UN asks for a suspension of eviction from Sintra’s family in Portugal
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the Portuguese state to suspend the imminent eviction of a family from Sintra, after a complaint filed by Habita, this Friday revealed this association for the right to housing.
Habita – Association for the Right to Housing and the City presents a communication against the Portuguese State to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CDESC) of the United Nations (UN) on behalf of a 78-year-old elderly woman and her son, aged 43 and with a disabling illness, who face an eviction process that can be triggered “at any time”, without public entities finding an adequate housing alternative, despite this case “completing the criteria for social housing”.
In the communication, to which documents were added on the steps taken by the family to find a solution both with private and public entities, Habita had also requested, as a precautionary measure, that the eviction process be suspended.
It was to this injunction that the Cabinet agreed to, requesting “the Portuguese State to take measures to avoid possible irreparable damages while the case is being examined by the Committee, which consists in the suspension of the eviction from the house in which the authors are currently considered , or, alternatively, to provide them with alternative accommodation suited to the needs of their needs”, revealed the association.
This means that “the process will continue to be analyzed by the Committee and a decision will be made on the substance of the communication issue”, he added.
The eviction process for the elderly woman and her son has been going on since 2019, when the landlord did not renew their lease, but “so far it has not been possible to find for both of them a housing solution to pay, as they live with two insufficient pensions to find a housing solution in the private market,” Rita Silva, from Habita, told Lusa.
The association stated that, since the beginning of this process, it has also been trying to find with the Social Security and Sintra City Council (district of Lisbon) “an alternative for decent housing”, but “to date none of the entities has given it an answer” .
Rita Silva said that “the family is notifying the court of this decision, which is asking for a suspension of the eviction or an adequate alternative”, and highlighted that this case “is very emblematic and very significant” for the association, which “accompanies many families that they are currently facing in court cases of eviction ”simulations, in situations that worsened due to the effects of the pandemic on economic life.
“Social services, Social Security are not in the least prepared to respond to people who are victims of eviction and this case is so important, because it poses exactly this question, that is, in case of eviction there must be an adequate housing solution ”, he defended.
In its communication to the CDESC, Habita claimed that in this case there was a violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), in which Portugal and the other signatory States recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their family, including food, clothing and housing, and commit to taking appropriate measures to secure these rights.