Taking the Right to Adequate Housing Seriously in Chile’s Next Constitution: Building from Scratch

This chapter introduces the right to adequate housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. The first section presents the content and significance of this right in light of international and comparative law and practice. Second, the chapter explores some of the legal and policy implications of enhancing the status of the right to adequate housing in Chile’s Constitution, specifically in relation to the responsibilities of housing developers, the legal recognition of the social function of housing and homeownership, and the need to protect tenants with strong habitability standards and security of tenure in the private rental sector. Taking seriously the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living can contribute to addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality in Chile.