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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jane Ball
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The ‘right to housing’ in France implies that disadvantaged people suffering poverty or housing difficulty enjoy priority access to social housing. However, the disadvantaged in fact have serious difficulty obtaining access to social housing in France. In this article, insider–outsider theory (Lindbeck & Snower, 2002) is employed to explain the exclusionary process of French social housing allocation. Insider groups of local people, existing tenants and employees are represented in this complex allocation process and obtain privileged access. Disadvantaged outsiders suffer stigmatisation and exclusion. This article demonstrates how conflicting constitutional rights and a complex written bureaucratic procedure instrumentalise this exclusion of the disadvantaged. A new ‘opposable’ right to housing could help some disadvantaged groups, though it has significant limitations. Creating a level playing field for insiders and outsiders in a simplified procedure could help to improve housing access for disadvantaged people in France.
Author(s): Ball J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: European Journal of Housing Policy
Year: 2009
Volume: 9
Issue: 3
Pages: 313-335
ISSN (print): 1461-6718
ISSN (electronic): 1473-3269
Publisher: Routledge
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616710903138783
DOI: 10.1080/14616710903138783
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