A/HRC/43/43/Add.2 reasonable measures, to the maximum of its available resources. The right to adequate housing should not be interpreted narrowly, to mean, for example, the right merely to have a roof over one’s head; rather, it should be seen as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. The following characteristics must be taken into account when determining whether housing can be considered adequate: (a) legal security of tenure; (b) availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; (c) affordability; (d) habitability; (e) accessibility; (f) location; and (g) cultural adequacy.2 Furthermore, States are prohibited under international human rights law from taking retrogressive measures, meaning that France should not take backward steps with respect to the realization of the right to housing. 8. France has signed and ratified the European Social Charter, which guarantees the right to housing in article 31, and in 1999 ratified the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints, which allows social partners and non-governmental organizations to lodge collective complaints. 9. France has committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, target 11.1 of which requires France to end homelessness, ensuring access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and upgrading informal settlements to include basic services, by 2030 (see A/HRC/34/51). B. Constitutional and national law 10. There is no explicit reference to the right to adequate housing in the Constitution. However, in a 1995 decision, the Constitutional Council confirmed that the opportunity for everyone to have decent housing was an objective with the force of constitutional law, and that it was for Parliament and the Government, in accordance with their respective remits, to determine arrangements for achieving that objective.3 11. The right to adequate housing and its principles have been incorporated into several national laws. Under the 1989 tenancy act, the right to housing is a fundamental right and property owners must provide their tenants with decent housing that does not jeopardize physical safety and health and that meets minimum energy efficiency and habitability standards. Under the 1990 act on the right to housing, securing the right to housing is a duty of solidarity for the entire nation. 4 The Social Action and Family Code underlines that combating exclusion based on respect for the equal dignity of all human beings is a priority of all public policies of the nation and that the State, all territorial governments and all public institutions State actors should ensure effective access to all fundamental rights, including the right to housing.5 12. In 2007, France adopted an act establishing the enforceable right to housing.6 This act is a considerable achievement towards making the right to housing justiciable. According to the act, a claim for the right to housing may be initiated through an amicable procedure when an individual or family is homeless or living in shelters or temporary accommodation, facing eviction or living in dangerous, substandard or overcrowded housing; when the individual or family has a very low income; or when the household is considered a priority and has been on a waiting list for social housing for an unreasonable amount of time. French nationals and all persons with a valid residency permit may file applications under the act after having submitted a request for social housing. If the State is unable to offer them a social housing unit within six months, litigation may be initiated. 13. The act also establishes an unconditional right to emergency accommodation for all persons in need, including those who do not have a valid residency permit. Under article L345-2-2 of the Social Action and Family Code, all persons living in homelessness who are in medical, psychological or social distress should have access to emergency accommodation at any time. Such emergency accommodation must conform with the principle of human 2 3 4 5 6 4 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing. Constitutional Council, decision No. 94-359 DC, 19 January 1995. Act No. 89-462 of 6 July 1989, arts. 1 and 6, and Act No. 90-449 of 31 May 1990, art. 1. Social Action and Family Code, art. L115-1. Act No. 2007-290 of 5 March 2007 (also known as the “DALO” act).