European Action Day for the Right to Housing and the City

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European Action Day for the
Right to Housing and the City

October 19th 2013

See our video clicking here.

Saturday October
19th 2013, The European Action Coalition for the Right to Housing and the City
announces itself on the European Stage.

The European Action Coalition is made up of a diverse range of groups, organizations
and social movements and originated in meetings in Germanyand in Greece
in 2013.

What are we doing and where?
October 19th we are preparing the European Day of Action for The
Right to Housing and the City
. Groups in various cities in Europe
are coming together to say STOP to the misery caused by speculation,
financialisation and austerity measures. We want to promote an ethical and just
approach where housing is a human right and a human necessity and where all of
thepeople, with no discrimination, have real access to the cities in
which they live.

In Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, Geneva, Lisbon, Lorient,
Malaga, Paris, Poznan, Rhine-Ruhr region, Rome, Rouen, Warsaw and other places
actions are taking place to demand lower rents, the end of all evictions,
especially those driven by real estate speculators, the State and Troika, the
construction of adequate levels of social housing, and to demand an end to the
overwhelming burden of debt that has been placed on ordinary citizens, mass
housing and the public budgets. Globalized financial markets and profit
orientated transnational corporations are controllinglarge sections of
the land, buildings and the housing stock in many European countries. It is our
strongly held view that across Europehousing must be based on the needs
and rights of people and not those of profit.

In order to meet the local housing needs it is necessary that new housing
construction as well as a significant part of the existing housing stock in all
towns and cities of Europe, as well as housing finance and land, will be
excluded from markets and be organized under direct public and
decentralized democratic control.
Atthe same time all tenants, mortgage payers/holders, dwellers and
homeless acrossEurope by international law must have enforceable rights,
which guarantee common standards for the security of tenure, affordability,
accessibility, construction quality, democratic participation and fairness.

Ina large number of countries in Europe today the situation is criticalfor
millions of people. The clearest example of the perverse situation wefind
ourselves in is that of Spain. In the past five years in Spainsome
300,000 families and individuals have been forcibly evicted fromtheir
homes while almost three million housing units remain empty. Banksand
financial institutions are having their wishes met while the livesof
millions are utterly destroyed. This must to stop now.

General Demands of the European
Action Coalition

. The realization of a legally
enforceable Right to Housing for everybody at all levels in all states and
territories throughout Europe.

. The Right to the City as our
aspiration of another possible urban development, which is based on collective
struggles for equal rights, with no discrimination, solidarity, urban commons
and radical democracy.

. Stop forced evictions in
Europe and everywhere!

. Stop State, EU- and Troika
policies which cause evictions, homelessness andhousing shortages. No
weakening of housing rights through Troika conditions.

. Stop the financialisation
and privatization of housing. Protect social housing against financial
markets.

. Stop the criminalization of
homelessness and of housing right activists.

. Implement strict rent
controls in the public and private sectors.

. The urgent requisition and
use of empty housing units as a solution to chronic housing need.

. Construction and recuperation of the necessary number of affordable
and secure housing at good standards within the cities, outside the financial
markets under direct public and democratic control of the inhabitants.

Blog:
http://housing-action.tk/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oct-19th-European-Day-of-Action-for-Housing-Rights/1402919649939067
Event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/460204120759718/
Twitter: #19o,#HousingforPeople