United Nations calls on NZ to adopt human rights-based national housing strategy

The United Nations is supporting calls for New Zealand to adopt a human rights-based national housing strategy, and has asked the Government to report back to it on the matter within 18 months.

The support was issued by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in response to a submission from the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

A human rights-based housing strategy requires housing to be affordable, habitable, accessible and secure in tenure.

The HRC's chief commissioner David Rutherford said New Zealanders, "particularly our most vulnerable", were experiencing the flow-on effects of governments "over many decades neglecting to treat housing as a human right".

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That had a negative effect on health and educational achievement, he said.

"Good housing is not something that some people are entitled to and others are not. It is a human right.

"We need to make sure our housing is accessible for the elderly and people with disabilities, that it is insulated and safe to live in, and that there is enough supply to meet demand."

The HRC's submission to the UN committee made several recommendations for action on housing, including increasing the provision of social housing and improving tenure rights for renters.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford said he welcomed the findings of the UN report.

"I think as a country we've got to look seriously at this. Everybody should have a right to decent, accessible housing, including the elderly, including people with disabilities."

Housing New Zealand was increasing the number of homes that were modified to provide access for people with disabilities.

However, landlords also needed to improve the accessibility of their properties, and there was a "terrible shortage" of affordable housing that was appropriate for elderly people, Twyford said.

The Government would soon launch a review of the Residential Tenancies Act, which governed renting, with the view of making life better for renters and improving security of tenure.

"More than half of Kiwis rent these days, and yet our laws are archaic – they give so few rights to renters," he said.

Many renters were moving once or twice a year, which took a "terrible toll", especially on families with young children, he said.

He hoped to have legislation in the house on the matter by early 2019.

Auckland Property Investors Association president Andrew Bruce said he agreed with the targets, but saw them as an "ideological overview".

Affordability was the "elephant in the room", he said.

Work had been undertaken by the previous National government, as well as the current Government, to improve the habitability of rentals through heating and insulation, Bruce said.

The vast majority of landlords had a "beating heart and a conscience", but it was undeniable some landlords were renting out substandard accommodation, he said.

The big issue, particularly in Auckland, was how to make renting and owning homes more affordable, Bruce said.

"Why haven't we, when we've had one of the bigger housing increases, been able to keep up with supply?"

Bruce said Auckland's housing shortfall of about 40-50,000 homes was evidence of that.

"It's taken a long time to get to this point – not just nine years but decades. It won't be undone in 18 months."