Housing

Report | Doc. 97 | 24 August 1950

Committee

Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee

Rapporteur :

Mr Henri C. J . HEYMAN, Belgium

Thesaurus

A Draft Recommendation

The Assembly,

Considering that, although the question of housing is essentially a national problem, collaboration between the Member States of the Council of Europe can, by pooling of experience and available information, contribute to the solution of the present housing crisis in Europe,

Considering that the European housing problem sets a conglomerate of technical, economic and social questions that must be approached at the same time,

Recommends that the Council of Europe convene a Committee of Experts, to draw up a programme of collaboration relating to housing, following the broad outline of action set forth in the Appendix to the present recommendation, and working in collaboration with other organisations, governmental and non-governmental, which are in a position to co-operate with the Committee,

Recommends that the Council of Europe organise a European construction centre which, in collaboration with the appropriate services of the United Nations and other existing international organisations, should collect and put at the disposal of the Member States such technical information which would tend to increase the speed and efficiency of house-building, and to reduce the cost of building,

Recommends that the Secretary-General be instructed to take immediate steps to implement the above recommendations.

Appendix APPENDIX

Social problems relating to Housing, suitable for study and exchange of information among members of the Council of Europe

The Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe has already stated that, from the social point of view, a study was required of :

1 The conditions of hygiene, personal dignity and family comfort prevailing in low-cost housing.

2 The methods of control of housing and building societies and, in particular, the participation of workers in such control.

3 The part played by social security organisations in the improving of housing conditions. Other questions that might come into consideration and that might be listed under the common heading : " Method for organising reconstruction,' " are e. g.

a Co-operation in house-building. It appears that co-operative societies play an important role in house-building and that some of the Member Countries have developed particularly well-organised co-operatives.

b Methods of financing low-priced housing.

c The housing problem in its relation to family and community life. This raises the question of a policy of town and country planning; study of the " neighbourhood unit; " (organised collective estates).

d Questions relating to rents and tenants; various forms of building and rent subsidies; contractual relation-ship of tenants and landlords, (the establishment of approved standard contracts, the legal protection of tenants against unfair eviction); the question of allocation of dwellings.

e The possibility of setting up a European Fund which would contribute towards the financing of housing.