Housing In Britain

Originally published in 1987, this book provides a comprehensive history of housing policy in Britain from the beginning of the twentieth century to the end of the 1970s. For every period the author gives a detailed account of the housing situation in which policies operated, the policies pursued and their rationale. Owner-occupation and privately rented housing are fully discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the financial and economic aspects of housing policy, including the impact on it of the economic situation. Issues such as population growth and the increase in the number of households are also examined.

First published in 1982 at a time when housing policy featured prominently in the press and in political debate, Housing in Britain was written to provide an authoritative review of housing in Britain. The book is a comprehensive introduction to the major policy shifts from 1945 to the year of publication. It explores the many aspects of ‘housing’ as a matter of state policy; as a commodity with a certain market for its sale and exchange; as an essential item, with rules regulating access and eligibility; and as a vital element in the reproduction of social life. Particular attention is paid to the institutions involved within the British housing market, and the redistributional consequences of housing-market processes and state housing policy. Housing in Britain will appeal to those with an interest in the history of British housing policy and debates, and the history of social policy in Britain.

Originally published in 1979, this book was the first to provide a comprehensive political-economic analysis of the historical origins and 20th Century experience of state housing in the UK. The first part describes the growth of municipal housebuilding in the context of slum clearance before 1914 and the cycle of boom and slump between the wars. Part 2 covers 1945- 1980 with chapters on : site acquisition and residential densities; the housebuilding industry and its standards; the balance between rehabilitation and redevelopment and the rise and fall of the high-rise flat. Sources and costs of capital finance and the management of the stock of council dwellings is also discussed. The final part reviews the development of state housing policy since the War, within a broad political and macro-economic context.

The UK's chronic housing shortage is lowering the quality of life for millions, turning the British dream of home ownership into a cruel nightmare – not least for 'generation rent'. Countless vulnerable families are meanwhile being deprived of access to decent social housing, causing homelessness to spiral. In this searing polemic, Liam Halligan offers radical solutions to the most urgent political issue of our times. Fully updated, with a foreword from former Chancellor Sajid Javid and drawing on extensive interviews with Cabinet ministers, civil servants, leading developers and struggling homebuyers across the country, Home Truths is a no-holds-barred critique of the UK's housing crisis.

Why did slums and suburbs develop simultaneously? Did the capitalist system produce these, and were class antagonisms to blame? Why did the Victorians believe there was a housing problem, and who or what created it? What housing solutions were attempted, and how successfully? These are amongst the central questions addressed by social and urban historians in recent years, and their arguments and analyses are reviewed here. The history of housing between 1780 and 1914 encapsulates many problems associated with the transition from a largely rural to an overwhelmingly urban nation. The unprecedented pace of this transition imposed immense tensions within society, with implications for the urban environment and for local and national government. Housing is central to an understanding of the social, economic, political and cultural forces in nineteenth-century history; this book is an ideal introduction to the topic.

Originally published in 1995. A comprehensive survey of housing policy throughout Europe, anchored in a thorough analysis of the UK, this book is a text for students of housing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book considers housing tenure types and looks at standards of living, housing stock, housing allowances and subsidies and European funds. There are separate chapters for France, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands and Sweden. The later chapters focus on Britain and look more in depth at population issues and economics and address regional policy.

There is ‘no place like home’ sighs Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. A sentiment with heightened meaning in Britain 2020. There is no book like Broken Homes either.