HLP

The Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Rights Toolkit for CCCM was developed to strengthen HLP responses in displacement sites. Based on consultations with CCCM Clusters and HLP AoR working groups, the Toolkit aims to provide resources and tools for all phases of CCCM programming, from project planning to implementation and closure, and for situations that may arise along the way. 

Introduction

Housing, land and property (HLP) rights are about having a home, free from the fear of forced eviction; a place that offers shelter, safety and the ability to secure livelihood opportunities. HLP includes the full spectrum of rights to housing, land and property held according to statutory or customary law or informally — both public and private housing, land and/or property assets. Land rights are rights held to both land and natural resources. 

Disputes over land and other property are frequently among the root causes of conflict and displacement. Efforts to readdress property loss must be part of the overall response but can be linked to obstacles to return, reintegration and reconciliation therefore delaying site operations. In relation to site planning, consultation with the formal authorities and displaced population should take place at the start of operations. In addition, site managers need to consult informal authorities and existing inhabitants about agreements (both formal and informal) and build upon traditional or informal land tenure as appropriate to the context.  

Permission to remain on the land may be informal and therefore it is important to understand who has the right to use the land and what arrangements have been put in place. The ownership of building or structures being used as collective centres may need to be analysed, especially if the building appears abandoned. If they are privately owned, agreements on use and duration of the collective centre may need to be agreed and formalized. 

IDP Sites & HLP Due Diligence

CCCM Actors & HLP Issues

The role of CCCM with regard to HLP is to ensure that people can stay where they have established themselves, without fear of further displacement. This certainty is what is often referred to as “security of tenure”. A high level of “security of tenure” gives people peace of mind to improve their condition, like upgrading their shelter and work on its surroundings, and eventually – if they wish to - establish roots in the place: grow crops, enrol their children in the local school, find a job nearby, and invest in improving their home. 

CCCM practitioners encounter HLP issues in several scenarios: sites may be planned or spontaneous and occur on land that can be private, public or have unclear ownership. If security of tenure is weak, IDPs might be faced with the risk of eviction and re-displacement. See Toolkit Section 8.3 Site Lifecycle: Setup to Closure for guidance on evictions. 

When establishing planned sites or expanding IDP sites, site management and site coordination practitioners must ensure that the land is available, and not claimed by other parties. They must secure the land by properly identifying the owner, verifying that there are no competing claims over it and obtaining the proper authorization to use it, under terms and conditions that are suitable for the establishment or expansion of the site. Liaison with local authorities is essential, given their responsibilities under the ‘camp administration’ function include responsibility for securing land and occupancy rights for temporary displacement sites.  

Establishing land ownership and negotiating security of tenure for IDP sites can be complex, especially for informal and spontaneously-settled sites. CCCM actors should engage with the Protection and Shelter Clusters, any HLP Working Group, and HLP experts or specialist actors for support. For planned camps, it is recommended to include land tenure experts in a site planning team.  

Developing Guidance for HLP Verification

If land tenure is an issue in displacement sites in your context, a land verification or ‘due diligence’ tool or guidance can be developed to support CCCM and other humanitarian actors. Ideally, for IDP sites this should be drafted by the CCCM, Protection and Shelter Clusters and the HLP Working Group.  

A due diligence tool is a standardized protocol for humanitarian partners outlining the recommended steps for verifying tenure: who should be contacted, in which order, how the records should be kept, what is the minimum level of triangulation/confirmation that must be obtained to consider that due diligence was completed. It can be a written Standard of Procedure or a simple checklist.  You can find templates of these type of documents (“Rapid Tenure Assessment” tools) on the shelter cluster website.   

See Related Resources below for guidance and examples in a CCCM context. 

HLP Coordination & Guidance

At global level, the HLP Area of Responsibility under the Global Protection Cluster is co-led by NRC and UN-Habitat. At country level, there may be an HLP Working Group activated in your context, sitting under the Protection Cluster and usually closely supported by the Shelter Cluster.  

• Find out more about the HLP AoR 
• Find resources in the HLP Toolkit for CCCM 

Returns & Property Restitution

Promoting safe and voluntary returns often involves addressing HLP issues, particularly when the properties left behind by IDPs have been occupied by others. 

CCCM actors working with displaced families and supporting work towards durable solutions should be aware of HLP issues that need to be addressed to support return (or integration or resettlement). Protection and Shelter actors, and actors working specifically on durable solutions, will likely be working on HLP issues if the context demands, including giving HLP due diligence guidelines with procedures for ascertaining ownership for these cases, to support families to be able to return. See Toolkit Section 8.8 Durable Solutions. 

Related Resources