A/HRC/43/43/Add.2 dignity and guarantee the security of the person and their personal effects. The Code also states (art. L345-2-3) that those who receive emergency accommodation should benefit from personalized support with a view to ensuring long-term housing. 14. The right of access to emergency accommodation is also enforceable before national administrative courts. Persons without a valid immigration status are, however, excluded from the right to claim accommodation in institutions providing longer-term temporary housing. III. Issues related to the right to adequate housing A. Discrimination in accessing housing 15. The tenancy act (art. 1) prohibits discrimination based on factors such as origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family situation, physical appearance or age when requesting to rent an apartment or home. Landlords that use discriminatory criteria to disqualify prospective tenants may be sanctioned with a fine and imprisonment. 7 16. The Defender of Rights carried out a survey in 2016 which identified clear patterns of discrimination in the private housing market. The study found that French nationals and those perceived as “white” were twice as likely to find a home within one year of commencing their search, as compared to immigrants and those perceived as “Arab” or “black”. Discrimination also affected larger families and single-parent families, for which it took significantly longer to be able to rent a home than for couples without children.8 Almost half of the respondents in the study believed that there was “often” or “very often” discrimination in accessing housing. Of those who considered themselves victims of discrimination, only 11 per cent had filed complaints. Among the reasons cited for not filing a complaint were that it would not serve any purpose, that it was not worth the effort, that there was a lack of proof and that they lacked trust in the justice system. 9 17. Discrimination in housing is also experienced by persons with disabilities, many of whom are unable to access the psychosocial supports necessary for independent living or cannot find an accessible unit to accommodate their physical disability. The Special Rapporteur regretfully observes that this situation will only deteriorate further under the amended act reforming housing, planning and digital technology, under which the percentage of new-build multistorey houses that are required to be fully accessible to persons with disabilities was reduced from 100 per cent to just 20 per cent. The Special Rapporteur considers this a retrogressive measure, as it will decrease the supply of homes built despite an existing shortage of adapted housing. This measure is also not in keeping with article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or articles 2 and 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. B. Housing quality and affordability 18. Housing quality has significantly improved since 1978. The average living space increased from 30.7 square metres per person in 1984 to 40.3 square metres per person in 2013, and while more than 25 per cent of housing lacked sanitation facilities in 1978, today the figure is less than 1 per cent.10 19. Despite these gains, households in the lowest income bracket are more likely to suffer substandard housing conditions. Overcrowding affects 16.9 per cent of all residents living in social housing, 20 per cent of single-parent households and 25 per cent of immigrant 7 8 9 10 See Penal Code, arts. 225-1 and 225-2. See Defender of Rights, “Enquête sur l’accès aux droits: volume 5 – les discriminations dans l’accès au logement”, December 2017. Ibid. National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, Les conditions du logement en France: édition 2017 (Paris, 2017), pp. 141 and 143. 5