And for those still chasing the Australian dream, making housing a human right might make them feel like home ownership is within their grasp.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Canberra’s rents have increased signficantly over the past five years. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n
But will Canberrans actually feel a tangible benefit when this change comes in?<\/p>\n
The answer for the vast majority: no. At least, not immediately.<\/p>\n
Time for change<\/p>\n
There’s consensus, even from the community organisations that have advocated for the change for years, that the new law won’t solve the housing crisis overnight.<\/p>\n
“When this legislation comes into effect, it won’t mean everything is solved straight away,” ACT Shelter CEO Corinne Dobson said.<\/p>\n
“But over time, the government will need to show that it is moving in the direction of ensuring that everyone has the right to adequate housing.”<\/p>\n
And to be clear: it doesn’t mean the government has to provide a house for everybody.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shane Rattenbury hopes the bill will start reshaping the way housing is thought about in the city. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n
In the words of ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury, who authored the bill, “it will start the process of reshaping the way we think about housing in this city”.<\/p>\n
“It will create a new requirement, by law, for the government to treat housing not as a private asset for wealth creation, but as a foundational social good,” he said.<\/p>\n
Though not everyone is convinced that lofty goal can be achieved.<\/p>\n
Should others states follow?<\/p>\n
Chris Martin, a senior research fellow at the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW said the legislation was not “a radical change in thinking”.<\/p>\n
“But it’s definitely a step in the right direction and something that other jurisdictions should be looking at to better organise the way we think about and do housing,” he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Martin said the legislation had some limitations \u2014 it doesn’t impact decisions made by private landlords, for example.<\/p>\n
“It doesn’t mean ACT citizens suddenly have a whole lot of new rights,” he said.<\/p>\n
“But it does signal that the ACT government will consider the right to housing when they make laws and also when they make decisions about individual people interacting with them.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chris Martin said the legislation doesn’t impact decisions made by private landlords. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n
Importantly, the legislation also opens the government up to possible legal challenges, providing a mechanism for Canberrans to hold decision-makers to account.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne said the bill “recognises that access to adequate housing must be progressively realised over time”.<\/p>\n
But she also confirmed that certain protections must be guaranteed sooner \u2014 including protection against unlawful and arbitrary eviction.<\/p>\n
“It won’t solve all of our housing challenges overnight but [it’s a] pretty powerful building block to our legal foundation,” she said.<\/p>\n