Professor Padraic Kenna lectures in land/property law and housing law and policy at the School of Law, University of Galway, Ireland. Professor Kenna publishes on housing law and housing rights, property and land law, consumer law, EU regulation and governance, with a commitment to promoting housing rights within the contemporary housing and regulatory systems. He developed the first course in Ireland on housing law and policy, at University of Galway, and collaborates on national and international housing training and education projects. Professor Kenna has published widely in housing, human rights and property law journals and books, providing a critical analysis of contemporary law and policy. He has extensive experience of working in housing and related areas, where he held developmental, training and management roles, in both the statutory and non-governmental sectors. Professor Kenna is a Member of the Advisory Council of the UNESCO Housing Chair at University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain; Academic Network on the European Social Charter (ANESC); European Law Institute, Resilient Property Research Network and European Network of Housing Researchers. He is a Member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law ; Queen Mary Human Rights Law Review; Elgar Land and Housing Law and Policy series, and Southern European Housing Law. Dr Kenna established, with others, the FEANTSA Expert Group on Housing Rights and Housing Rights Watch, which engages in advocacy to promote the right to housing. Professor Kenna acted as Project Director Principal Investigator on an EU Commission Pilot Project (2016) promoting the right to housing - Homelessness prevention in the context of evictions, which set out recommendations on best practice to monitor, alleviate and prevent evictions, within the framework of national and EU law and policy. He has worked with the Open Society Justice Initiative and Open Society Foundations on projects advancing EU consumer and human rights in the context of EU economic governance and financial supervision with a focus on housing rights. Professor Kenna joined the Law School at NUI Galway in 2002, having graduated from University of Warwick, and with a PhD from National University of Ireland. Selected Publications:

1. European Housing Studies (2024) (ed) Erasmus Funded Course Book - 48 Chapters.

2. Jordan M. & Kenna P. (2024) Homelessness in Ireland: Law, Policy and Practices in Bevan, C, The Routledge Handbook of Global Perspectives on Homelessness, Law and Policy, (Oxford, Routledge).

3. Kenna, P. (2020) Briefing Paper: Integrating EU Charter Housing Rights into EU Economic Governance and Supervision. Centre for Housing Law, Rights and Policy, NUI Galway. 

4. Kenna, P., Simon-Moreno, H. (2019) Towards a common standard of protection of the right to housing in Europe through the charter of fundamental rights. European Law Journal, 25 (6): 608-622. 

Research interests include housing law, rights and policy, human rights generally, land and property law and EU law. The development of socio-economic rights and their implementation in the areas of housing, land, property law and policy, across the national and regional systems and approaches, is a key research interest. The impact of rights on regulatory and governance systems and processes forms a core research focus. The impact of globalisation on housing and land law and policy, the development of international housing rights and international developments in housing law and policy, particularly at European level. Current Research Projects:

1. Promoting the housing rights contained within the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU Economic Governance and Financial Supervision Framework.

2. Preparing a Draft EU Directive on Integrating Residential Tenancy Rights with EU Consumer Rights - offering a floor of protection and transparency in tenancy contracts across the EU.

3. Researching and promoting the housing rights contained within the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe.

4. Monitoring and publishing reports on European developments in the housing rights of homeless people in association with FEANTSA and Housing Rights Watch.

Land Law/Law of Real Property, Housing Law and Policy, Irish Legal Systems, Housing and Socio-economic rights, Sociology of Law, Local Government Law, Law, Regulation and Policy, English Land Law, Housing and Independent Living, International Commercial Property Law, Socio-economic Rights Law, Human Rights Law, EU Human Rights Law, EU Consumer Law.