The significance of 'substandard' dwellings in the housing market: the case of Newcastle Upon Tyne

Abstract

This research focuses upon the problem of substandard housing and the significant part it plays in the housing market. Empirical evidence is derived from a case study of the inner city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and is based upon a questionnaire survey. The work is divided into five parts. tart One introduces the nature of the 'housing problem'. Important features are the rate of 'substandardisation', and the link between poor conditions and the private rented sector. The threefold nature of the housing problem is introduced, that is; the existence of poor housing; the relationship between the housing market and other markets and the behaviour of individuals in the housing market. Part two addresses the question of why poor housing exists. It begins with a review of previous analyses of the housing market and concludes that an approach based on political economy is likely to be the most successful. Subsequently the nature of housing both as a 'commodity' and a 'need' are examined along with the relationship of the state to problems in the economy. A principal conclusion is that poor housing is inevitable under capitalist relationships of production and that conventional state intervention cannot sufficiently displace the housing problem. In this context the history of state action towards a solution of housing crises is explained. Part Three examines the operation of the housing market in relation to other factors affecting 'quality of life'. Deprivation is examined from both socio-economic and spatial perspectives in relation to housing situations. This is followed by an examination of deprivation in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here a factor analysis extracting 11 factors followed by a second order factor analysis identifies 3 higher order factors. These describe the dimensions of deprivation in Newcastle. Crucial to this work is the identification of a 'disfunctional inner city'. From this analysis the operation of social classes in different markets is examined in relation to various institutions that control access to resources and hence may add to relative deprivation. In part Four the behaviour of individuals in the housing market is examined in relation to their perceptions and experiences arising from the operation of the processes described in preceding parts. Residential relocation studies are reviewed and a conceptual model of relocation is derived based upon constraint. This model is then tested in relation to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and found to describe the observed situation satisfactorily. A principal determinant of location is identified as the search procedure adopted by an individual household and evidence is presented showing that the worst conditions are occupied by these who adopt inefficient search procedures. Alienation from a particular dwelling does not however lead to alienation from neighbourhood. Part Five concludes that substandard housing need not represent a significant part of the housing market, and explains various measures that might alleviate the problem in a mixed economy. All involve increased state activity in spheres such as the production of low cost housing, further controls on the private rented sector and action as an impartial provider of housing market information,