A draft Code of Practice for Transitional Housing was released for consultation in September 2022. Despite Cabinet’s signalled commitment that the Code would provide equivalent adequate protection to transitional housing and emergency accommodation residents, the Code as drafted only applies to transitional housing and not to any emergency accommodation funded by the emergency housing grant. The Commission has made a submission on the draft Code informed by this Housing Inquiry and what we have heard. In our view the draft Code is not sufficient to meet the obligation to provide effective accountability and access to justice for the following reasons: • • Transitional housing residents will still have no access to Tenancy Services and the Tenancy Tribunal. The draft Code does not establish a centralised independent complaint mechanism equivalent to these services and mechanisms. • The draft Code does not establish sufficient requirements for minimum tenure security or fair and transparent eviction processes, including independent appeal processes. • The draft Code does not set any timeframes to remedy breaches or provide residents with a centralised complaint process such as a ‘notice to remedy’ as provided by the Residential Tenancies Act. • 54 The draft Code sets out Government’s expectations of transitional housing providers, but it is not directly enforceable for transitional housing residents.68 The draft Code does not establish any forms of remedy for breaches, such as apology or financial compensation. Residents who have accommodation partly funded by government are not any less deserving of appropriate remedy or compensation should their rights be breached. Notably, residents are still required to pay up to 25% of their income toward their own accommodation costs. Human Rights Commission Non-legislative regulation of transitional housing providers Transitional housing provides government with a greater degree of control and oversight due to the contractual relationship between government and provider. Transitional housing providers must operate in line with their contractual service agreements and government operational guidelines.69 These guidelines “outline the business processes, administrative functions and recommended interactions between contracted transitional housing providers, HUD and MSD. They are to be used by contracted transitional housing providers to assist in meeting their Service Agreement requirements.”70 Alongside these service agreements and guidelines, transitional housing providers are required to register as an approved social service provider and undergo accreditation. In this respect, the accountability and oversight for transitional housing social service providers are a significant improvement on the complete lack of accreditation or oversight for commercial accommodation suppliers receiving emergency housing grant funding. However, neither the operational guidelines nor social service accreditation provide an adequate accountability arrangement for residents of these services. Regulation and oversight of accommodation suppliers receiving emergency housing grants The design of the emergency housing grant initiative, including funding arrangements, are a major contributing factor toward the decency problems we have identified with motel-based emergency accommodation. Although MSD pays for this accommodation through the emergency housing grant, it does not have contractual arrangements in place to establish minimum standards or requirements. Individual moteliers