Lebanese housing policy provides little protection to tenants, meaning more than half the population of Beirut lacks housing security. Lebanon’s economic collapse and the Beirut port explosion have exacerbated the housing crisis and left low-income renters open to poor living conditions, rent hikes and illegal evictions.
Housing Monitor is a housing rights project in Beirut run by Public Works Studio. It provides a safe and secure database for people to report housing violations and responds to individuals’ housing needs with access to legal and social services, building awareness among vulnerable groups, particularly refugees and migrant domestic workers, who have limited legal representation and/or knowledge of their rights. The project has received 603 reports of housing injustices, of which 472 cases were responded to with targeted interventions. So far, it has prevented the eviction of 92 households and negotiated better housing security for hundreds of people.
The development of Housing Monitor was funded with $33,500 from the Relief Centre, an organisation which brings Lebanese and UK institutions and expertise together to develop sustainable ways to improve the quality of life of people in Lebanon. Housing Monitor mobilises local advocacy efforts to demand housing policy reform. As the first project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, Housing Monitor is giving vulnerable communities a voice to demand their basic housing rights and campaign for a more equitable society.
