{"id":20973,"date":"2026-03-10T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hogarsi.org\/en\/?p=20973"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:24:18","slug":"regularisation-and-housing-the-european-challenge-to-break-the-cycle-of-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hogarsi.org\/en\/regularisation-and-housing-the-european-challenge-to-break-the-cycle-of-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Regularisation and Housing: the European challenge to break the cycle of homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across\u00a0<\/span>Europe<\/span><\/b>, thousands of migrants with\u00a0irregular\u00a0administrative status remain trapped in a\u00a0<\/span>cycle of exclusion that is extremely hard to break<\/span><\/b>. Lack of residence\u00a0authorisation\u00a0limits access to formal employment; precarious work makes it impossible to secure housing; and the absence of a stable home blocks any process of social or administrative inclusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This dynamic is no accident, but a\u00a0<\/span>structural pattern<\/span><\/b>\u00a0extensively documented in multiple reports, including the one recently published by\u00a0<\/span>PICUM<\/span><\/b><\/a>, (<\/span>Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants<\/span><\/b>) and\u00a0<\/span>FEANTSA<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0(<\/span>European Federation of National\u00a0Organisations\u00a0Working with the Homeless<\/span><\/b>). The report analyses the systematic exclusion experienced by migrants in\u00a0irregular\u00a0situations\u00a0across Europe when trying to access decent housing. Although housing is a fundamental human right, this group faces legal and economic barriers and widespread discrimination that push them into extreme precarity.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The PICUM\u2013FEANTSA report,\u00a0<\/span>Housing and homelessness of undocumented migrants across Europe: patterns, barriers, and ways forward<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a>, compiled from the\u00a0<\/span>experiences of\u00a0organisations\u00a0across Europe<\/span><\/b>, shows how housing policies and migration control are increasingly intertwined, creating\u00a0<\/span>near-insurmountable barriers<\/span><\/b>. Administrative requirements that are impossible to meet, bureaucratic hurdles such as local registration, discrimination in the private rental market, fear of detection by authorities, and restricted access to publicly funded accommodation push many people towards unsafe, informal housing solutions\u00a0or directly onto the streets. Homelessness, in this context, is not an accident but a predictable outcome of\u00a0<\/span>exclusionary legal frameworks<\/span><\/b>. In addition, the report\u00a0identifies\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>growing\u00a0criminalisation\u00a0of basic\u00a0assistance<\/span><\/b>, which deters potential helpers for fear of legal consequences. Families, young\u00a0people\u00a0and children are especially affected, with serious impacts on health,\u00a0schooling\u00a0and life projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the overall diagnosis, the PICUM\u2013FEANTSA report pinpoints the mechanisms that make homelessness almost inevitable for people with an irregular administrative status.\u00a0<\/span>The absence of firewalls separating social services from migration control<\/span><\/b>\u00a0means that going to a shelter, seeking information, or\u00a0attempting\u00a0to report discriminatory treatment or a hate crime can entail the risk of detention. In several European countries, renting to an undocumented person can be sanctioned or even\u00a0criminalised, pushing this group into informal markets where abuse, overcrowding and exploitation proliferate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Against this European backdrop, a meaningful window of opportunity has opened in Spain.\u00a0<\/span>The Draft Royal Decree amending the Immigration Regulations<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(<\/span>RD 1155\/2024<\/span><\/a>),\u00a0put forward by the Government a few weeks ago, represents progress on\u00a0regularisation\u00a0processes by acknowledging\u2014at least in part\u2014a reality long highlighted by the third sector: administrative irregularity does not result from individual failings but from systems that structurally produce exclusion and precarity. Addressing it is a necessary condition for guaranteeing basic rights, including the right to housing. As we set out in\u00a0<\/span>our analysis of the draft regulation<\/span><\/a>, currently under public consultation in which we have submitted several contributions,\u00a0<\/span>a well<\/span><\/b>\u2011<\/span><\/b>designed\u00a0regularisation\u00a0can act as a lever to break the exclusion cycle<\/span><\/b>\u00a0described by PICUM\u2013FEANTSA: it unlocks access to jobs with rights, reduces residential exploitation, makes it possible to rent in the formal market, and reduces reliance on emergency solutions that, by definition, cannot offer stability<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At\u00a0<\/span>HOGAR S\u00cd<\/span><\/b><\/a>, we\u00a0maintain\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span>it is impossible to end homelessness without tackling administrative irregularity<\/span><\/b>, and equally impossible to promote effective\u00a0regularisation\u00a0processes without guaranteeing minimum material living conditions. For many people, in fact, the lack of residence\u00a0authorisation\u00a0is not just a vulnerability factor but\u00a0<\/span>the principal driver that pushes them directly into homelessness<\/span><\/b>, preventing them from accessing jobs with rights, renting a home, or even using basic services without fear. The\u00a0<\/span>PICUM\u2013FEANTSA report<\/span><\/b>\u00a0clearly confirms this diagnosis: when access to housing depends on having papers and\u00a0regularisation, in turn, depends on having a work contract or stable\u00a0housing,\u00a0<\/span>a vicious circle is perpetuated that is almost impossible to escape<\/span><\/b>. Removing this barrier would enable thousands of people to regain stability, rebuild their life projects, and move towards real inclusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the\u00a0<\/span>punitive trend\u00a0evident\u00a0across much of Europe<\/span><\/b>\u00a0(also present at times in the Spanish context)\u00a0there are real opportunities to move towards rights-based approaches grounded in guaranteeing material living conditions. Designing accessible mechanisms that do not require prior housing, strengthening the role of social services as safe spaces, and ensuring that access to accommodation is not conditioned on administrative status are fundamental steps to effectively break the homelessness cycle.\u00a0<\/span>Regularisation\u00a0is not only a migration policy<\/span><\/b>: it is a social policy that\u00a0facilitates\u00a0access to employment, housing and social protection, reduces exclusion, and strengthens social cohesion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At\u00a0<\/span>HOGAR S\u00cd<\/span><\/b><\/a>, we will continue to affirm that\u00a0<\/span>no one should be left without a home because of their administrative status<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>Guaranteeing dignified, stable housing is not the end of the process\u2014it is the first step<\/span><\/b>\u00a0for everyone to\u00a0<\/span>rebuild their life project<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aitor\u00a0de la Fuente S\u00e1nchez, Public\u00a0Affairs\u00a0Relations\u00a0Officer\u00a0at HOGAR S\u00cd.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Descarga y lee el\u00a0el informe\u00a0completo\u00a0de PICUM\u2013FEANTSA\u00a0aqu\u00ed:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Housing and home\u00adless\u00adness of un\u00addoc\u00adu\u00adment\u00aded migrants across Europe: patterns, barriers, and ways forward<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across\u00a0Europe, thousands of migrants with\u00a0irregular\u00a0administrative status remain trapped in a\u00a0cycle of exclusion that is extremely hard to break. Lack of residence\u00a0authorisation\u00a0limits access to formal employment; precarious work makes it impossible to secure housing; and the absence of a stable home blocks any process of social or administrative inclusion.\u00a0 This dynamic is no accident, but a\u00a0structural…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":20974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRegularisation and Housing: the European challenge to break the cycle of homelessness - HOGAR S\u00cd<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hogarsi.org\/en\/regularisation-and-housing-the-european-challenge-to-break-the-cycle-of-homelessness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Regularisation and Housing: the European challenge to break the cycle of homelessness - HOGAR S\u00cd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Across\u00a0Europe, thousands of migrants with\u00a0irregular\u00a0administrative status remain trapped in a\u00a0cycle of exclusion that is extremely hard to break. 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