EVICT Talk with Prof. Padraic Kenna – Applying Housing Rights in Contemporary Housing Systems

September 17th, 2021

Over the past 25 years the nature and content of housing rights has been extensively defined and declared internationally, culminating is a corpus of research, laws and policies. While further refinement of these rights can be useful, the really tough questions remain – how to apply these rights across the complex and power-laden structure that is the housing system in each State. This requires viewing rights as applying at three levels – macro (State, international) – meso (institutional)  and micro (individual level). Most legal writings focus on the individual or macro State/international level, but ignore the need for institutional frameworks and systems to be in place, and marshalled towards the application of rights. The range of regulatory institutions which advance objectives overlapping with housing rights are also often ignored – such as financial regulators, consumer protection agencies, building regulation and products control bodies and even property law systems and institutions. All of this becomes more critical, when many of the relevant institutions in European Member States are now part of the EU governance framework, which fortunately also incorporates housing rights through the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Effectively advancing housing rights in Europe now requires a focus on the institutional aspects of housing rights realization.

About the speaker

Dr. Padraic Kenna of the School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway, researches and lectures in property and land law, housing law and policy, housing and human rights, regulation and public law. He has published six books and many articles and reports on housing law, rights and policy. A Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of both the International Journal of Law in the Built Environment and the Irish Human Rights Law Review, he was one of the Irish Legal Experts Group for the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRALEX) until 2010. He works with a number of housing rights advocacy organisations and is a founder member of the FEANTSA Expert Group on Housing Rights. Dr Kenna is currently developing a new Centre for Housing Law, Rights and Policy, at NUI Galway.

The EVICT Monthly Talk Series takes place every third Thursday of the month. For the next talk, please visit our events page for further information.