CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: Join the Right to Housing Legal Task Force (RTHLTF - Lebanon)

Public Works, through its Housing Monitor, is seeking enthusiastic/ dynamic lawyers to join the Right to Housing Legal Task Force. S/he should be able to work individually and remotely as well as be able to coordinate and work closely within a team.

Housing Monitor (HM) is a community housing tool developed by Public Works Studio to protect and advance housing rights in Lebanon. The tool is used by residents from various marginalized social groups to report on housing vulnerabilities and eviction threats. In response, Public Works Studio provides individualized legal and social support, mobilizes tenants around shared grievances, and identifies any trends in housing injustices, to then advocate reform. In doing so, it employs evidence based research to support city dwellers in claiming their housing rights, while recognizing that housing is more than a shelter, as it is deeply rooted in social, economic and neighborhood based networks. Accordingly, the Housing Monitor raises attention over detrimental housing and urban policies in Lebanon that have led to inadequate housing, gentrification, displacement and evictions. 

The Right to Housing Legal Task Force (RTHLTF):

The Housing Monitor leverages existing legislation in place, both in Lebanon and internationally, to safeguard housing rights for different communities and offer tailored support. In collaboration with Public Work’s team of urbanists and architects, RTHLTF encompasses a group of lawyers that think in multidisciplinary terms to develop tools and strategies that democratize access to legal knowledge, advance city dwellers’ housing rights, impact litigation and advocate for a fair housing policy.

More specifically, the RTHLTF drafts legal memos, provides tailored legal assistance, conducts negotiations and presents strategic legal cases to court. The work of the RTHLTF is linked to constant monitoring and interpretation of laws and court decisions affecting housing rights. It also operates through partnerships and in collaboration with other organizations containing legal departments.

Seeking to assess threats to eviction and the legality of the eviction process, we are dedicated to activating the power of the law to prevent forced evictions from taking place.

Over the past one and half years, following the multi-layered housing crisis Lebanon has been facing, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, the RTHLTF worked diligently to: a) develop a series of recommendations that supported housing loans holders and tenants to know their rights b) strengthen the position of dozens of families and individuals facing eviction threats c) mitigate between landlords and tenants d) develop defense strategies for similar or connected threats e) and defend city dwellers in court.

In short, the RTHLTF seeks to expand venues for the realization of the right to adequate housing and propose changes to the existing dominant model on how housing rights are legally defended.

As a member of the task force, lawyers will be expected to:

• Provide legal assistance and representation for cases received through the Housing Monitor Hotline, which includes but is not limited to:

-Providing legal counseling over the phone

-Handling negotiations between tenants and landlords

And when necessary:

-Conducting field visits

-Draft legal documents

-Representation and assistance in court and other legal institutions

• Follow up on assigned cases;
• Attend regular meeting to discuss progress in cases and possible legal strategies;
• Contribute to advocacy strategies and initiatives;

This is an unpaid position, however, legal interventions performed by the lawyers will be symbolically re-numerated:  

• 50,000LL for quick over-the-phone legal consultancies;
• 100,000LL for negotiations and field visits.