The mediation and support service for eviction processes in the city, the Anti-Eviction Unit, has been given a World Habitat bronze, an international award jointly organised by the NGO World Habitat and the UN-Habitat agency. The award recognises the municipal service as an innovative, exceptional and revolutionary programme.
The World Habitat Awards have been recognising good practice in housing around the world for the last 35 years. This year’s awards recognised the work of the Anti-Evictions Unit for the work carried out since it was set up, which has seen it help over 14,000 families in vulnerable processes such as those caused by the loss of a home.
The municipal Anti-Eviction Unit takes the role of mediator between courts, property agents and affected families. The unit handles between 50 and 60 cases a week on average, with nine out of ten able to be suspended thanks to the work done by the service along with social movements.
New boost for the service
In an effort to gain more time and resources for professionals with the service to devote to cases, getting familiar with them further in advance and being better able to prepare a response, resources are being tripled through an in-house legal team and an investment of five million euros over two years. Affected families will also have a single reference figure throughout the whole process.