Housing is a Human Right

Quite recently, I posted a comment on everyone’s favourite social media to the effect that housing is a human right. The response I got surprised me. One person commented rental properties are just an investment. And that started me thinking...Are private rentals a means to an end? Or are they an end in themselves? I think the answer would differ depending on your perspective. It is my view that the market mechanism is simply a way of delivering houses for people. It’s about people, people.

It saddens me that the motherland, England, has more of a human rights culture than what we do. But it starts with awareness. So I am going to tell you why housing is about human rights. Australia has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Out government has made a legal and moral commitment to the rights set out in this treaty.

Article 11 enshrines the right to adequate housing. It is the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. Everyone has the right to adequate standard of living such as housing and the continuous improvement of living conditions. It does not make a distinction between owners and renters. In 2006, the Special Rapporteur on Housing found that Australia had failed to progressively realise the right to adequate housing given it is a wealthy and developed country.

Australia has also ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 6 provides that everyone has a right to life. This right is violated in situations where a tenant is injured or dies because a landlord has not provided safe and secure premises. This occurred a few years ago when two young children died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The landlord had failed to carry out a safety check on a faulty unserviced heater. The mother is currently campaigning to have carbon monoxide detectors installed in all rental properties. Australia should implement a regulatory scheme that explicitly protects tenants from threats to health and safety, and that it operates effectively in practice to ensure tenants are not placed at risk.

 

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also provides for the right to freedom of thought and expression. Check out articles 18 and 19. Google is free. Residential tenancy laws usually cover alterations and additions. In Victoria, tenants are not permitted to install any fixtures or make any alterations, renovations or additions to the premises without the landlord’s consent. See section 64 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic).

But tenants usually want to express themselves by altering or adding to their home. They like to like to hang posters, pictures, or paintings on the walls. We’ve all heard of the ‘blue-tack Nazis’ who make bond claims where hooks or sticky has been used. But shouldn’t we all be free to express ourselves? Should only property owners be allowed to hang this year’s calendar, pictures of their grandchildren, or their favourite Monet painting?

Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides no one shall be subjected to interference with privacy, family and home. I’m sure everyone has an intuitive understanding of privacy. It is the ‘right to be left alone’. It would cover information about a tenant’s immediate surroundings. There is a clear link between privacy and the home. It is a zone of personal intimacy and family security. A person does not have truly privacy if they cannot have an intimate relationship with their home. I know I’m getting a bit academic, but stick with me.

People are genuinely disconcerted that they are legally required to open up their home to strangers seeking to buy or rent their home. This often happens when the landlord decides to sell or re-let the property. I wouldn’t want strangers poking around in my cupboards, would you? You might find some skeletons lying around. A jokester would have a lot of fun in this kind of situation. Imagine people finding fake cadavers or blow-up dolls. I can see videos like this going viral on U-Tube. Tenants getting their own back...priceless!

Kristen has dobbed in Karen Gravenall from Handle Realty. Kristen says:

Whilst conducting rental inspections Karen took photos of personal effects (top of tall boy with jewellery, top of dining table, my daughters underwater!). These photos are designed to monitor property maintenance but personal property made it into most of these photos. She generally bullies us and makes us feel like scum for being renters and not home owners. I am currently going through a government agency to look at breaches of privacy. We moved out the house early (still paying rent) as we were just so uncomfortable being there.

The other issue is that tenants are not compensated for the time spent preparing the house for inspection. I don’t think this is fair. And really, with all the stress and bustle of moving house, it’s a big ask to schedule this kind of thing in. My understanding is that landlords and agents prefer to hold open houses while the tenant is in occupancy so that the property is let as quickly as possible. The time the house is left vacant is thereby minimised. I don’t think open houses in these kinds of situations should be permitted

So there it is folks, housing is about human rights. People live in houses. Houses are not just an investment.