(Note 1) "Sheltering oneself from the elements" has always been one of man's most vital needs. Over the millennia the concept of housing has evolved tremendously: from a mainly "physical" idea it has moved into the domain of culture and identity, to become an existential matter for people and for families. In the Bible, the tenth commandment given in the Decalogue (Exodus, more than 3000 years ago) reads "You shall not covet your neighbour's house". In his recent book (I Comandamenti (The Commandments), Edizioni S. Paolo, 2002), G. Ravasi wrote "...the scheming which takes a person's house away from him, also indirectly takes away his emotional ties, it chips away at his family, it cracks his confidence, it clouds his dignity, it humiliates his spirit". According to Ravasi, this commandment (along with the ninth commandment "You shall not covet your neighbour's wife") aims to "safeguard...above all the society of the family, daily life as it is carried out through concrete actions, through the truth of its relationships, through the tranquillity of a peaceful and harmonious existence". Denying or limiting the right to a house therefore equals denying the person and the family themselves.
The United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that man has the "right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family". This principle has subsequently been confirmed and honed, to the point where in 1996 a mandate was given to governments to "promote, protect and guarantee the full and progressive fulfilment of the right to an adequate standard of living and to access to suitable housing for disadvantaged persons".
The European Council has also long been interested in standard of living. The 1996 review of the 1961 European Social Charter requires that: "with a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to housing, the Parties undertake to take measures designed:
- to promote access to housing of an adequate standard;
- to prevent and reduce homelessness with a view to its gradual elimination".
The Council of Europe includes "social protection, housing, work, health, education" amongst its social rights. Housing is therefore one of the key components of social rights.
The World Health Organization and the European Union have also had a lot to do with the question of standard of living: the former mainly with regards to the health of the population and the latter with regards to policies against poverty and marginalisation.
The Italian Constitution and the Regione Veneto Statute are also on the same wavelength. The Statute includes amongst its aims "...to guarantee social rights to all citizens, with particular emphasis on housing, ...". Regione Veneto has introduced many provisions regarding the right to housing, aimed at aiding those who are less well-off financially. Regional aid has focused on giving support to public and private entities-municipalities, Ater, Esu (Note 2), people, building companies and cooperatives-with the aim of integrating residential real estate through creating and reusing houses to rent out at controlled rates or to sell at special prices. Other strategies have aimed at contrasting the serious effects of the financial crisis, which has also had repercussions on the housing industry as it has created enormous difficulties for families trying to release themselves from the shackles of bank loans taken on to purchase their first homes. Contributions towards cutting mortgage rates for the purchase, building and salvaging of first homes have been granted, as have contributions towards mortgage payments for mortgages drawn up before November 2005 for those families in need.
The concession of facilitated loans and unsecured contributions enables people who are financially less well-off to find a lynchpin, a home, around which to develop their lives and family.
In the context of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, at the international conference "A Community for Growth - European Meeting on Social Housing", sponsored by Fondazione La Casa in collaboration with Regione Veneto and held in Verona and Padova on 5th and 6th February, the questions and problems regarding the social right to housing were discussed in detail. The conference enabled comparison between many different experiences and models which have been developed locally and on an international scale. The many institutions, associations and movements participating in the conference all unanimously hoped for a close coordination of the many interventions already taking place, within the means of available resources.