Right to Housing Unit
In March 2026, the UN Human Rights Council appointed Dr Koldo Casla UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, effective since May 2026.
The Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing is the only mechanism of the international human rights system devoted entirely to the promotion and protection of the right to adequate housing. The right to housing is enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and multiple other treaties under the UN and the regional human rights systems.
As part of the Human Rights Centre Clinic, the Right to Housing Unit (RHU) team will work with Dr Casla on real cases submitted to the United Nations. This includes conducting background research in relation to thematic reports or country reports, and analysing evidence brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur by individuals and groups. This can include, for example, cases of forced evictions, legislative initiatives that may amount to unjustifiable retrogression, discriminatory practices, examples of financialisation of housing leading to exclusion, or the systematic destruction of homes in armed conflict.
Applications for 2026-27 will open in October 2026.
Applying
How to apply
Applications to join all Clinic projects in 2026-27 will open in October 2026 and should be submitted to humanrightscentreclinic@essex.ac.uk.
Please send your application documents in PDF format with the file name [SURNAME]_[First name] HRCC application.
If you wish to apply to the RHU, your application to join the Clinic should include two attachments:
- your CV (two pages maximum).
- a 400-word statement explaining why you want to join the Clinic and what you expect to learn from it. The statement should include your preferred three projects in order of preference. We will do our best to accommodate your choices.
Interviews
Interviews will take place via Zoom in October 2026. You would be allocated a time slot for a short conversation with the HRC Clinic Director, the Deputy Director and Dr Koldo Casla.
Who can apply?
- The RHU is open to all final year undergraduate and all postgraduate students at Essex from any discipline (it is not restricted to Law and Human Rights students).
- When applying for this stand-alone project, you do not need to take HU902, but can opt to do so.
Important information
Time Commitment
If successful in your application to join the Clinic, you may be offered a space both on a module-based project and the RHU. You are free to accept both commitments, but note that, from late October until the end of June, the module-based projects will require approximately 8-10 hours of your time per week, while the RHU will require 4-6 hours of your time per week, on top of the coursework for all other modules. We recommend you do not overstretch your commitments.
Student Activity
You will be assigned tasks in conjunction with casework. These tasks will include:
- Receiving specialised training on key legal and human rights concepts related to the right to housing.
- Reviewing and analysing individual complaints, as well as government responses thereto.
- Researching novel issues regarding housing-related human rights violations, and discussing potential approaches and solutions to these situations.
- Preparing briefings on countries of particular interest in relation to housing, and briefings of thematic issues.
- Adhering to non-disclosure obligations.
Skills and experience you'll acquire
- You will develop exceptional skills regarding the assessment and redress of human rights violations.
- You will obtain extensive knowledge of the law and key UN human rights institutions.
- You will form strong research and writing skills.
- You will develop the ability to analyse, process, and summarise legal texts, as well as an understanding of the requirements of confidentiality.
- You will develop a holistic understanding of housing from a broad set of perspectives, including Law, Sociology, Public Health, and Economics.
