Refugee Housing

Housing has always had a close association with how refugees have settled in exile. Refugees move from their home, often through many other places, to arrive in a nation-state that provides them with security of status and the hope of assistance to continue their lives. At the foundation of resettlement is the provision of a safe and secure home. Although this is the case for some refugees, the research evidence routinely points to the way that housing, and the systems that provide housing, hinder the process of resettlement and, in some cases, cause harm. In his 1942 essay, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” psychologist A. H. Maslow contended that shelter is one of the foundational human needs. Housing though, is far more than just physical shelter. Indeed, housing is often described as a key social determinant of health, given that how housing is provided, its quality, location, management, and tenure all combine to impact a range of factors beyond health, such as employment, social relationships, education, democratic participation, societal integration, and more.

This entry focuses on the way in which housing impacts refugees in their countries of exile. It draws on research predominantly from the United Kingdom, North America, continental Europe, and Australia. Owing to the differences in rights afforded to different groups, the focus will be predominantly on those who have arrived with refugee or similar status, or who have received protection following a decision on their application for asylum. It should be noted that, for many refugees, their resettlement experience is part of a continuum that includes a period awaiting a decision on their status. As such, their experience of settlement as refugees is entangled with their experience pre-status, and so, as necessary, this entry also touches on aspects of pre-status housing where evidence has suggested its importance to the long-term experience of resettlement.