The justiciable right to have access to adequate housing (right to housing) in the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution) aims at
redressing some of the injustices of the past. The Constitution obliges government to
adopt reasonable legislative and other measures to realise this right. Pursuant to this
obligation, several legislation and policies have been enacted and adopted to give
effect to the right to housing. Despite the justiciable nature of this right, like other
socio-economic rights, the self-restraint approach in judicial adjudication has limited
the potential role that courts can play in realising the right to housing. This study
argues against overreliance on courts in realising the right to housing and explores a
holistic approach that can enhance the realisation of this right. This holistic approach
finds expression in political accountability which encompasses a diverse range of
mechanisms. This study establishes the link between political accountability and
human rights and identifies mechanisms of political accountability which could be
used to enhance the realisation of the right to housing. This study further
investigates the extent to which the identified mechanisms are catered for in South
African law and policies. It lastly makes recommendations on how to optimise
political accountability in contributing towards realising the right to housing.