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Denmark’s Supreme Court is set to rule on a legal challenge against a controversial housing law that can force the sale, demolition, or conversion of nonprofit homes in areas where more than half of the residents are classed as non-Western. Seven families from the Nojsomhed estate in Helsingor are fighting their former landlord, arguing they were forced out due to their ethnic origins. The upcoming ruling follows a December ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union stating that the non-Western categorization could amount to ethnic discrimination.
Legal battle over ethnicity and housing
Eddie Khawaja, the lawyer representing the families, told Al Jazeera that the core issue is whether the evaluation process is neutral and completely detached from ethnicity. Lower courts previously ruled against the families by deciding that the term non-Western does not describe an ethnic group. However, the Supreme Court must now consider this stance alongside the recent EU ruling, which allows judges to examine how politicians discussed the legislation rather than just reading its exact wording. Khawaja argued that the classification acts as a proxy for ethnic origin, noting that his clients are well-educated, employed, and law-abiding citizens who simply share the wrong ethnicity.
The legislation operates through government-updated lists every December, originally known as ghetto lists and later renamed parallel societies. Nonprofit housing areas with at least 1,000 residents, where more than over 50 percent are non-Western, are placed on the list if they also meet criteria concerning unemployment, crime, education, and income. Areas remaining on the list for five consecutive years are required to reduce their share of nonprofit family housing to 40 percent by 2030. In 2021, the Social Democrat-led government updated the terminology, changing ghetto areas to parallel societies and hard ghettos to transformation areas, while introducing a prevention category for estates with a 30 percent non-Western threshold. Khawaja acknowledged that reducing crime and raising employment are valid goals, but criticized politicians for making ethnicity a decisive factor in the regulations.
The creation of racial categories
Statistics Denmark defines non-Western as anyone originating outside the European Union and a select list of countries that includes the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Amani Hassani, a Danish urban ethnographer and lecturer at Brunel University London, told Al Jazeera that the criterion actively establishes a racial category based on ancestry rather than citizenship. She noted that the category effectively targets people originating from non-white majority countries. Since 2020, statistical figures have even separated out a third generation, which Hassani refers to as descendants of descendants, despite her own family living in the country for half a century.
Many individuals interviewed by Al Jazeera expressed the view that the underlying political rhetoric targets Islam and Muslims, who represent just over 4 percent of the population. Ester Anker, a 27-year-old psychology student in Norrebro, described the legislation as straight-up racist and aimed at Muslims without any real attempt at concealment. Parliament adopted a resolution regarding parallel societies and Islamic customs just days after the housing rules took effect.
Community impact and future uncertainty
Majken Felle, a 52-year-old teacher, experienced the disruption firsthand after receiving letters urging voluntary rehousing in Mjolnerparken, followed by eviction notices that forced her to move three times. Despite the upheaval, the pressure fostered a strong community of care among neighbors who shared information about their rights in laundry rooms. Felle praised the tenacity of former neighbors who migrated from the Middle East, learned Danish, and ultimately took on the Danish state. Hassani emphasized that this supportive network, where early arrivals assist refugees with schools and public services, is what is currently being dismantled.
The demographic makeup of Mjolnerparken has shifted toward younger, ethnically Danish students and expats who stay for shorter periods, reducing long-term community investment. Although Mjolnerparken was removed from the list in 2023 when its population dropped below 1,000, the housing ministry confirmed it must still complete its restructuring plan by the end of 2029. Even if the plaintiffs win in court, Hassani warned that the government might employ political acrobatics to continue targeting the same communities by simply removing the label.
