Government has a legal obligation to meet HK people's right to housing

In his official visit last week, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Wang Guangya highlighted the need to address the housing problem in Hong Kong. He stated that housing was an economic and livelihood issue, which if not handled properly would turn into a political issue.

Housing is also a basic human rights issue. Every person is entitled to the right to adequate housing, which is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This international treaty applies to Hong Kong.

Under the treaty, our government has an obligation to ensure that housing is affordable. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has defined affordability to mean that the price of housing must not be so high that the satisfaction of other basic needs will be threatened or compromised. Our government is required to take steps to ensure that the percentage of housing-related costs is, in general, commensurate with income levels. Another important duty in the treaty is non-discrimination in the guarantee of such rights.

Housing rights are protected in the constitutions of a number of countries, including Korea, the Philippines and South Africa. In the case of Grootboom v the government of South Africa (2000), the Constitutional Court of South Africa decided in favour of homeless people waiting to be allocated low-cost housing, and said they should be given the right to access adequate housing. The court enunciated a few principles, including the duty of the government to devise comprehensive housing measures to meet short-, medium- and long-term needs, and the need to ensure that those disadvantaged groups whose housing needs are most in peril are provided short term relief.

In Hong Kong, those who do not currently benefit from public housing but are struggling to meet basic housing needs in the private housing market need to be given help (for example people living in cage homes). The backbone of economic, social and cultural rights is social justice. It is hoped that our government will make socio-economic rights mainstream in its policymaking, by adopting the principles in the international treaty and by assessing the impact of its housing measures on socio-economic rights. With the maximum of its available resources, our government should strive towards progressively realising the housing rights of all Hong Kong people.

Karen Kong, assistant professor, University of Hong Kong law faculty