S. Nasarre-Aznar (2026) Housing Law, International Encyclopaedia of Housing and Home, 2nd edition, Elsevier.

El texto completo solo está disponible bajo demanda a sergio.nasarre@urv.cat.

Aim of the chapter

My hope is that this work may help to better frame this object of study (the law relate to housing) and field of research, while expanding the borders of or own “mother” disciplines (civil/property/contract law, public law, law and economics, urban planning, etc.).

Maybe this contribution can work as a cornerstone to achieve “Housing law” to become a self-standing discipline.

Abstract

Housing law is the private and public law related to housing and provides the immaterial foundation upon which the right to housing is more or less effectively guaranteed in a given territory. Although not a self-standing discipline, housing law covers a wide range of topics, from homelessness to the mortgage and real estate markets. This includes the concept of housing as a human right, access to adequate housing, the management and organization of housing and housing as an asset. Housing law interacts with other housing-related disciplines, both in the social sciences and technical fields. It has played a crucial role in the recent past and in current challenges related to housing, such as the 2007 Global Financial crisis, the availability of social housing, homeownership versus tenancies and the growing problem of housing unaffordability. It deserves to be a self-standing discipline.