Safe, warm, secure and affordable housing is a fundamental human right.
Housing and the wider environment in which we live impacts on every aspect of our wellbeing – mental, physical, spiritual and social.
The right to housing is enshrined in several international agreements to which New Zealand is a signatory. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 25 (1) which states:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.