Legal Identity and Housing, Land and Property Rights of Syrian Refugees from a Durable Solutions Perspective Challenges and Opportunities 3.2 HLP reality on the ground 3.2.1 Key HLP challenges HLP rights violations have occurred throughout the conflict and have contributed to forced displacement. These include inter alia, seizure and confiscation of property, forced evictions, looting, preventing civilians from returning to their properties and property transactions made under duress or without the knowledge of the rightful owners.105 Many transactions have not been recorded in statutory systems, particularly in areas outside the control of the government. The extent of HLP rights violations is reflected in the response from communities surveyed for the 2021 Syrian Humanitarian Needs Overview, with over half reporting HLP concerns.106 This section covers some of the issues that are of most immediate relevance for refugees regarding the protection of HLP rights in Syria, in particular for female-headed households. Refugees interviewed as part of UNHCR’s perceptions and intentions surveys emphasised that the lack of adequate housing and concerns over their property and housing are among the main factors influencing their return intentions.107 In view of the high levels of destruction of property inside Syria and HLP violations, future return of refugees and IDPs is likely to cause a high number of competing claims over the use and occupancy of land and property by original owners, secondary occupants, and illegal occupants.108 This will be exacerbated by the limited access to fair and efficient judicial procedures to resolve claims. Refugee returnees are likely to face many challenges in accessing their HLP as well as dispute resolution mechanisms when they lack the required documentation, including civil documentation.109 Level of destruction Over the past years, the magnitude of the destruction in Syria has been vast.110 The World Bank in 2017 estimated that a third of the housing stock has been destroyed in Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib.111 In 2019, forty-one per cent of refugees in Jordan consulted about their property in Syria described the current status of their property as damaged beyond repair; 26 per cent as damaged but repairable; and only 17 per cent as intact.112 Hostilities have also caused widespread damage to the basic infrastructure, including land registries and civil registries, affecting land governance and the recording/updating of vital events, respectively.113 Severe damage and destruction have been particularly prevalent in informal settlements.114 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 World Bank, 2019, The Mobility of Displaced Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis. KII for joint UNHCR/NRC regional research, 2020. UNOCHA, 2021, Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), p. 57. UNHCR, March 2021, Sixth Regional Survey on Syrian Refugees’ Perceptions and Intentions on Return to Syria, p. 17. KII and FGD (focus group discussion) for joint UNHCR/NRC regional research, 2020; Clutterbuck, M., 2018, Property Restitution in post-conflict Syria, Forced Migration Review No. 57, Syrians in Displacement, February 2018, https://www. fmreview.org/syria2018/clutterbuck World Bank, 2019, The Mobility of Displaced Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis, p. 12; UNHCR, 2018, A Longing to Go Home, in Safety and Dignity – Intentions and Perceptions of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon About Their Future. World Bank, 2019, The Mobility of Displaced Syrians: An Economic and Social Analysis, p. 12. World Bank, 2017, Syria Damage Assessment of Selected Cities Aleppo, Hama, Idlib. UNHCR & NRC, 2019, Uncertain Futures – Legal and Civil documentation, Housing, Land and Property (HLP) and Challenges to Return for Syrian Refugees, p. 6. Note that 17 per cent of survey respondents stated that they were unaware of the condition of their previous residence. UNOCHA, 2021, Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), p. 7; UNHCR, 2018, A Longing to Go Home, in Safety and Dignity – Intentions and Perceptions of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon About Their Future, p. 17; UNHCR, March 2021, Sixth Regional Survey on Syrian Refugees’ Perceptions and Intentions on Return to Syria. World Bank, 2017, Syria Damage Assessment of Selected Cities Aleppo, Hama, Idlib; KII for joint UNHCR/NRC regional research, 2020. 18