Push for right to housing law

The Right to Housing in Australia, commissioned by the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), said including the protections in an Australian Human Rights Act could help solve the housing crisis.

The report, which was published by the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and backed by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), found that an enforceable right to housing would make housing fairer, safer and more affordable by protecting people from forced evictions.

Analysis by the Productivity Commission has revealed that the number of Australians experiencing long-term homelessness has surged almost 25% in just five years.

The HRLC said more than 50 countries protect the right to housing, including Canada and France, and that state and territory Human Rights Acts in Australia have helped some of the many people facing housing insecurity.

Examples include:

• a person with a disability who successfully stopped the attempted sale of their home without their consent

• a family violence survivor facing eviction from their social housing due to actions of their former partner.

HRLC CEO Caitlin Reiger said that everyone should have a safe, secure and healthy place to call home, no matter their postcode or bank balance, but that the housing crisis was leaving too many people in Australia behind.

“A right to housing, enshrined in an Australian Human Rights Act, is a crucial step in tackling the housing crisis and encouraging government action to make housing more affordable, safer and accessible for every person in Australia," she said.

The author of The Right to Housing in Australia, Professor Jessie Hohmann of the UTS Faculty of Law, said enshrining a human right to housing put people at the centre of housing policy.

“This new report shows how a right to housing, through an Australian Human Rights Act, would give governments a concrete pathway to enact more just and equitable housing policies and empower people to hold governments to account.”

ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie said that secure, adequate housing was essential, but investor profit had been prioritised at the expense of people’s right to a home.

“Unfair tax breaks are driving up housing costs and pushing more people into housing stress, while underinvestment in social housing is forcing too many people into homelessness,” she said.

Goldies said that in a country as wealthy as Australia, it was unacceptable that millions of people were struggling to keep a roof over their head and afford the essentials.

“An Australian Human Rights Act would place a right to adequate housing at the centre of government policy and help ensure governments deliver on their responsibility to ensure secure, healthy homes for all.”

The Right to Housing in Australia is the latest salvo fired in an increasingly heated debate about the housing crisis.

A recent survey commissioned by the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) and PowerHousing Australia (PHA) showed that an expansion of low-cost rental housing would be a vote-changing political issue at the upcoming federal election.

A poll of more than 1,500 people in 24 federal electorates found 73% of voters thought housing affordability would be important in influencing their vote.

The research also revealed:

• 84% of voters believed ensuring Australians had safe and stable housing was a fundamental government responsibility
  
  
• 76% agreed more social housing was needed
  
  
• 28% of renters and mortgage holders spent more than half their income on housing
  
  
• housing stress was worse outside inner-city postcodes, with 31% of people struggling in outer suburban areas, and 29% in the regions, compared with 24% in the inner cities.

CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst said housing was at the eye of the cost-of-living storm.

“In this election, we know increasing community housing is the best solution to this crippling problem, and it has overwhelming public support,” she said.

“Fewer than four per cent of Australian homes are social or affordable. To fix our broken housing system it needs to be more like one-in-ten.”

Hayhurst said the poll results confirmed not only that voters wanted more action on affordable housing, but that there were alarming levels of housing stress in the community.

“In these key electorates, one in three people lack confidence they can afford their housing costs over the next year. These findings should send a strong message to all political leaders.”

PHA CEO Michelle Gegenhuber said that while the federal government was making some inroads into easing the strain on housing, such as by increasing stock through the Housing Australia Future Fund, more work was needed.

“This research shows there is bipartisan support for a fairer housing system in Australia, with polling showing two thirds of voters back minimum affordable housing requirements in new developments.”

“We are asking for a commitment that puts a significant dent in the current rates of housing stress and homelessness.”

Gegenhuber said Australia needed one in 10 homes for social and affordable housing, and a quadrupling of the Housing Australia Future Fund.

“A different future for Australian housing is achievable with the right action.”

The campaign was backed by Mission Australia CEO Sharon Callister, who said the voter research showed the public was sending a clear message to Canberra.

She said the urgent need for more affordable housing had never been clearer.

"At Mission Australia, we see the daily impact of this crisis, with more people reaching out for help than ever before,” said Callister.

“These polling results show that Australians understand the urgency of addressing the housing shortage.

“As we approach the federal budget and election, we call on the government to prioritise long-term solutions by committing to a national housing and homelessness plan with adequate funding, including the construction of one million new social and affordable homes over the coming years.”

More information

Older women on the frontline of housing affordability crisis

Housing crisis sparks surge in rough sleepers

Rental properties out of reach of disadvantaged Australians

Housing crisis hits home