[ad_1]
Housing is a human right, and the current and future Governments should use all available resources to tackle the housing crisis, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission says.
It has released its final report after a two-year housing inquiry.
The report makes six recommendations including committing to legislative recognition of the right to a decent home, integrating the right to a decent home into policymaking, appointing human rights, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and equity officers in housing agencies, and strengthening accountability across the housing system.
Chief human rights commissioner Paul Hunt said a shift was happening towards recognising a decent home was a human right and investment was starting to show effect but many people were still being left out.
“Young people, refugee and migrant families, Māori, Pasifika, single parents, elderly and disabled people continue to struggle,” he said.
”We’ve got to this crisis partly because in New Zealand we’ve given no recognition and no visibility to the human right to a decent home. If that human right had been visible and evident over the last 30 years, I’d suggest we wouldn’t have the housing crisis we have at the moment. It’s a real tragedy.”
He said successive governments had signed up to international human rights laws that included the right to a decent home but that had been ignored. Other countries had done better, he said.
“Despite promises and binding responsibilities, our housing system is in crisis. For many people, the simple goal of an affordable, healthy, accessible home remains beyond reach.”
Inflation and interest rate increases were adding stress for many, he said.
Decent homes should be affordable, not requiring more than 30% of a household’s take-home income, accessible, secure and located so inhabitants could participate fully in society, the report said.
Tenants should be protected appropriately against unreasonable rent levels and increases and there should be protections in relation to eviction, discrimination and other unfair treatment. No eviction should result in homelessness, the report said.
UN calls attention to the positive role of the right to a decent home in tackling New Zealand’s housing crisis — Human Rights Commission
Data for the inquiry showed a significant decrease in affordability over the past three decades and a dramatic shortfall in accessible housing.
The report said many homes, particularly rental properties, were at risk of making people sick due to mould and dampness.
The inquiry identified significant breaches of human rights in the emergency housing system and a need for the Government, and others responsible for housing such as the private sector, to be held more accountable.
“For the first time in decades we’ve seen a very significant increase by the Government to the baseline investment in the housing system, and there are welcome signs of progress,” Hunt said.
“Some of the initiatives now under way around the country, such as the Bader Ventura apartments opened recently by Kāinga Ora which are designed to require minimal energy to heat or cool, do provide real hope. It is vital this is sustained and increased over time.
“From a human rights perspective, the Government must use its maximum available resources to address the housing crisis and to ensure this fundamental right is being realised in Aotearoa New Zealand. That obligation remains no matter who is in government.
“Our recommendations are aimed at further ensuring a system that supports housing as a human right,” Hunt said.
He said it would require a shift in mindset and commitment across the spectrum.
“It’s not enough to just build our way out of the housing crisis. We need to ensure that dignity, whakamana tangata, is at the heart of our housing system.
“Of course there’s a failing in the housing system but theres’ also a failing in the human rights system. Proper accountability arrangement have not been put in place for the binding promises. We need to place the right to a decent home and Te Tiriti at the centre of our thinking about housing.”
He said the Human Rights Commission would report to the UN later this year on the situation, and again next year.
[ad_2]