In Tanzania, the right to adequate housing is not explicitly codified in national laws or policies, especially in relation to forcibly displaced and stateless persons. The legal and policy framework—principally the Refugees Act of 1998 and the National Refugee Policy—prioritizes the regulation, management, and control of refugees rather than the promotion of rights-based access to housing, land, and property (HLP). As a result, HLP rights are largely approached through a humanitarian lens within designated refugee camps such as Nyarugusu, Nduta, and Mtendeli, where land is allocated by the government for temporary settlement.

In practice, refugees and asylum seekers reside within camp settings under the encampment policy, which restricts their movement and prevents them from legally accessing land or housing outside of the designated areas. Within the camps, shelter is typically provided by humanitarian agencies and constructed with temporary materials, reflecting the perception of displacement as short-term. While the living conditions in some parts of the camps have improved over time—with semi-permanent structures and organized plots—residents do not hold any formal tenure or ownership over their dwellings or the land they occupy.

Outside the formal refugee camps, urban refugees—including those in Dar es Salaam and other urban centers—tend to find housing through informal arrangements, often renting from private landlords without legal safeguards. These housing arrangements are typically insecure, with no formal protection from eviction or exploitation. Furthermore, there is no clear legal mechanism that allows refugees or stateless persons to acquire or register land, property, or long-term housing rights, either individually or collectively.

Thus, while the Tanzanian government continues to host large refugee populations, the existing legal and policy frameworks do not currently provide pathways for forcibly displaced persons to access secure, adequate, and dignified housing, nor to claim property or land tenure in a formalized way. The housing situation remains largely dependent on the humanitarian system and informal coping mechanisms, rather than on enforceable rights within the domestic legal framework.