Decision
the Committee’s recommendations and requests that the follow- up procedure in respect of these Views be concluded. Comments by the authors: On 30 June 2022, the authors submitted their comments on the State party’s written observations. Firstly, the authors describe the events that have taken place since the Committee adopted its Views. The authors report that the competent authorities have not taken any action to resolve their housing emergency apart from contacting the social services of El Álamo local government authority to request the family’s contact details and, even after having done so, they still failed to contact them. The authors report that the competent housing authorities of the Community of Madrid have not even tried to assist them in their negotiations with the owner of the property. The authors consider that the series of measures taken to address the crisis caused by COVID-19, as described by the State party, are only temporary and do not resolve the underlying problem. Moreover, these measures have not prevented many evictions, which, owing to the competent housing authorities’ failure to act, have been dealt with by civil society and social services. For example, the eviction of the authors scheduled for 29 April 2022 was postponed for another three months thanks to the intervention of social services and civil society. The authors state that, if the authorities do not take action in relation to their case, they will not be able to gain access to housing on the private market. As far as access to social housing is concerned, the authors submit that the State party has only described the contents of existing regulations and has not examined the problem of access. The authors further contend that it is not true that 50 per cent of applications are accepted; it is nearer to 30 per cent, a figure which can be corroborated by social services and which, according to the authors, has been published by various civil society organizations. The number of successful applications is so low because of the regulations in force, which prevent families who are occupying a property without the owner’s consent from applying for social housing. The authors request that the State party be required to comply with all the recommendations contained in the Committee’s Views, both in respect of them and the general recommendations. to the intervention of social services, among others. The Committee also notes that the authors’ state of necessity and their level of priority on the waiting list have not yet been reassessed, retrospectively taking into account their application for housing with the Community of Madrid, starting from the date on which they applied, as recommended by the Committee. On the contrary, the State party argues that such an assessment cannot be carried out as long as the authors continue to illegally occupy the property. The Committee recalls that it has already found, in a previous similar communication, 4 that this requirement can place people in a vicious circle and perpetuate the already precarious situation of persons in need, and that its aim in making such a recommendation is to ensure that the State party retroactively exempts the authors from having to comply with this requirement. Given that the authors have not yet been evicted from the dwelling because of their situation of need, but that their needs in the event of the eviction going ahead have still not been reassessed, the Committee considers that some satisfactory action has been taken to implement recommendation (a) in respect of the authors and requests the State party to remove the obstacles preventing the authors from applying for housing so that recommendation (a) may be implemented in full. The Committee notes that the State party disagrees with the Committee’s recommendations concerning compensation for violations suffered and the reimbursement of costs reasonably incurred. Therefore, the Committee considers that satisfactory action has not yet been taken in relation to recommendations (b) and (c). With regard to its general recommendations, the Committee takes note of the advances represented by the implementation of Royal Decree-Laws No. 11/2020, No. 37/2020, No. 1/2021 and No. 8/2021, which have opened the way for dialogue and coordination between social services and legal authorities, and for fuller consideration of the socioeconomic vulnerability of persons who may be subject to eviction by judicial authorities. The Committee considers that these measures may contribute to compliance with its general recommendation (a) but notes that some of these measures are applicable only during the state of alert and that the number of evictions is still very high. The Committee takes note of the budgetary and administrative support provided for the State Housing Plan 2018–2021, although the assistance has not yet reached all sectors of citizens in need. The Committee also welcomes the initiative for the adoption of a housing law containing measures aimed at responding to the housing needs of the population and, in particular, of the most disadvantaged groups and those that have the greatest difficulty in gaining access to housing for economic, social or geographical reasons. Some of these measures may also contribute to increased coordination between the different authorities with a view to providing housing options when persons without alternative housing are evicted. The Committee considers that these measures can contribute to compliance with recommendations (a), (c) and (d), and encourages the State party to continue to make progress and to keep the Committee informed in this regard. On the basis of all the information received, the Committee considers that some initial action has been taken but that further action and additional information on the measures taken are still needed. The Committee decides to continue the follow-up procedure for this communication and invites the State party to provide information on the measures taken in relation to all its recommendations. The Committee asks that the required information be sent within 180 days of the publication of the present document and that the Committee be periodically informed when progress is made in respect of its recommendations.