Denmark's Supreme Court to Rule on 'Ghetto Law' Housing Case on November 23

Denmark's Supreme Court is due to rule on November 23 in a case concerning the country's so-called "ghetto law", a housing measure that can force the sale, demolition or conversion of nonprofit homes. The case was brought by families who live in one of the affected estates, and it has drawn attention to how the government classifies residents by origin.

Under the law, nonprofit homes can be targeted in areas where more than half of residents are classed as "non-Western". Nonprofit housing in Denmark accommodates more than one million people, so the rules reach a large part of the rental stock. Al Jazeera

The framework dates back to Denmark's first official "ghetto list", published in 2010. Under a 2018 law, which the government now refers to in terms of "parallel societies", a nonprofit housing area goes on the list if it has at least 1,000 residents, more than half of them "non-Western", and if it also meets two of four criteria covering unemployment, crime, education and income. The government updates the lists every year on December 1. Areas that remain on the list for five consecutive years must reduce nonprofit family housing to 40 percent by 2030.

The case before the Supreme Court involves seven families from the Nojsomhed estate in Helsingor. The estate was placed on the "ghetto list" in January 2020, and the families are challenging their former landlord, Boliggarden.

Lower courts ruled against the families. They found that "non-Western" does not describe an ethnic group.

The question has also been examined at the European level. Last December, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest court for EU law, ruled in cases from Mjolnerparken in Norrebro and another estate. It found that the "non-Western" categorisation could amount to ethnic discrimination, and it left the final decision to Danish judges.

Denmark's Supreme Court heard the Nojsomhed case over two days. Its ruling is scheduled for November 23.