Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Giving Kids A Fair Chance At Life Starts With Giving Them The Security Of A Stable Home
The launch last week of the New Zealand Human Right Commission’s Framework Guidelines on the Right to a Decent Home provides an opportunity to highlight the potential impacts of housing instability on our kids and their communities. Students living in rented homes deserve the same stability in their schools and communities as those living in owned homes.
“The right to adequate housing includes having security of tenure be it rental, lease or home ownership - protected in law. The release of the Framework Guidelines on the Right to a Decent Home allows us to move to implementation that includes the government shifting the policy language that shapes our housing system, to re-affirm the right and informing New Zealanders about what it means for whānau,” says Brennan Rigby, Manager Shift Aotearoa.
In New Zealand, research shows that home-owners enjoy much higher levels of security of tenure with adequate legal protection. Implementing the right to housing could initiate a meaningful shift in our average rental term from under two years to 15 years or more. A recent report from StatsNZ highlights the number of school aged New Zealanders living in rental properties. It also shows the much greater change in residence compared to children in owned homes.
Each move, be it from one school to another or into a new community has the potential to negatively impact a child’s education, and their future.
“The fact that we can draw this link between the right to housing to the right to education, and the deeply entrenched problem of transience in our education system illustrates just how far-reaching a right to housing approach is. Properly implemented, security of tenure could unlock longer average rental periods, and reduce rental insecurity. For landlords, far from creating an additional burden, security of tenure would mean security of revenue.”
The Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development [GPS-HUD] will be issued by the Minister of Housing by 1 October this year. The GPS is designed to guide all government approaches to housing. Through this leadership it is anticipated that the GPS will have an impact outside of government. A human rights-based GPS would be a first step in government acknowledging its international obligations, and the right to a decent home.
“To truly establish a human rights-based system we need an Act enshrining this in law. The Act would require all housing legislation, policy and interventions to be consistent with our obligations under agreements like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Act would incorporate human rights principles in our housing system and ensure accountability, participatory policy making, and create the conditions for access to justice in relation to our relevant human rights. This is not just a political choice; it’s a constitutional and ethical obligation.”
Importantly, this will help pave the way for a stable and more resilient rental sector. New Zealand kids whose families are renting deserve the security this will bring.
Community Housing Aotearoa
Nga Wharerau o Aotearoa
Community Housing Aotearoa is the peak body for New Zealand's community
housing sector. Our 110 members build and manage affordable and social housing.
Our Vision is to make sure every New Zealander is well-housed in a warm, safe, dry
and affordable home. This is a basic human right.
We work to support the growth and development of community housing providers to
enable them to provide affordable and social housing.
We want to demonstrate that community housing is a critical element alongside
private and government owned housing. No one can do it alone.
Community Housing Aotearoa aims to:
- be the voice of the community housing sector
- build capacity and foster collaboration
- promote best practice in housing policy
- champion quality and excellence.
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