HLP Due Diligence Portal
HLP Due Diligence enables humanitarians to uphold the ‘do no harm’ principle by verifying land and property rights to ensure assistance respects existing rights, prevents conflict, and proceeds responsibly.
STEP BY STEP
The Due Diligence Process
A clear, step-by-step due diligence process verifies claims to housing, land, and property to minimize risks, protect existing rights, and ensure sustainability of humanitarian interventions by thoroughly assessing land, property, and community dynamics before operations begin.
1. Preparedness & Planning
Ensure awareness amongst the project team interlinkages between the project and HLP rights and make a plan for due diligence.
2. Before Implementation
Determine if there is sufficient certainty over housing, land or property rights to implement project activities.
3. Implementation
Monitor for HLP issues and establish a process for responding to and referring HLP cases.
SYSTEMS
Understanding Tenure, Ownership and Governance
In many countries, land rights and management are governed by overlapping systems, such as legal, traditional, or religious rules. Due diligence requires identifying who makes decisions, resolves disputes, and allocates land, as well as understanding how these systems work together.
Statutory
State legislations and institutions, typically through written or codified law.
Hybrid
Local communities and community leaders through customary practices.
Customary
Religious institutions/religious leaders, sometimes through religious legal structures.
Religious
Combination of two or more tenure systems, usually state and non-state tenure systems.
In Practice
Humanitarian actors often face complex tenure arrangements and occupancy types under different types of ownership. The following are common tenure arrangements seen in practice.
