The Legal Right to Housing in India

This book unpacks the ways in which existing law and policy impact the realisation of the right to housing in India. Within that context, it critically examines the benefits of seeking legal recognition for the right, in order to facilitate informed and nuanced engagement with the law.

This book on constructing a legal right to housing in India seeks to achieve three ends: first, examine the costs incurred in translating a moral right into the language of the law; second, unpack the ways in which existing law and policy impact the realisation of the right to housing and situate any attempt to legally guarantee the right within this context; and finally, begin thinking through the many complexities that will arise should the right be articulated within the law. A comprehensive chronology of central housing law and policy provides the descriptive background for this analytical text, while also acting as a rich introductory resource on the subject. Asserting a need as a right and then seeking legislative recognition for the right is a formula often used in rights struggles. This book takes a critical look at this process, in order to facilitate informed engagement with the law.