Security of Tenure is one of the cornerstones of Millennium Development Goal 7 on the improvement of the lives of slum dwellers, and is the main focus of the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure

In most countries, a range of land rights and tenure types exists, which forms a continuum (from informal to formal). Whether tenure is informal or formal, it is usually understood, recorded and/or registered in the name of men, leaving women’s secure tenure often dependent on their relations with their in-laws. As women’s access to land and housing is often through their husbands or fathers, they may lose such access after widowhood, divorce, desertion, or male migration. While collective forms of tenure also include women, the decision-making processes are often dominated by men, excluding women from the important decisions regarding the land and housing.

This publication on Pro Poor Land Management is based on the Handbook on Best Practices, Security of Tenure and Access to Land. It briefly describes recent innovations at the global level in the field of pro poor land management. It shows how governments, including local government and other stakeholders, are coming to grips with implementing the land related principles enshrined in the Habitat Agenda at a practical level in the cities and towns. Together with the Handbook, it helps to assess at the global level the tools, methods and approaches that exist for the implementation of the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure, and to identify the gaps, blockages and problems that still need to be addressed.

Demonstrates that most arguments leading to the current bias against rental housing are highly flawed. Argues for more tenure-neutral housing policies, and urges governments to modify regulatory frameworks, develop credit programmes and other forms of assistance to support housing production, with a view to creating more rental housing and to improve the existing stock.

Summary of the Colloquium deliberations, which were focused around three main objectives, e.g. to stimulate development of the cooperative approach in the housing sector by a) Facilitating exchange of information and experience regarding the cooperative approach in the housing sector; b) Understanding the challenges and possibilities that exist within the cooperative approach in different countries; and c) Improving co-ordination and collaboration between stakeholders in the cooperative housing sector, to encourage the development of joint activities. The report also contains the full text of the statements and papers presented at the Colloquium.