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Law no.22/2018 "On Social Housing"
Type of Measure
Laws > Violence against women > Legislation
Form of Violence
Domestic violence/Intimate partner violence
Year
2018
Brief Description
The Law No. 22/2018 "On Social Housing" reflects Albania's commitment towards international standards with regards to protecting victims of domestic violence. Referring to the terms "victim of domestic violence", as defined in the Istanbul Convention (article 2/46), the law has broadened and strengthened support for categories of victims stipulated by this Convention. Concretely, the law provides as beneficiaries of this service three categories of violated women and girls: 1) Victims of domestic violence, 2) Victims of trafficking, 3) Potential victims of trafficking.
In addition to the above, the law handles:
(i) Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence:
1. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence is provided with the service of specialized social workers and is guaranteed protection by the state police officers in cases of danger to life and health.
2. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence must be equipped with the necessary infrastructure for police notification in cases of risk or emergency.
3. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking /potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence shall be leased, subject to compliance with conditions, rights and obligations arising from the social housing rental programme, enshrined herein. These categories benefit from the specialized housing programme until benefiting from other social housing programmes.
(ii) Specialized housing for child-mothers: Specialized housing for child-mothers provide accommodation of child-mothers during and after childbearing until the child is 5 years of age, when they are single mothers, have no housing opportunities due to rejection of their situation by their families and when they do not have enough income to ensure housing. Regarding requirements about applications for housing subsidies, it has been noted that applicants have difficulty in collecting all required documentation, costs for obtaining information and delays in providing response as to whether or not they are beneficiaries. Decisions of the Council of Ministers which will deal with procedures and criteria for the housing of disadvantaged women, are currently subject to the drafting process.
In addition to the above, the law handles:
(i) Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence:
1. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence is provided with the service of specialized social workers and is guaranteed protection by the state police officers in cases of danger to life and health.
2. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking/potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence must be equipped with the necessary infrastructure for police notification in cases of risk or emergency.
3. Specialized housing for victims of trafficking /potential victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence shall be leased, subject to compliance with conditions, rights and obligations arising from the social housing rental programme, enshrined herein. These categories benefit from the specialized housing programme until benefiting from other social housing programmes.
(ii) Specialized housing for child-mothers: Specialized housing for child-mothers provide accommodation of child-mothers during and after childbearing until the child is 5 years of age, when they are single mothers, have no housing opportunities due to rejection of their situation by their families and when they do not have enough income to ensure housing. Regarding requirements about applications for housing subsidies, it has been noted that applicants have difficulty in collecting all required documentation, costs for obtaining information and delays in providing response as to whether or not they are beneficiaries. Decisions of the Council of Ministers which will deal with procedures and criteria for the housing of disadvantaged women, are currently subject to the drafting process.
Source of Information
Experiencing Violence?
