A growing movement across the nation claims that housing is a human right. Indeed, in March 2020, Representative Pramila Jayapal introduced the Housing is a Human Right Act of 2020. The bill aims to “address and end root causes of homelessness; transition communities towards providing housing for all; and ensure full democratic participation of persons experiencing homelessness.” Maria Foscarinis, Founder and Executive Director at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, said in response to the bill,
Our Nation was founded on the principle that everyone is entitled to the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and with the emerging threat of coronavirus, it has never been more clear that those rights must include the basic human right to housing.
The Housing is a Human Right Act will help communities address homelessness with housing, not handcuffs; with services, not sweeps. To help our fellow Americans living on the streets in the coming months and beyond, we must understand that housing IS health care, and both are human rights.
Rights pertain to freedom of action. Rights protect our freedom to act as we judge best. The right to life means the freedom to live as we choose, so long as we respect the freedom of others to do the same. The right to liberty means the freedom to take the actions we think necessary to attain the values we want and need. The right to the pursuit of happiness means the freedom to choose the values that we think will bring us joy and fulfillment.
Those who advocate the “right” to a value ignore the fact that values must be created. And in claiming a right to housing, they seek to restrict the freedom of the owners of that housing. This view, which is becoming more common, holds that individuals should be provided certain material values simply because they are alive. Their own actions or inactions in creating or earning those values is regarded as irrelevant. Their need is a claim on the property of others.
If housing is a right, then others violate an individual’s rights when they do not provide him with housing. They must provide that housing regardless of their own judgment and desires. Which means, property owners can no longer act as they choose. They can no longer choose how their property will be used or traded. Instead, they must provide housing to others, not because of mutually beneficial trade, but because of another’s need. When need becomes a claim on the property of others, it destroys all rights.