INTER-AGENCY SHELTER SECTOR COORDINATION WORKING GROUP
Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Sub-Standard Buildings (SSB)
In exchange for a minimum of 12 months secure tenure in combination with a rent-free or rent-reduction hosting period
This document was developed by a Temporary Technical Committee chaired by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) with contributions from ACTED, CHF, CISP, Concern, DRC, Handicap, ICRC, PU-AMI, SCI, SI, Swiss Solidarity, UN-Habitat, and UNHCR
Approved by the Shelter Core Working Group on 03 May 2016
1 Introduction
As the Syrian Crisis continues, conditions are deteriorating for many of the most vulnerable affected households. As demonstrated by the latest UNHCR Shelter Survey, March 2015, there has been a substantial and continuing increase in the number of Syrian Refugees living in physically sub- standard conditions, resulting in considerable increases in health, protection and economic vulnerabilities amongst the affected populations. This has been strained by Government of Lebanon (GoL) communications in January 2015 requiring refugees to pledge not to work as a condition of renewing their residency documentation and new regulations that require refugee households to submit a housing pledge, signed by the owner, stating that they have accommodation. Given these hardships, occupancy free of charge or rent reduction, for a defined period, along with tenure security is one of the key forms of assistance agencies can provide to vulnerable refugee households.
Rehabilitation addresses multiple household-level needs faced by displaced and vulnerable households living in sub-standard buildings. It involves the provision of conditional payments to support permanent Shelter and household-level WASH improvements in exchange for occupancy- free-of charge (OFC) or reduced rent and increased security of tenure. The intervention addresses the physical aspects of poor living-conditions whilst increasing the household’s security of tenure and reducing their rent-burden thus reducing their economic vulnerability. The intervention also contributes towards an increase in the affordable housing stock in Lebanon, the local economy and social cohesion through the clear investment in the host community.
The rehabilitation of sub-standard buildings to provide increased adequate shelter capacity for displaced and vulnerable people has been on-going in Lebanon since 2007. It represents a significant component of both the inter-agency Shelter Sector Strategy and the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan.
The creativity and adaptability of agencies working in different social and economic contexts in Lebanon is a sectoral strength, however the harmonisation of principles and minimum shelter standards is required to ensure a quality service to beneficiaries. These guidelines form the main reference document for agencies intending to implement Rehabilitation of Sub-Standard Buildings in accordance with the inter-agency Shelter Sector Strategy.
1.1 Introduction to this revision
This document is a revision of the original guidelines developed by UNHCR in 2012 and 2013 and the last edition, which was published in May 2014 and led by a committee chaired by NRC. The revision of this guideline was initiated following the request of the associated Temporary Technical Committee (TTC) on 23rd February 2015. After being reviewed by the TTC members, the document was shared with the WASH Working Group lead, as well as the Protection Working Group lead for input from their respective Core Working Groups.
The sub-standard building rehabilitation complements other main shelter approaches in Lebanon:
- Cash for Shelter supports vulnerable households in buildings meeting minimum standards, for example a finished house/apartment or a property rehabilitated by another agency.
- Weather proofing and WASH upgrades are a cheaper, emergency intervention that only temporarily improve living conditions in sub-standard buildings, albeit without rent- free/reduction periods