For many years, successive New Zealand governments have made international human rights commitments, including promises to recognise and progress a critically important human right: the right to a decent home.3 Despite these promises and binding responsibilities, our housing system is in crisis. For many people, the simple goal of an affordable, healthy, accessible home is beyond reach. In 2021, the Commission launched a national Inquiry into the right to a decent home in Aotearoa – the Housing Inquiry.4 Our Inquiry engaged with communities and officials to identify breaches of the right to a decent home and provided constructive recommendations for change – pointing to concrete steps the government could take to strengthen its ability to realise the right to a decent home. We also sought to highlight the voices of those most affected by the housing human rights crisis. There were inevitably critical issues that we did not have the capacity or time to address in our Inquiry. However, we aim to lay the foundation for everyone to address and find solutions to the housing crisis through the lens of human rights and te Tiriti o Waitangi. Brief overview of the Housing Inquiry At the beginning of our Inquiry, we worked in partnership with the National Iwi Chairs Forum, as well as Community Housing Aotearoa and Te Matapihi to produce Aratohu Tika Tangata ki te Whai Whare Rawaka I Aotearoa: Framework Guidelines on the Right to a Decent Home in Aotearoa.5 The Guidelines introduce the right to a decent home shaped by and giving effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi and signal the different ways this human right can contribute to a fair housing system in this country. In the following two chapters of this final report, we take these Guidelines further by making them more user-friendly for two specific audiences: policy makers (in Chapter 2) and individuals, communities, and housing advocates (in Chapter 3). In addition to the Guidelines, the Housing Inquiry has released the following reports as stand-alone publications (see Appendix A for a summary of the key findings and a full set of recommendations from these reports): • Strengthening Accountability and Participation in the Housing System • Discussion Paper: Understanding Accountability for Māori • Homelessness and Human Rights: A Review of the Emergency Housing System in Aotearoa New Zealand We have also introduced Measuring Progress, a tool that uses a range of data indicators to assess progress across seven key decency principles and help us identify how well we are achieving the right to a decent home over time (see Appendix B for the full set of indicators). Among the most affected by this housing and human rights crisis are Tangata Whenua, many of whom face disproportionate exclusion from secure housing. The Inquiry placed a specific focus on Māori housing, and where possible, a partnership approach was taken such as in the development of our Guidelines. Additionally, the Inquiry encompassed a tino rangatiratanga workstream where we collaborated with Māori organisations and iwi on initiatives that promote the right to a decent home while addressing Māori housing priorities. 1. Introduction 9