Speaker. Author.
Researcher. Lawyer.

We can reimagine and reform our housing and finance systems to rebuild the connection between people and home. Learn more about me →

Leilani Farha sitting on a beige sectional sofa in a living room with a green wall, colorful pillows, a coffee table with a newspaper and a mug, and artwork on the wall.

Latest Talks

Speeches that change how people think.

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Talks
There’s No Place Like Home</span>
Presentation
There’s No Place Like Home
Presentation

Key Note Speaker at World Habitat Homelessness and Affordability Conference

In a time where it is difficult to feel hopeful and comfortable with the global outlook, Leilani presents the case for “making and demanding connections between home and humanity, from the ground up.”  She says “human rights can be the architecture of our lives: they can provide an outline of what human wholeness, well-being and potential can look like when we centre our shared humanity."

Presentation
Architecture and the Right to Housing</span>
Presentation
Architecture and the Right to Housing
Presentation

Presentation given to Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Join a distinguished panel of housing experts, moderated by the Daniels Faculty's Karen Kubey, as they envision how architects can contribute to the right to housing. The panel will raise urgent questions and discuss promising examples, laying the groundwork for future solutions.

Presentation
Back Home: Returning Human Rights to Housing</span>
Presentation
Back Home: Returning Human Rights to Housing
Presentation

Presentation given to University of Nebraska

Presentation

Featured Podcast

Homes Not Assets

Hear Leilani explain how enforcing the right to housing is key to confronting the deepening global housing crisis.

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Latest Case Studies

Human rights are a practical way of governing.

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Case Studies
The Role of Banks in Canada’s Housing Crisis
Case Studies, Report
The Role of Banks in Canada’s Housing Crisis
Case Studies, Report

Our groundbreaking research exposes how banking practices actively drive housing unaffordability and displacement. Mortgage lending that inflates house prices. Commercial financing that incentivizes tenant displacement and fuels the climate emergency.

Case Studies, Report
Housing for Migrants and Refugees
Case Studies, Report
Housing for Migrants and Refugees
Case Studies, Report

Written on behalf of Mayors Migration Council

This report delves into the status of housing and human rights for migrants and refugees in cities around the world.

Case Studies, Report
Spatial Planning and Human Rights (Palestine)
Case Studies, Report
Spatial Planning and Human Rights (Palestine)
Case Studies, Report

Written on behalf of Norwegian Refugee Council

Working with one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, Leilani authored three reports: two focused on planning for Palestinians in the West Bank and one Gaza Recovery and Reconstruction. These reports are used by donor States and NGOs to inform on the ground activities.

Case Studies, Report

Latest Podcast Episodes

Interviews about housing as a fundamental human right .

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Podcasts
The housing industry has become a new kind of empire, says 2026 CBC Massey Lecturer
CBC Ideas
The housing industry has become a new kind of empire, says 2026 CBC Massey Lecturer
CBC Ideas

Leilani Farha’s lectures explore the deeper roots of our housing crisis

CBC Ideas
Homes not assets
United Nations System Staff College
Homes not assets
United Nations System Staff College

Leilani Farha—former UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing and global director of THE SHIFT—joins us in this episode for a timely and thought-provoking conversation on housing as a human right. 

United Nations System Staff College
The Housing Crisis and Why I Still Believe in Human Rights
Reboot Republic Podcast
The Housing Crisis and Why I Still Believe in Human Rights
Reboot Republic Podcast

Leilani rejoins us to talk about the ongoing global financialisation of housing, the ways some cities have pushed back, what the genocide in Gaza says about international law and why she still believes human rights are worth fighting for every single day.

Reboot Republic Podcast