Access to council housing: a study of opportunities and constraints

Abstract

The research on this topic took place between January, 1976 and October, 1978. During this time, some important changes in national housing policy occurred. For example, in 1976 the Government introduced a new system of control over local authority capital housing expenditure based upon annual allocations. In December, 1977 the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act came into operation. This Act imposed a duty upon local housing authorities in England and Wales to secure accommodation for certain categories of homeless persons. The period of study also coincided with the Government's review of housing policy and valuable data contained in the Consultative Document and accompanying Technical Volumes have been incorporated in the sections dealing with housing trends and public sector housing costs. This thesis also shows that despite the existence of a legal and advisory framework, local housing authorities enjoy a degree of autonomy with the power to manage and allocate their housing stock in accordance with their locally determined policies and procedures. Consequently, a wide variety of practice prevails both in the treatment of eligibility for council tenancies and the manner in which they are allocated. Moreover, some of the rules and regulations are arbitrary and out of context with national objectives and supporting policies. Of interest also is the fact that the methods adopted by local housing authorities to select their tenants are of social as well as economic importance. Accordingly, these various points are covered in the sections dealing with eligibility and council housing allocation methods. The remainder of the study is devoted to an examination of options and choices. First from the standpoint of an individual household in a local housing market, and second in the context of national public housing policy. Much of the data used in this study has been obtained from local housing authorities within the Northern Region, supplemented where appropriate by material provided by the Department of the Environment and other established reference sources.