighbourhood.gov.uk (16.05.2006).
A number of significant practical initiatives at national and local level were launched during 2005, and others were underway during that year.
4.5.1.
National and local governmental organisations
The Wohndrehscheibe, a counselling organisation in Austr ia working on improving the housing access for refugees and immigrants, observes that the introduction of emergency flats provided and allocated by the city of Vienna greatly improved their housing situation as the number of people “needing to move to a new flat for reason of their current accommodation being hazardous to their health has remained stable at a low level.”192 In view of the positive results
achieved with this measure, the city council has already expressed the intention to increase the number of emergency flats. In Belgium, the Law of 10.08.2005 on the fight against human smuggling, human trafficking and dishonest landlords entails new initiatives to criminalise practices of landlords who let houses/apartments in very poor condition at high prices to undocumented tenants who cannot find other suitable accommodation.
In Ir eland, the National Action Plan Against Racism launched in January 2005 has set out an intercultural approach to housing policy; addressing housing inequalities impacting on minority ethnic people; setting up statistical programmes and data systems; paying special attention to Traveller accommodation programmes; ensuring that asylum seekers are treated on an equitable basis, and developing the potential of estate management policies to combat racism.
Regarding initiatives focusing on the Roma community, a variety of them are worth mentioning. The Housing and social integration model programme of residents of Roma communities193 launched by ICSSZEM194 in Hungar y aims at improving live chances and mobility of Roma living in segregated communities. This programme entails renovation of the housing stock and, if needed, the moving of Roma families into mixed neighbourhoods. The strategy is twofold: local governments elaborate and lead projects on a number of critical areas for Roma living conditions and at the same time privileging a bottom-up approach by giving the Roma residents the possibility of choosing a representative that will act as a mediator between Roma inhabitants and local governments. Furthermore, all these projects engage an independent expert and social workers to facilitate implementation. Nine settlements were chosen by the Ministry to take part on the project which will involve approximately 4,500 persons.
192
Volkshilfe Österreich, Wohndrehscheibe, Jahresbericht 2004, Wien: Volkshilfe, available at: http://www.volkshilfe.at/contentthema/download/wds_jahresbericht_2004_web.pdf (06.10.2005), p. 51. 193 http://www.romaweb.hu/doc/kormanyzat/telep/Telep_hatter.doc (27.09.2005); http://www.icsszem.hu/main.php?folderID=1055&articleID=5013&ctag=articlelist&iid=1&acc essible=0 (27.09.2005). 194
In Poland, as part of the government Programme for the Roma Community in Poland, funds were granted to a number of entities in 19 localities for housing refurbishment as well as providing basic infrastructure to Roma settlements. The authorities are also proceeding with a property inventory for the regulation of estate ownership. In Slovakia, the Government has adopted as from 2005 the “The Long- term Housing Development Strategy for Marginalized Population Groups” (hereafter referred to as the Strategy,)195 laying out the framework for addressing
housing marginalisation. The Strategy proposes solutions for two categories of Roma: those living in municipal and district concentrations and those living in segregated settlements. On one hand, the “Strategy” sets out several measures ranging from the renewal of old flats to the housing stock ownership and management, such as the imposition of a ceiling on rents according to household income. On the other hand, it establishes a trade-off, making housing-related obligations and engagement in community life mandatory. As to segregated settlements the “Strategy” foresees an improvement in social and health conditions by the construction of basic infrastructure and new rental flats. In Lithuania the
Municipal Roma Integration Programme196 aims to assist Roma who wish to leave
impoverished zones on the outskirts of Vilnius. Finally, in Spain, the town council of Avilés in Asturias has in co-operation with the Department of Housing of the Government of Asturias initiated a pioneer action in to help Roma youth facing discrimination in the housing market to find accommodation. Flats have been rented at market prices which are then sub-let at affordable prices, while guaranteeing to their owners that they will recover their flats exactly as they were delivered.
4.5.2.
Joint initiatives
In Ger many the project “Migrants in the City” coordinated by the Schader Foundation is a nationwide initiative which deals with the spatial integration of migrants. In February 2005, the expert forum of the programme released comprehensive recommendations on concrete approaches to promote the integration process of migrants in the neighbourhood.197 The forum addresses its
recommendations to organisations at the local level ranging from municipal
195
The solutions for the Roma situation foreseen in the “Strategy” have been considered in the scope of the National Action Plan of the Slovak Republic Regarding the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005 – 2015; available at
http://www.government.gov.sk/orgovanova/dokumenty/akcny_plan_eng.rtf (09.03.2006). 196
Vilnius city municipality council, Programme of Surveillance and Security of the Vilnius Roma Community and Territories near the Encampment and the Reduction of Roma Segregation for 2005-2010, decision No. 1-838, confirmed on 22.06.2005, available at:
http://kristoforas.tic.lt/VA/doc.aspx?id=30075568 (30.09.2005). 197
Schader-Stiftung et al. (eds.) (2005) Zuwanderer in der Stadt. Empfehlungen zur
stadträumlichen Integrationspolitik, Darmstadt: Schuleri-Hartje, U.-K.; Reimann, B. (2005) „Zuwanderer in der Stadt – Integration trotz Segregation Ausgangslage“, in: ZAR, No. 5/2005, pp. 164-167, here p. 167.
authorities to housing companies, immigrants’ organisations and the general population. The main points of the programme can be set out as the follows:
Education and language learning programmes in the neighbourhood Support for self-employed migrants
Easy access to different forms of participation Increasing the sense of security in the neighbourhood
Providing areas of free spaces in the neighbourhood to be used by the inhabitants
Increasing house ownerships among migrants
The initiative “Migration in the City” is particularly relevant in that it brings together all the significant expert organisations in the field of urban development, and combines practical and scientific expertise in an exemplary way.
4.5.3.
Non-governmental organisations
In Ger many, Italy and Fr ance there are some examples of good practices in the private housing market.
In Ger many, inhabitants of the City of Karlsruhe founded the private housing cooperative MiKa198 (Wohnungsgenossenschaft) and organised the redevelopment
of an old military area into an apartment complex. All members of MiKa have agreed on the articles of the association, which bans disadvantaged treatment due to someone’s “origin, sex, outer appearance, age or social status”. Members of minority groups are explicitly encouraged to participate. Meanwhile 150 adults and 80 children have taken up residence in the MiKa apartment complex, with 30% of them having a migration background. The MiKa initiative was presented as one of 28 best practice projects by the Schader Foundation in the context of the programme “Migrants in the City,” on the grounds of its holistic and communicative approach to participation.199
In Italy the A.I.S.A.200 (Agency for Social Mediation in the Housing sector), a non-
profit organisation made up of individual state operators in the Veneto region, offers financial guarantees to landlords and social support to migrant tenants. In order to facilitate access to housing the organisation provides various services: it grants small loans without requesting for collateral; gives additional small mortgages to make up the part not covered by banks; pays the bank monthly instalments which the beneficiaries are unable to pay; helps migrants identify
198
www.mika-eg.de (06.10.2005). 199
Petendra, B. (2005) Sozialräumliche Integration von Zuwanderern. best-practice-Projekte, Darmstadt: Schader-Stiftung.
200
houses that match their needs and offers temporary accommodation in cases of homelessness.
In Fr ance, the project ATECCOD201 combines initiatives in the employment
sector, training and housing. The project targets immigrants and French of foreign origin living in the Ile-de-France region and aims at developing and implementing the concept of “equal opportunities” as well as counteracting discrimination and segregation in the housing market. To carry out this objective the partners involved have agreed to set up “territorial centres for equal opportunities” which will be the basis for employment and housing support. This project is innovating in combining trade union initiatives with the entrepreneurial world in a common design. Asylum seekers have been the target of supporting initiatives by many NGOs. In this context, one should mention Cypr us where asylum seekers are reported to face serious difficulties in finding suitable accommodation. NGOs have submitted proposals to the Asylum Unit of the Cyprus Ministry of the Interior to include in the prescribed activities of the forthcoming European Refugee Fund project the setting up of a mechanism to collect information about and inspect properties offered for rent, so as to offer them to refugees at fair market conditions. In the UK
one particular example stands out, the Refugee housing integration programme by the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (hact)202which aims to improve the
amount and quality of housing for refugees. The sustainability of such an endeavour rests upon the development of partnerships and the building up of networks.
201
ATECCOD (“Agir sur des territoires pour l’égalité des chances et contre les discriminations” joins the CFDT of Ile-de-France, the Abbé Pierre Foundation and the MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) Essonne and Est Parisien under the auspices of the EQUAL programme. 202