ReliefWeb

More than three years into the Syrian conflict which has led to a protracted humanitarian crisis with regional dimensions, over 2.8 million people have sought safety and protec- tion in neighbouring countries and North Africa. According to UNHCR, the average rate of monthly registrations continues to exceed 100,000 so far in 2014.(1) Of these, it is estimated that 85% live outside of refugee camps.(2)

Neighbouring countries have exhibited solidarity in hosting unprecedented numbers of refugees, yet even before the Syrian crisis they were experiencing a shortage of afford- able housing. The lack of affordable housing has led to hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria living in substandard, overcrowded and unsuitable accommodation without security of tenure (3) and exposed to risks of exploitation and forced eviction. Cycles of secondary displacement in countries neighbouring Syria have been increasing, as refugee families move from place to place in search of adequate and affordable shelter.

Neighbouring countries, in particular Leba- non and Jordan, have noted that these risks are not limited to Syrian refugees as therefugeeinfluxisstartingtoimpactthe ability of the poorest segments of host com- munities to meet their housing needs.

Recent assessments (4) indicate actual - or fear of - rising rental prices and competition to secure adequate housing as the two main areas of tension between refugees and host communities.

To date, humanitarian assistance has been insufficient in covering the enormous shelter needs of the Syrian refugees. Moreover much of the assistance has been geared to respond to emergency shelter response in camp settings, as has been the case in Iraq and Jordan. In Lebanon and Jordan in particular, limited development assistance for shelter has been rolled out due to absence of national housing strategies, needed to address chronic short- falls in adequate housing which have been severely compounded by the refugee influx.