Legislative proposal · Energy, Infrastructure, Water, Environment and Urban Development

Social Housing, Informal Settlement Regularisation and Urban Renewal Law

Document number
POL-59

Version
1.0

Publication / update date
7 October 2026

Scope
Republic of Iraq

Executive summary

The proposal establishes one legal system for three interrelated problems: insufficient affordable housing, expanding informal settlements and deteriorating existing neighbourhoods requiring renewal rather than wholesale demolition. It uses existing institutions—the National Housing Council, Housing Directorate, Iraqi Housing Fund, local authorities and property registration bodies—instead of creating a parallel apparatus. It also separates property rights from social eligibility: encroachment does not become title, while the state may not address urban poverty through arbitrary eviction or relocation to isolated, unserviced sites.

The law targets support by income, assets and housing need, offering social rental housing, rent-to-own, serviced land linked to construction finance, home improvement and progressive tenure regularisation. In informal settlements, upgrading comes first wherever sites are safe and capable of integration; resettlement applies to high-risk sites or those fundamentally conflicting with a public facility or private right. Urban renewal ties investment to protection against resident displacement, an affordable-housing share where public land or support is used, and compensation, return or priority safeguards in relocation.

Current baseline

Data and policies published during 2025–2026 have reshaped Iraq's housing picture. The 2024 census recorded approximately 46.1 million people, 70.2% urbanisation and an average household size of 5.77. The National Housing Policy 2025–2030 explains that the census alone does not measure the adequacy deficit because it counts unsuitable housing types; accounting for overcrowding and adequacy indicators, the policy estimated a gap of approximately 2.3 million units. Meanwhile, the updated 2021–2022 informal-settlement survey, officially published in 2023, remains an important spatial baseline: it recorded 4,679 settlements and approximately 3.725 million residents, with over one thousand settlements in Baghdad.

46.1 millionIraq's population in the 2024 census

70.2%Urban population share

Approximately 2.3 millionEstimated adequate-housing gap in the 2025–2030 policy

4,679Informal settlements in the 2021–2022 survey

The state has also entered a new implementation stage: it launched the National Housing Policy 2025–2030, the National Housing Council continued meeting in 2026, and preparation of the policy's implementation plan began. In August 2026 the Council of Representatives confirmed government work to allocate one million residential plots across fifteen governorates and address informal settlements after suitable housing alternatives are provided. These developments make legislation less about declaring general goals and more about unified rules on eligibility, land, financing, regularisation, eviction and renewal.

Constitutional and legal context

The Iraqi Constitution guarantees equality, protects private property and public assets, and requires the state to provide the foundations of dignified living, including adequate housing, within social and economic welfare. Housing solutions therefore cannot rest on either opposing extreme: blanket legalisation of encroachment that wastes public assets and owners' rights, or mass clearance ignoring social need, dignity and fair procedure.

A broad institutional framework already exists: the National Housing Council coordinates; the Housing Directorate handles sector policies and projects; the Iraqi Housing Fund operates under Law No. (32) of 2011 and continues lending; and state-asset sale and lease, investment, property registration and social-protection laws govern parts of the issue. The government has adopted a new national housing policy and previously supported an informal-settlement roadmap with UN-Habitat. The main problem is the lack of a legislative connection defining when support is a targeted entitlement, when a site can be regularised, the status of temporary tenure, eviction, resettlement and urban-renewal procedures, and how public support is valued.

Legislative gap

For years, proposed legislation addressing residential encroachments centred on public land, rental or removal, while modern national housing policy expanded to finance, land, infrastructure, affordable housing and regularisation. Separating these issues creates dysfunction: removing encroachment without alternative housing recreates it; allocating unserviced land without construction finance can produce idle plots or unauthorised building; and renewal without safeguards can increase land values while displacing original residents to urban fringes.

The proposal creates a unified framework without turning legislation into a vast ministerial plan. It defines rights, powers, tenure and financing models, transparency, eviction and remedies, leaving project, unit and city numbers and annual costs to implementation plans and budgets supported by actual feasibility studies.

Proposed legislative policy

Problems and proposed legal instruments
Problem	Legislative instrument
Housing support not always linked to actual need	A national needs register, points system and verification of income, assets and previous benefits.
Land allocation without construction or services	Link serviced land to construction financing, deadlines and recovery of unused land.
Uniform treatment of informal settlements	Three categories: upgrading, conditional regularisation, and sites unsuitable for regularisation requiring resettlement.
Conflating housing and property rights	Separate social assistance from ownership; occupancy certificates and services do not create title.
Eviction before alternatives are provided	Notice, consultation and appeal, with actual alternatives for low-income households in programme-related clearance.
Urban renewal causing displacement	Resident protection, return priority, affordable housing and assessment of effects on rents and livelihoods.
Undisclosed public support for developers	Disclose the value of land, exemptions and infrastructure and tie it to measurable affordability commitments.
Fragmented institutions	Use the National Council, Housing Directorate, Housing Fund and local authorities rather than a new apparatus.

Central principle: The law neither rewards encroachment nor uses poverty as a pretext for demolition. Social eligibility is assessed independently of tenure legality, and site regularisation independently of household economic capacity.

Draft law

A legislative proposal within Ali Zuweid's Political Programme. Article numbers belong to this proposal and do not refer to an enacted law.

Proposed legislative enactment formula

In the name of the people
Presidency of the Republic
Pursuant to approval by the Council of Representatives and ratification by the President of the Republic, and under Article (61/First) and Article (73/Third) of the Constitution, the following Law is issued:

Chapter One — General provisions

Article (1) — Title and commencement

This Law shall be called the Social Housing, Informal Settlement Regularisation and Urban Renewal Law and enters into force ninety days after publication in the Official Gazette unless otherwise specifically provided.

Article (2) — Scope

First: This Law applies to social and affordable housing programmes funded or supported by the federal state and to informal-settlement regularisation and urban renewal in governorates not incorporated into a region and the Baghdad Municipality. Second: Federal programmes in regions shall be implemented under the Constitution, applicable laws and relevant institutional and financing agreements. Third: This Law does not prejudice private or public property rights or confer ownership merely through occupation or encroachment.

Article (3) — Objectives

This Law aims to: (a) expand access to adequate, safe and affordable housing for eligible groups; (b) establish a clear legal path for upgrading and regularising informal settlements capable of integration and fairly, orderly addressing non-regularisable sites; (c) support renewal of deteriorated neighbourhoods without excluding residents or disproportionately harming their rights; (d) connect housing with serviced land, infrastructure, transport, employment and basic services; (e) target public support to needy households using transparent, auditable criteria; (f) prevent new encroachments and speculation in housing subsidies; and (g) unify data, planning, financing and oversight using existing institutions.

Article (4) — Governing principles

Competent authorities shall observe legality, equality, non-discrimination, protection of public funds, priority for safe and feasible in-situ upgrading, prohibition of arbitrary eviction, proportionality, participation, transparency, protection of vulnerable groups, financial and environmental sustainability, disability accessibility, and support based on eligibility rather than mere occupation.

Article (5) — Definitions

For this Law: 1- Ministry: the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities or its federal successor. 2- Council: the National Housing Council. 3- Local authority: Baghdad Municipality, the competent governorate, municipality or administrative unit, as appropriate. 4- Social housing: wholly or partly subsidised housing for households unable to secure adequate market housing on ordinary terms. 5- Affordable housing: housing whose occupancy or financing cost is proportionate to household income under a published national standard. 6- Eligible household: a household meeting income, asset, housing-need and non-duplication criteria. 7- Informal settlement: a residential settlement established or expanded outside formal planning, ownership or licensing processes, or some of them. 8- Regularisation: planning, legal and service measures establishing a stable legal status for a site or occupants without presuming ownership transfer. 9- In-situ upgrading: improvement of roads, services, safety, environment and built form while retaining residents wherever possible. 10- Resettlement: relocation to an alternative site where upgrading or regularisation is impossible. 11- Urban renewal: integrated rehabilitation of a physically, service-wise or economically deteriorated urban neighbourhood or area while protecting residents' and property owners' rights. 12- Temporary occupancy certificate: a time-limited legal document establishing residence or use rights without constituting title. 13- Cut-off date: the date after which new occupation cannot earn priority or support, determined under the relevant Article. 14- Housing cost: instalments or rent plus basic services and compulsory occupancy-related costs.

Article (6) — Adequate housing

Housing is adequate where, according to programme type, it provides reasonable tenure security, structural safety, space, privacy and access to water, sanitation, energy, roads and basic services, at a location without unacceptable risks or isolation from employment, education, health and transport.

Article (7) — Non-discrimination

Discrimination in registration, ranking, allocation or housing terms based on sex, ethnicity, origin, colour, religion, belief, opinion, social status, disability, age or previous residence is prohibited. Temporary, proportionate preferential measures for those in greatest need are permitted.

Article (8) — Encroachment creates no ownership

Occupation of state, municipal or third-party property, however long, creates no automatic ownership or right in rem. Procedural protection or provision of basic services neither prevents application of property and planning rules nor acknowledges title.

Article (9) — Protection of property and public assets

Regularisation and social-housing provisions shall preserve public assets and private rights. Public property may be transferred or encumbered with a right in rem only under this Law and applicable laws, for consideration or a reasoned, defined subsidy to eligible persons, through mechanisms preventing speculation and favouritism.

Article (10) — Objection and appeal rights

Anyone adversely affected by site classification, application refusal, eligibility assessment, resettlement, allocation or termination of use may object administratively and appeal to competent courts. Objections do not prevent urgent measures protecting life from immediate danger under this Law's safeguards.

Chapter Two — Governance and responsibilities

Article (11) — Continuity of the National Housing Council

The existing National Housing Council shall continue as the national housing-policy coordination body, with composition and powers adjusted to this Law rather than creating a parallel authority. It shall be chaired by the Minister of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities; regulations shall ensure representation of competent federal, local, financial, investment and statistical bodies.

Article (12) — Council responsibilities

The Council shall: 1- Adopt the national social and affordable housing framework. 2- Adopt eligibility and affordability criteria. 3- Approve the informal-settlement classification methodology. 4- Monitor the national regularisation and urban-renewal plan. 5- Coordinate land, finance and infrastructure among authorities. 6- Adopt performance indicators and annual reports. 7- Resolve institutional conflicts without affecting judicial jurisdiction. 8- Propose necessary legislative and regulatory amendments.

Article (13) — Ministry's role

Through existing departments, the Ministry shall prepare technical policies and programme models, administer the federal programme register, support local authorities technically, develop social-housing design and administrative standards, and monitor national housing-policy implementation.

Article (14) — Housing Directorate's role

The Housing Directorate shall study housing needs, design social and affordable housing models, evaluate Ministry projects, support governorates technically and administer sector monitoring and evaluation with the Ministry of Planning and Statistics and Geographic Information Systems Authority.

Article (15) — Iraqi Housing Fund's role

The Iraqi Housing Fund shall continue its statutory functions and establish targeted financing windows within its resources and appropriations for eligible households, covering incremental construction, completion, improvement, rehabilitation, purchase or instalment ownership where legally permitted. This Law does not prejudice independent fund management or credit-prudence rules.

Article (16) — Ministry of Planning's role

The Ministry of Planning shall align programmes with development plans, population policies and poverty-reduction strategy, review statistical methodologies for need, deficit and deprivation indicators, and assess major projects' economic feasibility under applicable laws and instructions.

Article (17) — Ministry of Finance's role

The Ministry of Finance shall assess multi-year fiscal impacts, allocate appropriations according to priorities and state capacity, review subsidy bases and government guarantees, and prevent off-budget or unrecorded obligations.

Article (18) — Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs' role

Through the Social Protection Commission and associated systems, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall supply eligibility systems with necessary poverty and social-protection indicators under data-sharing rules. Inclusion in the protection network shall be neither the sole eligibility condition nor an automatic bar.

Article (19) — Local authorities' role

Local authorities shall identify needs and sites, prepare local plans, implement upgrading, regularisation and urban renewal within approved plans, manage community participation and local grievances, monitor prevention of new encroachments, and coordinate service providers.

Article (20) — Local regularisation teams

Relevant governorates shall form technical, legal and social regularisation teams, using existing staff where possible, covering planning, surveying, property registration, municipal affairs, services and social protection. Independent experts may assist under law.

Article (21) — Preventing institutional duplication

No new fund, authority or directorate may implement this Law where responsibilities can be assigned to an existing institution, except through legislation establishing need, feasibility and inability to redistribute responsibilities.

Article (22) — Coordination with property registration

The General Directorate of Real Estate Registration and its offices shall implement registration, annotations and resolution of register conflicts under law. Social-programme registers neither replace the property register nor independently prove ownership.

Chapter Three — Needs and eligibility register

Article (23) — National housing-needs register

The Ministry shall establish a digital national housing-needs register based on one-time registration, linking applications to households rather than repeated paperwork. It shall identify need, payment capacity, priority and available programmes, preserving an audit trail for every change.

Article (24) — Verification sources

Subject to law and data protection, the register may verify identity, property ownership, income, salary, social protection, loans and previous housing support. Applications may not be refused merely for lacking a formal salary where economic capacity can be assessed objectively otherwise.

Article (25) — Eligibility index

Ranking shall use published points for housing need, disposable income, assets, household size, overcrowding, dwelling condition, disability, age or care responsibilities, eviction or disaster exposure, and proximity to work and services. Political or tribal affiliation and unrelated criteria are prohibited.

Article (26) — Affordability index

The Council shall annually publish a national affordability standard based on household income, housing and basic-service costs and geographic price differences, defining subsidy and instalment limits without one rigid ratio for all households and governorates.

Article (27) — Preventing duplicate benefits

A household owning adequate habitable housing or previously receiving a grant, plot or subsidised unit that fulfilled its housing purpose is ineligible for new capital housing support. Exceptions may cover documented loss through disaster, conflict, expropriation or other force majeure.

Article (28) — Priority for those in greatest need

Within each programme's points system, priority shall go to the poorest households; those including persons with disabilities or older people requiring housing adaptations; households supporting children without sufficient resources; displaced persons and returnees unable to secure stable housing; and disaster and conflict victims, preventing unjustified accumulation of privileges.

Article (29) — Periodic updates

Household records shall be updated at least annually or following substantial changes in income, ownership or household size. Concealing eligibility-affecting changes requires recovery of excess support under law, preserving objection rights.

Article (30) — Waiting list

Authorities shall publish application numbers, rankings, status and points criteria without exposing personal data, explaining ranking changes or suspension. Manual reservations outside the system are prohibited except statutory emergencies.

Article (31) — List audits

Allocation lists shall undergo automated and periodic audits and field sampling. The Federal Board of Supreme Audit, Federal Commission of Integrity and competent oversight bodies may access records necessary for their functions.

Article (32) — Eligibility grievances

Eligibility-score grievances may be submitted within thirty days of notification and decided within thirty days by a reasoned decision from a committee whose members did not make the original decision. Judicial appeal remains available.

Chapter Four — Social and affordable housing instruments

Article (33) — Housing programme portfolio

The state shall use a mix of social rental housing, rent-to-own, restricted subsidised sales, serviced land linked to construction finance, existing-home improvements, incremental construction, rehabilitation support and cooperative or community housing where suitable legal frameworks exist, rather than one model.

Article (34) — Social rental housing

Social rental housing is for households unable to afford safe mortgage financing. Rent shall reflect income and management and maintenance costs, subject to periodic review. Increased income shall trigger gradual transition to higher rent or another programme rather than automatic immediate eviction.

Article (35) — Rent-to-own

Designated units may use rent-to-own contracts clearly separating occupation payments from amounts credited towards the purchase price and defining default, heirs' rights and ownership-transfer conditions, prohibiting hidden charges.

Article (36) — Restricted subsidised sales

Where a unit or plot is sold at a subsidised price, the subsidy or public benefit shall be documented. Disposals during a programme-defined protection period of at least five and at most ten years shall carry anti-speculation restrictions, including fair proportional subsidy recovery on early sales not caused by force majeure.

Article (37) — Serviced land

Allocation of unserviced land is not a complete housing solution. Serviced-land programmes must define construction finance, delivery schedules for roads, water, sewerage, electricity and basic services, construction deadlines, and plot-recovery procedures for trading or unjustified failure to build.

Article (38) — Incremental construction

Phased construction finance may support households owning or lawfully using suitable residential land, subject to safely expandable designs, building-code-compliant stages and disbursement linked to completed work.

Article (39) — Existing-home improvements

Programmes shall repair deteriorated, unsafe or disability-inaccessible homes where repair is more efficient than replacement, including structural safety, thermal insulation, water, sanitation and accessibility within programme limits.

Article (40) — Middle-income households

State action is not confined to extreme poverty where market dysfunction prevents middle-income households securing housing. Concessional finance, credit guarantees, serviced land or at-cost units may support them without crowding out social-housing allocations for those most in need.

Article (41) — Use of public housing stock

Before expanding new construction, public bodies shall inventory unused or not actually allocated state-owned housing and assess its suitability for rehabilitation and inclusion in public-housing programmes under law.

Article (42) — Transitional temporary housing

Temporary housing shall cover disasters, dangerous-site evacuations and phased resettlement. It must be time-limited, serviced and prevented from becoming permanent informal settlements.

Article (43) — Avoiding social isolation

Social-housing projects shall avoid concentrating poverty in isolated complexes, ensuring access to transport, jobs, schools, healthcare, markets and public spaces. Income and unit types may be mixed within a project.

Article (44) — Affordable share in supported projects

Residential investment projects receiving preferential public land, exemptions or substantially state-financed infrastructure shall, according to contract and feasibility, provide affordable units or equivalent payments to the programme fund. Regulations shall define calculation methods preserving feasibility and transparent public benefit.

Article (45) — Quality standards

Low cost does not justify weaker safety, health, accessibility, energy- or water-efficiency requirements in social housing. National building codes and the standards applicable to comparable unsubsidised housing apply.

Article (46) — Post-occupancy management

Before handover, each project must have a financed management and maintenance plan, defined responsibility for shared areas and services, cost-collection arrangements and resident training in management procedures to prevent public-housing deterioration.

Chapter Five — Finance and fiscal sustainability

Article (47) — Sustainable financing principle

Programmes shall be financed from federal budget appropriations, Iraqi Housing Fund resources, lawful local allocations, recovered subsidies, developer contributions linked to supported projects, and loans and grants accepted under law. State-guaranteed obligations may not be created off-budget or without disclosure.

Article (48) — Social-housing programme account

A separate accounting account within the Iraqi Housing Fund shall cover social-housing and regularisation programmes entrusted to it, with revenues and expenditure separately reported. It creates no new legal person.

Article (49) — Multi-year financing

The Ministry and Ministry of Finance shall prepare a rolling five-year financing framework identifying existing commitments, new projects, funding sources and anticipated subsidy costs, updated annually before budget preparation.

Article (50) — Measuring subsidies

Every capital, financial or in-kind housing subsidy, including discounted land and dedicated infrastructure, shall be valued and disclosed in project files and final accounts to prevent hidden or unequal subsidies.

Article (51) — Targeting assistance

Assistance shall reflect the affordability gap, increasing with need and declining with economic capacity. Uniform subsidies may not be used where they disproportionately benefit more capable households.

Article (52) — Credit guarantees

The Council of Ministers may establish partial guarantees for eligible households' housing loans with Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Iraq approval, specifying risk ceilings, the state's loss share, guarantee charges and claim and recovery procedures.

Article (53) — Bank participation

Public and private banks may finance affordable units under Central Bank rules and banking laws. Banks may not be compelled to lend contrary to credit-prudence requirements; public support shall transparently address rather than conceal risk gaps.

Article (54) — Islamic finance

Lawfully authorised Islamic finance structures may expand household options, with full disclosure of actual costs and delay risks. Different structures may not conceal financing prices.

Article (55) — Recycling resources

Instalments, recovered subsidies and related civil fines, less authorised expenses, shall be reused in housing programmes under budget provisions and Fund-specific laws.

Article (56) — Feasibility assessment

Major public-housing projects require disclosure of land, infrastructure, construction, maintenance, transport and service costs, comparison of alternatives, measurement of subsidised-unit and beneficiary-household costs, and assessment of demand and delivery risks.

Article (57) — Prohibition of profit guarantees

Supported-housing contracts may not include unlimited government guarantees of profit, purchase or occupancy. Partnership or advance-purchase contracts may specify quantities, prices, standards and risks following feasibility study and lawful competition.

Chapter Six — Informal settlement regularisation

Article (58) — National informal-settlement inventory

The Ministry of Planning, Ministry and local authorities shall update the informal-settlement database through field surveys and geographic information systems, identifying boundaries, ownership, households, risks, services and planning status, with a dated snapshot preserving conditions at the cut-off date.

Article (59) — Cut-off date

Commencement is the general cut-off for eligibility arising from new occupation. The Council may adopt an earlier date for an officially surveyed site. Essential humanitarian services and emergency responses remain permitted, but subsequent encroachment alone creates no housing priority.

Article (60) — Stopping expansion

Once site boundaries are approved, local authorities shall prevent new expansion, informal sales and subdivision, providing rapid reporting and documentation before violations become widespread faits accomplis.

Article (61) — Site classification

Informal settlements shall be classified as: (a) suitable for in-situ upgrading and regularisation; (b) conditionally regularisable following replanning, boundary adjustment or resolution of ownership or infrastructure issues; or (c) unsuitable because of serious danger, fundamental conflict with public facilities, private rights, environmental or archaeological protection, or legal obstacles that cannot proportionately be resolved.

Article (62) — Classification criteria

Classification shall consider flood, fire, environmental and structural safety; utility, road and rail corridors; land ownership; infrastructure feasibility; density; service access; planning compatibility; upgrading costs compared with resettlement; and social and economic impacts.

Article (63) — Classification decision

Classification decisions shall be reasoned and accompanied by maps, boundaries and technical summaries, published locally and notified to residents, owners and right-holders. At least thirty days shall be allowed for objections before approving treatment plans, except immediate-danger measures.

Article (64) — In-situ upgrading

In-situ upgrading is preferred where acceptable safety, services and planning can be achieved at reasonable cost and impact. It may include necessary passages, improved roads, water, sewerage, energy, lighting and waste management, service sites, public spaces and hazardous-point remediation.

Article (65) — Partial replanning

Plots, passages and boundaries may be rearranged within regularisation sites by agreement or lawful land-pooling and redistribution instruments, preserving owners' relative rights values. Private property may be taken only under expropriation law with fair compensation.

Article (66) — Public land suitable for regularisation

On state or municipal land acceptable for regularisation in planning terms, eligible occupants may receive long leases, musataha building rights or usufruct, rent-to-own, sales under specific legislation with public-asset safeguards, or temporary occupancy certificates during transition, subject to programme terms. No single tenure model is required for all sites.

Article (67) — Private land

An informal settlement on private land does not itself transfer ownership or diminish the owner's rights. Solutions shall begin with negotiation, voluntary purchase, reorganisation, leasing or land exchange. Expropriation requires a statutory public purpose and compliance with expropriation and compensation procedures.

Article (68) — Agricultural land

Informal residential buildings on agricultural land do not automatically change its classification or use. Regularisation requires lawful change of use under planning, land-use, agricultural and environmental legislation, considering food security and preventing new subdivision.

Article (69) — Utility and infrastructure corridors

Permanent regularisation over dangerous power-line, pipeline or railway corridors, road reserves, waterways or sites needed for public facilities is prohibited where lawful safety distances or acceptable engineering solutions are impossible. Phased resettlement shall protect eligible households.

Article (70) — High-risk sites

Where technical expertise establishes serious risks that cannot reasonably be mitigated, urgent resident-protection measures shall be taken. Temporary or permanent evacuation may occur as necessary, with appropriate transitional shelter and a resettlement plan for eligible households.

Article (71) — Services during regularisation

Existing settlements may not be denied drinking water, sanitation or basic health and safety services merely because property status remains unresolved, where services are legally and technically feasible. Service contracts must state that connection creates no ownership right.

Article (72) — Household file

Each household shall receive a socioeconomic record covering members' identities, occupancy date, dwelling condition, other property, income, assets and relationship to the site, used to determine housing solutions rather than acknowledge ownership.

Article (73) — Occupant categories

Regularisation programmes shall distinguish lawful owners, non-owner occupants, tenants, users, investors or speculators and purchasers of customary rights. They shall not receive identical compensation or support. Social assistance follows actual need; financial rights follow their legal basis.

Article (74) — Financially capable occupants

An informal-housing occupant proven to own adequate housing or sufficient assets or financial capacity to obtain formal housing without support is not entitled to a free social unit merely because of encroachment, while retaining lawful procedures and reasonable notice periods.

Article (75) — Low-income occupants

Low-income occupants lacking adequate alternatives are entitled to solutions matching their capacity, including social rental housing, affordable units, relocation assistance or subsidised finance. Assistance shall reflect points and affordability assessments.

Article (76) — Tenants in informal settlements

Needy tenants do not lose protection because they do not own the informal building. Their housing circumstances shall be addressed separately from ownership disputes between landlords and the state or owner. They may join social-housing programmes if eligible.

Article (77) — Prohibiting trade in informal status

Agreements made after the cut-off date to sell priority or benefits arising from regularisation or allocation programmes are unenforceable against the state. Courts may still determine lawful civil rights between parties.

Article (78) — Temporary occupancy certificates

Temporary occupancy certificates may be issued for sites or households during regularisation, specifying use limits, duration, obligations and absence of ownership transfer. They support temporary stability and services and are not registered as title.

Article (79) — Final regularisation

Final regularisation requires an approved area plan, resolved land rights, defined corridors, services and financial obligations, and established tenure type. Registrable rights in rem shall be entered in the property register.

Article (80) — Beneficiary contributions

Partly capable households may bear a fair share of land or housing improvement or relocation costs, reduced or waived for the poorest under published criteria. Inability to pay shall not justify cutting essential services or immediate social-housing eviction.

Article (81) — Community participation

Each site plan shall include hearings, participatory mapping and disclosure of alternatives, costs and impacts, with meaningful representation of women, persons with disabilities, tenants and groups less able to attend public meetings.

Article (82) — Prohibition of purchasing consent

Emergency aid, relocation allowances or legal compensation shall not constitute consideration for waiving objections or appeals. Any condition denying court access in exchange for an essential benefit is void.

Chapter Seven — Eviction and resettlement

Article (83) — Prohibition of arbitrary eviction

No household may be evicted or occupied dwelling demolished under this Law without a reasoned lawful decision after exhausting less harmful alternatives, respecting property rights, public safety and procedural safeguards.

Article (84) — Notice

Except in immediate danger, occupants shall receive written notice at least sixty days before eviction stating legal grounds, timing, reasons, available alternatives or assistance, and objection and appeal procedures.

Article (85) — Consultation before collective eviction

Eviction affecting ten or more households or removing a substantial part of a settlement requires documented consultation, presentation of upgrading, replanning or phased relocation alternatives, and social-impact assessment before the final decision.

Article (86) — Alternative housing for eligible households

A proven low-income household without adequate housing may not be permanently evicted for regularisation, renewal or a public facility before a suitable alternative or relocation support and finance ensuring an actual programme housing solution is available.

Article (87) — Emergencies

Imminent threats to life permit immediate evacuation to safe shelter through a documented technical decision. Eligibility and permanent-solution assessment must begin within fifteen days; emergency procedures may not evade ordinary safeguards.

Article (88) — Eviction implementation

Evictions shall occur in daylight with a civilian local-authority representative present, preserving dignity and personal property. Force is permitted only as authorised by law to prevent danger or unlawful resistance, with the event documented.

Article (89) — Children and education

Resettlement schedules shall consider children's educational continuity and school distance, providing transitional arrangements where relocation abruptly changes school catchment areas.

Article (90) — Persons with disabilities and older people

Alternative housing for persons with disabilities or older people with particular needs requires verified access to the unit and essential services, or reasonable adaptations before relocation.

Article (91) — Moving possessions

Within resettlement programmes, implementing authorities shall pay to move essential furniture and possessions of eligible households required to relocate and allow reasonable time to collect belongings.

Article (92) — Compensation

Lawful right-holders shall receive compensation for property taken or demolished under applicable laws. Social assistance to non-owner occupants follows need and is not compensation for unproven ownership.

Article (93) — Alternative locations

Resettlement sites must not be isolated from transport, employment and service networks. Minimum water, sewerage, energy, roads, safety and necessary services must be ready before occupation.

Article (94) — Return or priority

Where temporary eviction for urban renewal permits return, affected households shall have publicly declared priority for suitable units or programmes in or around the same area, reflecting their previous rights and economic capacity.

Chapter Eight — Urban renewal

Article (95) — Urban-renewal areas

With competent planning-authority approval, local authorities may designate renewal areas where extensive deterioration of buildings, services, safety or public space, or abandoned assets obstructing development, is established. Designation may not serve as a pretext for unlawful expropriation or land-use changes benefiting private interests.

Article (96) — Baseline assessment

Designation shall be preceded by an inventory of residents, properties, rents, economic activities, services, heritage buildings, risks and property values, with a reference date preventing post-announcement speculation.

Article (97) — Renewal plan

Plans shall define boundaries, objectives, uses, movement networks, services, affordable housing, heritage protection, implementation phases, effects on residents and businesses, and financing, compensation and resettlement arrangements where needed.

Article (98) — Upgrading priority

Building and infrastructure repair, public-space improvement and vacant-building reuse shall precede extensive demolition where more efficient and protective of social and urban fabric.

Article (99) — Protecting residents from displacement

Implementers shall prevent public investment forcing out low-income households through rent or price surges. Social housing, stable tenancy contracts, affordable-housing shares or relocation support may serve this purpose.

Article (100) — Owner and occupant participation

Plans shall provide negotiation and participation mechanisms for owners, occupants and businesses. Merely formal consultation is insufficient where projects entail relocation or substantial changes in access or economic activity.

Article (101) — Land pooling and readjustment

Land pooling and redistribution within renewal areas may proceed under specific legislation or applicable property-planning provisions. Each owner's share shall reflect value rather than area alone, distinguishing land contributions for roads and services from additional expropriation.

Article (102) — Expropriation in renewal

Expropriation requires a defined public interest and demonstration that reasonable voluntary or planning alternatives are unavailable, subject to expropriation law, compensation and judicial appeal.

Article (103) — Partnership development

Urban renewal may use private-sector partnerships awarded transparently under contracts defining land rights, public benefit, affordable-housing shares, risks, delivery phases and performance indicators. Public land may not be transferred without valuation and disclosure.

Article (104) — Small enterprises and local businesses

Where local markets or activities are affected, renewal plans shall arrange business continuity or temporary relocation and return where possible, minimising project-related livelihood losses.

Article (105) — Heritage and identity

Renewal projects shall preserve archaeological and heritage buildings and areas under law, using restoration and adaptive reuse instead of removal where appropriate.

Article (106) — Land-value capture

Applicable legislation or financial regulations may recover part of land-value increases directly attributable to major public investment in renewal areas to finance infrastructure and affordable housing. The instrument must be general, published and not designed for a particular liable party.

Article (107) — Public space and services

Streets, pavements, parks, schools, health centres, markets and transport are integral to renewal rather than later additions. Their financing and sequencing must be determined before final approval.

Chapter Nine — Public land and new cities

Article (108) — Inventory of public land suitable for housing

Public landowners shall register land within or near urban expansions potentially allocable to housing, identifying restrictions, ownership and infrastructure. Selection follows land-use plans rather than individual requests.

Article (109) — Priority for serviced land

Public financing shall prioritise coordinated, phased servicing of developable land rather than unserviced allocations that shift development costs onto households and encourage unauthorised construction.

Article (110) — Public-land pricing

When public land is allocated to affordable projects, authorities shall disclose its estimated value and the discount or usage right granted. The difference forms part of public support recorded in project accounts.

Article (111) — Recovery of unused land

Subsidised-land contracts shall specify construction and actual-use deadlines and recovery conditions for trading or unjustified failure to develop, guaranteeing notice and appeal.

Article (112) — Coordination with new-city projects

New-city programmes shall include clear affordable-housing shares, transport, jobs and services. Planned units may not be counted as housing achievements before completion and actual availability to residents.

Article (113) — Disputed land

Land under ownership dispute may not enter final sale, ownership or redistribution programmes before resolution or a lawful mechanism protecting all parties. Temporary safety services may proceed without prejudicing rights.

Chapter Ten — Project implementation and contracting

Article (114) — Implementation methods

Social housing may use public works contracts, partnerships, property development, advance purchase, direct rehabilitation or household construction grants under applicable procurement and contracting law to achieve best value for public money.

Article (115) — Performance-based specifications

Project documents shall specify minimum space, safety, efficiency, services, design life and maintenance standards. Particular materials or technologies may not be selected where they unnecessarily restrict competition.

Article (116) — Advance purchase

Public bodies may buy units in unfinished private projects where need is established, price is benchmarked against market and cost, and completion, specification and delivery guarantees exist. Full payment before verified completion milestones is prohibited.

Article (117) — Phased handover

Final handover requires occupancy certification, essential-service connections and site access. Phased project handover is permitted where each phase is independent, safe and serviced.

Article (118) — Defect warranties

Public-project contracts shall provide defect warranties, professional liability and insurance under applicable building and contract laws. Beneficiary rights are not extinguished because units are subsidised or inexpensive.

Article (119) — Conflicts of interest

Allocation, evaluation, tender and regularisation committee members shall disclose relevant personal interests, kinship or financial relationships and recuse themselves where conflicts arise under integrity laws.

Article (120) — Prohibition of paid brokerage

Receiving money or benefits for adding names, increasing priority or accelerating allocation outside official fees is prohibited. Every platform and service centre shall display complaint and reporting channels.

Chapter Eleven — Transparency, rights and oversight

Article (121) — Public transparency

The Ministry shall annually publish aggregate, geographically disaggregated data on applications, units, land, allocations, implementation, handover, subsidy costs, defaults and grievances without personal-data disclosure.

Article (122) — Project register

A public register shall identify every funded or supported project's location, owner, implementer, unit numbers and types, cost, duration, progress, affordable share and handover and maintenance results.

Article (123) — Data protection

Data collection shall be limited to eligibility, implementation and oversight needs; access shall be restricted and viewing and edits logged. Beneficiaries' names, national numbers and financial information may be published only under statutory authority or valid consent.

Article (124) — Legal assistance

Authorities shall provide clear, simple information on residents' regularisation, eviction and allocation rights and coordinate with legal-aid bodies, professional associations and qualified organisations to serve those unable to pay.

Article (125) — Right to reasoned decisions

Every refusal, cancellation, subsidy reduction or forced relocation under this Law must be written and reasoned, stating its basis and objection procedures.

Article (126) — Parliamentary oversight

The government shall submit an annual implementation and housing-policy report to the Council of Representatives covering housing gaps, allocations, achievements, regularisation and renewal areas, evictions, resettlement and financial commitments.

Article (127) — Financial oversight

Funds, contracts and programmes are subject to the Federal Board of Supreme Audit and competent oversight bodies. Public-land values and non-cash subsidies shall be audited.

Article (128) — Independent evaluation

Every three years, an independent evaluation shall assess support programmes' effectiveness in reducing deprivation, improving affordability and preventing renewed informal housing. Its summary and recommendations shall be published.

Article (129) — Outcome indicators

Monitoring shall measure reduced overcrowding and inadequate housing, households gaining secure tenure, upgraded-area proportions, water, sanitation and transport access, subsidy cost per household and maintenance sustainability, rather than announced unit numbers alone.

Chapter Twelve — Housing management and beneficiary obligations

Article (130) — Beneficiary obligations

Beneficiaries shall use units for housing under programme rules, pay due instalments or rent within their capacity, maintain shared areas, respect rental, sale and transfer restrictions, and disclose substantial eligibility-affecting changes.

Article (131) — Payment default

Minor or emergency payment delays shall not cause immediate eviction. Financiers shall give notice and reschedule or settle where temporary circumstances are established, retaining lawful enforcement against security for serious, persistent default.

Article (132) — Economic improvement

Sustained income improvement in social-rental households may justify rent adjustment or voluntary movement to affordable ownership. Lawfully received past support shall not be recovered merely because circumstances improve years later.

Article (133) — Death and heirs

The original beneficiary's death does not extinguish resident-family rights. Regulations shall govern transfer of rental or finance contracts to spouses or resident heirs, balancing family stability and programme restrictions.

Article (134) — Subletting

Profit-making subletting of social or subsidised units during the protection period is prohibited except through reasoned exceptional approval for temporary work, treatment or force-majeure relocation, recalculating support where necessary.

Article (135) — Shared maintenance

Complex contracts shall allocate responsibility for lifts, fire systems, roofs and shared spaces, establish maintenance reserves and allow cost exemptions or subsidies for households unable to pay where neglected maintenance threatens building safety.

Chapter Thirteen — Violations and enforcement

Article (136) — Administrative violations

Non-material inaccurate declarations, failure to update data or non-fraudulent breaches of usage terms are administrative violations addressed proportionately through warning, record correction or recovery of excess benefits.

Article (137) — Subsidy fraud

Submitting forged documents or deliberately concealing material property or income to obtain ineligible support is punishable under applicable laws, with unlawful benefits recovered following a final decision.

Article (138) — Manipulating lists

Employees or intermediaries who, for benefit, manipulate rankings, add ineligible persons, remove eligible persons or alter system data shall be referred to competent authorities. Administrative sanctions do not preclude criminal or civil liability.

Article (139) — New encroachments

New building or occupation on public land after the cut-off is a violation creating no regularisation priority. Early removal shall follow law, safety and procedural safeguards, preventing individual violations from becoming new settlements.

Article (140) — Developer breaches

Developers breaching affordable-housing obligations or selling targeted units contrary to contract shall repay public benefits and bear compensation and contractual sanctions, and may be excluded from future support programmes through lawful procedures.

Article (141) — Unlawful demolition

Public-body or contractor demolition or eviction violating essential procedures creates institutional, employee or contractor liability under applicable laws. This does not prevent removal of technically established immediate dangers.

Article (142) — Subsidy recovery

Ineligible support shall be recovered by reasoned decision to the extent of actual benefit. Instalments may be allowed where immediate recovery would cause severe household hardship and no fraud occurred.

Article (143) — No duplicate penalties

Programme bodies shall not impose multiple administrative fines for the same act already penalised under a specific provision. Public-money recovery and damage compensation remain available.

Chapter Fourteen — Transition and alignment

Article (144) — Transitional plan

Within six months of commencement, the Ministry shall prepare a three-year transition transferring previous databases, projects and lists into the unified system, preserving lawful legal positions and seniority of valid applications.

Article (145) — Existing programme continuity

Existing Housing Fund loans, projects and housing contracts continue under their terms until lawfully or consensually amended. This Law shall not apply retrospectively to impair lawfully acquired rights.

Article (146) — Alignment with residential-encroachment legislation

First: This Law forms the general legislative framework for residential encroachments and informal settlements within its scope. Second: Where proposed residential-encroachment legislation remains pending at commencement, competent bodies shall consolidate overlapping provisions and prevent parallel tracks before enactment. Third: Where specific legislation on the same subject predates commencement, its provisions continue insofar as consistent with this Law. Within six months, the government shall propose amendments removing conflict and duplication while preserving valid procedures and lawful legal positions established earlier.

Article (147) — Relationship with state-asset sale and lease law

The amended State Asset Sale and Lease Law No. (21) of 2013 applies where this Law provides no specific rule. Housing support shall not be interpreted as a general exemption from public-asset safeguards.

Article (148) — Relationship with Housing Fund law

Iraqi Housing Fund Law No. (32) of 2011 remains effective. Necessary amendments shall expand its instruments consistently with social housing and affordable finance without prejudicing existing obligations.

Article (149) — Relationship with investment law

The amended Investment Law No. (13) of 2006 applies to investment projects. Public benefits granted to housing projects shall underpin explicit contractual affordable-housing or infrastructure commitments.

Article (150) — Relationship with property registration

Regularisation creating rights in rem or transferring ownership shall follow applicable property-registration law. Beneficiary databases and social maps do not replace official registration.

Article (151) — Relationship with planning and building

This Law does not exempt projects from urban planning, land-use, building-code, safety or environmental requirements. Legal tenure regularisation is part of an integrated process, not a substitute for residential suitability.

Article (152) — Instructions and regulations

The Council of Ministers shall issue regulations for provisions affecting multiple bodies; the Minister shall issue technical and administrative instructions within their competence within one year of commencement. Instructions may create no fee, penalty or deprivation of a right not prescribed by law.

Article (153) — Priority of specific provisions

Where this Law's specific social-beneficiary safeguards or regularisation procedures conflict with earlier general provisions, the specific rule applies to the necessary extent, respecting the Constitution and established rights in rem.

Article (154) — Legislative review

Three years after commencement, the government shall report to the Council of Representatives on laws and decisions shown to conflict or duplicate this Law, proposing amendment or repeal rather than leaving practical conflicts to fragmented administrative remedies.

Article (155) — Phased implementation

On Council recommendation, the Council of Ministers may phase digital platforms and certain financing procedures geographically according to readiness, without delaying basic procedural rights or favouring a governorate without objective criteria.

Chapter Fifteen — Final provisions

Article (156) — Contract language

Social-housing and regularisation contracts shall use clear Arabic, with suitable translation or explanation where needed, specifying instalments, fees, delay risks and disposal restrictions without ambiguous references or illegible printed terms.

Article (157) — Electronic notices

Authenticated electronic notice with a second communication method may be used for decisions not involving immediate eviction. Failed electronic notice alone shall not suffice where non-receipt is proven and the decision affects a substantial right.

Article (158) — Fees

Registration, application, inspection and service fees require a published legal basis. Fees for the poorest shall be reduced or waived where legally permitted. Unpublished internal memoranda may create no fees.

Article (159) — Service continuity

Water, sewerage or electricity may not be disconnected from entire areas to pressure encroachment clearance or payment collection. Individual lawful procedures shall be used without endangering public health and safety.

Article (160) — Safety priority

Where higher unit numbers conflict with structural or fire safety, water or sanitation quality or accessibility, safety and minimum adequacy take precedence over numerical speed.

Article (161) — Periodic standards review

Every two years, the Council shall review eligibility, affordability, allocation and regularisation criteria using price, income, census and survey data, publishing amendments before applying them to new applications.

Statement of reasons

This Law is enacted to provide an integrated framework translating adequate-housing rights into targeted, financed and accountable instruments; prevent land, lending, encroachment and renewal policies operating separately; protect property and public assets while addressing social need fairly; prioritise upgrading integrable informal settlements over mass demolition, with eviction and resettlement safeguards where regularisation is impossible; regulate social housing, affordable rental, serviced land and improvement finance; disclose public subsidy values; and prevent speculation and unlawful brokerage.

Explanatory memorandum

1. Why combine social housing, informal settlements and urban renewal?

They are links within one land and housing market. Households unable to buy or rent formal housing may build informally; clearing settlements without alternatives transfers the problem elsewhere; and renewing deteriorated neighbourhoods without resident protection may improve buildings while causing economic displacement. Legislative integration does not merge implementation, but ensures decisions in one track are tested for their effects on the other two.

2. Why create no new fund or authority?

Iraq already has the National Housing Council, Housing Directorate, Iraqi Housing Fund, ministries, municipalities and property registration bodies. The need is to define roles, data, decision processes and financing, not add bureaucracy. The proposal therefore creates programme accounting accounts within the existing Fund where needed and uses multidisciplinary local teams instead of a new federal authority.

3. Social eligibility is independent of land status

This distinction is crucial. One public-land occupant may be poor and lack alternatives; another may be wealthy or own another home. The first needs a social solution despite lacking ownership; the second deserves no free subsidy merely for encroaching. Conversely, private landowners may bear no responsibility for the housing problem and cannot be made to finance it. Three questions must remain separate: who owns the land, whether the site can be regularised, and how much support the household deserves.

4. In-situ upgrading first

The proposal follows modern international and Iraqi approaches preferring improvements where sites are safe and serviceable, since wholesale clearance often costs more socially and financially. Upgrading is not unconditional: utility corridors, dangerous sites, unresolvable private rights or public-facility needs may prevent it. In such cases the law regulates resettlement rather than pretending every settlement can be retained.

5. Urban renewal does not mean demolition

Renewal begins with repairing buildings, services and public spaces and reusing vacant assets. Where extensive redevelopment is necessary, the proposal requires baseline studies, resident participation and displacement protection, offering affordable housing, return and land-readjustment tools. The objective is better neighbourhoods rather than replacement residents.

6. Subsidies are costs that must be measured

Free or discounted land, infrastructure connections, government guarantees and subsidised loans are all public expenditure even without direct cash payments. The proposal therefore requires subsidy measurement and disclosure, enabling fair comparisons: a seemingly cheaper unit may consume more costly public land and infrastructure than an alternative.

Alignment with existing legislation

Relationship with existing laws and institutions
Reference	Status	Proposed alignment
Iraqi Constitution 2005	Equality, property, public-asset protection, adequate housing and distribution of responsibilities.	Prevents automatic ownership through encroachment while protecting social eligibility and fair procedures.
Iraqi Housing Fund Law No. 32 of 2011	An existing, functioning financing institution.	Remains effective, with expanded financing windows and targeting through later amendments where needed.
Amended State Asset Sale and Lease Law No. 21 of 2013	Regulates disposal of public assets.	Applies absent specific provisions; public-land subsidies are valued rather than presumed free.
Amended Investment Law No. 13 of 2006	Framework for investment and housing projects.	Links developer public benefits to affordable-housing shares or equivalent contractual contributions.
Amended Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971	Reference for rights in rem and registration.	Regularisation maps and beneficiary registers do not become titles outside property registration.
Social Protection Law No. 11 of 2014	An existing social-targeting basis.	Its data are one of several sources; housing eligibility is not confined to network beneficiaries.
Urban planning, building codes and environmental legislation	Regulate land suitability, building and safety.	Regularisation does not waive planning or safety; it establishes transition to enforceable legal status.

Transition and implementation requirements

Core implementation timetable
Period after commencement	Requirement
3 months	Establish governance, designate federal and local contact points and begin protecting existing list rankings.
6 months	Issue initial eligibility standards, the informal-settlement classification framework and digital transition plan.
12 months	Launch the national housing-needs register initially and update priority-site baselines.
18 months	Begin financed local regularisation plans linked to water, sewerage, energy and road plans.
24 months	Publish the first national report measuring subsidy costs and actual outcomes rather than announcements.
36 months	Complete independent first-cycle evaluation and propose necessary legislative amendments.

Transition principle: Existing loans and projects continue while the new system is prepared; platform changes do not erase household seniority. Once unified eligibility criteria are complete, no new support window shall open under old rules.

Financial and operational impact

The proposal gives no fixed total cost for solving the housing crisis because costs vary radically with the instrument mix: state-built units, serviced land, subsidised loans, social rental or existing-neighbourhood upgrading. The official baseline itself distinguishes numerical shortage from inadequate housing. The law therefore prescribes a financial methodology instead of a falsely precise political number.

Financial-impact estimation method
Item	Costs to include	Control instrument
New unit	Land + infrastructure + construction + management + transport and services.	Lifecycle cost and alternative comparison.
Serviced land	Land value + networks + roads + financing for uncompleted construction.	Do not count plot allocation as completion before construction.
In-situ upgrading	Replanning + networks + limited compensation + registration.	Compare upgrading and resettlement costs for each site.
Resettlement	Alternative unit + land + transport + livelihood loss + demolition and land reuse.	Social and financial plans before eviction.
Financial support	Interest/cost differential, guarantees, discounts and default risks.	Disclose subsidy net present value in programme budgets.
Urban renewal	Public investment and resulting property-value increases.	Lawfully capture part of the increase for services and affordable housing.

This methodology enables Parliament to review annual and multi-year appropriations based on households actually assisted and each pathway's cost, instead of committing large sums in advance without data or identified sites.

Relevant international standards

The proposal follows the practical substance of adequate-housing rights as interpreted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: housing means more than a roof and involves tenure security, services, adequacy, affordability and location. It also draws on eviction safeguards stressing that forced removal is not a routine development instrument and that alternatives, consultation and lawful procedures are essential where relocation becomes necessary.

From UN-Habitat's informal-settlement approach it adopts progressive tenure security that does not always require immediate title, service improvements alongside rather than after planning, and community participation in solutions. It also draws on area-based renewal integrating housing, services, livelihoods, transport and environment rather than isolated demolition projects.

These standards do not replace Iraqi law. Property, registration, expropriation and public assets remain subject to the Constitution and national legislation. International instruments strengthen safeguards and institutional design efficiency only.