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Tenancy Law and Housing Policy in Multi-level Europe

Objective

Private tenancy law is existentially affecting the daily lives of European citizens, as about one third of them depend on rental housing. That notwithstanding, it constitutes a nearly blank space in comparative and European law. This is due to its national character, its political nature and its embeddedness in widely diverging national housing policies, which ultimately reflect different welfare state models.
At the same time, however, different parts of EU law and policy do affect tenancy law significantly, albeit indirectly. Thus, EU social policy against poverty and social exclusion extends to selected issues of housing policy. EU non-discrimination rules extend to the provision of housing, and several consumer law directives apply to tenancy contracts, too. Moreover, if the Common Frame of Reference were one day to develop into an optional instrument, tenancy law issues now regulated by national general contract law might be covered as well - though without any legislator having co-ordinated the ensuing juxtaposition of European contract law and national tenancy regulation.
Against this background, this project sets out to provide the first large-scale comparative and European law survey of tenancy law. In a first step, it analyses national tenancy laws and their embeddedness in, and effects on, national housing policies and markets. In a second step, the effect of EU legislation on national housing policy in general and national tenancy law in particular will be analysed in a comparative perspective. In a third step, a proposal for a better co-ordinating role of the EU in tenancy law and housing policy, in particular through an OMC process developing common principles of good “tenancy regulation”, will be designed.
This research matches well several priorities of the Stockholm programme given tenancy law’s intimate relation to social human rights and a system of law and justice working for the benefit of European citizens, in particular vulnerable groups.

Call for proposal

FP7-SSH-2011-2
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Coordinator

UNIVERSITAET BREMEN
Address
Bibliothekstrasse 1
28359 Bremen
Germany

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Sylvie Gavirey (Dr.)
EU contribution
€ 623 460

Participants (9)

UNIVERSITA DI PISA
Italy
EU contribution
€ 186 527
Address
Lungarno Pacinotti 43/44
56126 Pisa

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Elena Bargelli (Prof.)
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
Netherlands
EU contribution
€ 384 929,75
Address
Stevinweg 1
2628 CN Delft

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Hendrik Ploeger (Prof.)
TARTU ULIKOOL
Estonia
EU contribution
€ 149 072
Address
Ulikooli 18
51005 Tartu

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Irene Kull (Prof.)
UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI
Spain
EU contribution
€ 229 900
Address
Carrer De Escorxador
43003 Tarragona

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Sergio Nasarre Aznar (Dr.)
MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University
Sweden
EU contribution
€ 290 380
Address
Paradisgatan 5c
22100 Lund

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Per Norberg (Dr.)
UNIWERSYTET SLASKI W KATOWICACH
Poland
EU contribution
€ 208 300
Address
Ul. Bankowa 12
40 007 Katowice

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Magadalen Habdas (Mrs.)
MEDNARODNA FAKULTETA ZA DRUZBENE IN POSLOVNE STUDIJE ZAVOD
Slovenia
EU contribution
€ 195 340
Address
Mariborska Cesta 7
3000 Celje

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Goran Dakovic (Mr.)
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
United Kingdom
EU contribution
€ 270 490,50
Address
Highfield
SO17 1BJ Southampton

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Peter Sparkes (Prof.)
VAROSKUTATAS (METROPOLITAN RESEARCHINSTITUTE) KFT
Hungary
EU contribution
€ 154 127,20
Address
Lonyay Utca 34 Iii/21
1093 Budapest

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Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Administrative Contact
József Hegedüs (Dr.)