The Housing Crisis: What is the Role of Business?

IHRB is hosting a multi-stakeholder discussion on responsible business and the right to adequate housing taking place at the 15th UN Business and Human Rights Forum on November 23-25, in Geneva, Switzerland

The conversation will start by highlighting the “gap” that exists between corporate practice and housing rights, the risks to rights-holders, and where states have stepped in.

This will be followed by a presentation on emerging trends and innovative approaches that seek to align with the corporate duty to respect human rights. Through a backcasting exercise, participants will then lean on the collective expertise and perspectives of attendees to discuss potential interventions and solutions.

Today, an estimated 1.8 billion people lack adequate housing, with rising housing consuming an ever-larger share of household income. In OECD countries, housing has become 16% more expensive relative to incomes – we're facing a housing crisis.

The right to adequate housing – which includes affordability – is enshrined as a core human right in international law. In the business and human rights world, its consideration has mostly been through the prevention of forced displacement, often associated with large-scale projects. This is unsurprising given that, historically, the construction, letting, and upkeep of homes have largely been the responsibility of governments, small businesses and individuals. However, since the 1970s, and particularly since the global financial crisis, businesses and investors (many multinational) have become much more central, both in terms of building (most governments rely on private developers and construction companies) and providing investment (between 2005 and 2015, the share of newly launched real estate funds targeting residential assets grew from 14.2% to 22.2%) (Christophers 2023).

While the effects are most visible in Europe and North America, these practices are now spreading into the rest of the world. This probes the question: what do we expect of business actors when it comes to the right to adequate housing?