Homeless Bill of Rights

What is it?

The Homeless Bill of Rights is a compilation of basic rights drawn from European and international human rights instruments specific to the situation of homeless people. The aim of this European campaign is to encourage cities in Europe to reaffirm their commitment to respect the rights of people experiencing homelessness.

International obligations at United Nations level oblige Member States to end homelessness by 2030. The Urban Poverty Partnership of the European Commission has called on cities to take human rights-based approaches to tackling urban poverty and homelessness.

What's the context?

Criminalisation measures in European cities can push homeless people further into poverty and social exclusion. Rather than punishing them, local authorities should encourage homeless people to claim their rights. Local governments should work for the progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing as part of the obligation to guarantee an adequate standard of living for all citizens. Public funding should be used to assist and protect households and individuals, not to carry out costly penalisation operations.

In order to reverse the criminalization trends, we launched this European campaign, in partnership with Abbé Pierre Foundation, via the Housing Rights Watch initiative, to encourage cities to recognise the rights of homeless people.

How to endorse the Homeless Bill of Rights:

Since its launch in 2017, the Bill has been adopted by many cities and others are showing interest in this rights-based approach to homelessness. In England, Brighton & Hove; in Slovenia: Maribor, Slovenj Gradec, Kranj, Murska Sobota; in Poland: Gdansk and Warsaw; in France: Villeurbanne, Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and other smaller cities such as Tucquegnieux and Serrouville.; in Austria: Graz; in Spain: Barcelona, Móstoles, Santiago de Compostela, Madrid (awaiting final endorsement at the city council), in Greece, Thessaloniki and 35 other municipalities; in Denmark: Copenhagen.

If you are interested in endorsing the Homeless Bill of Rights:

Local governments

Please send us an email to express your interest in endorsing the Bill. Following this communication, you will receive a template letter to be signed by the local government. After that, your city will officially be part of the European cities that support the Bill and your name will appear on this website as a signatory local government.

Associations and NGOs

Please have a look at our proposal on actions to pursue - in order to advocate for the endorsement of the Homeless Bill of Rights in your community here.

Recent events :

Frederiksberg: On 27th September 2024, Frederiksberg endorsed the Homeless Bill of Rights, becoming the second city in Denmark to adopt the Bill after Copenhagen. According to the city, the endorsement of the bill signifies a commitment to reduce homelessness and a commitment to consider the rights of homeless citizens in planning projects and the municipality's overall approach.

Warsaw: On 21st of December 2023, the city of Warsaw signed the Homeless Bill of Rights, making it the second Polish city to endorse the Bill. For more information about Warsaw's take on the Bill click here.

Copenhagen: On the 10th of October 2023, the City of Copenhagen endorsed the Homeless Bill of Rights. This follows a unanimous vote by the Municipal Council to adopt the Danish version of the Bill. The Bill has also been translated into Danish by Pia Justesen from Aalborg University: Rettighedserklæring for Personer i Hjemløshed.

Graz: On the 6th of December 2022, the City of Graz adopted the Homeless Bill of Rights. It is the first Austrian city to adopt it.

Brighton & Hove: On 25th March 2021 Brighton & Hove City Council adopted the Homeless Bill of Rights. The decision comes after a number of years of hard campaigning work from Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition (in partnership with Just Fair). More information on Brighton's take on the Bill can be found here.

Gdansk: On 7th February 2020 Gdansk endorsed the Homeless Bill of Rights, making them the first Polish city to do so. On the 28th February a seminar was held at the European Solidarity Centre, Gdansk to discuss a human rights-based approach to homelessness and present Gdansk’s route to the adoption and implementation of the Homeless Bill of Rights. The Polish guide on how to use the Homeless Bill of Rights can be found here.

France: In December 2018 a platform of French organizations presented their own text of the Homeless Bill of Rights in Paris, at the office of Abbé Pierre Foundation. On 16th October 2020, the commune of Villeurbanne, in Lyon, became the first French city to endorse the Homeless Bill of Rights. Find out how Villeurbanne have applied the Homeless Bill of Rights to their current and future work on homelessness in this press kit.

Greece: The City of Thessaloniki was the first Greek city to endorse the Homeless Bill of Rights on November 6th 2020 followed by a Decision to endorse the Bill by the Central Union of Greek Municipalities, KEDE which meant that thirty five Greek municipalities endorsed the Bill.

In 2024, we will continue to identify partners and help them disseminate the initiative at local level to convince cities to endorse the Bill. We encourage our members and other stakeholders to use our political and practical toolkit to advocate for the Homeless Bill of rights at local level. (see below)

Contact:

Please, contact Maria J. Aldanas for more info.