Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T13:16:39.223Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Security of Tenure in Social Housing in England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2013

David Robinson  and
Aimee Walshaw
David Robinson
Affiliation:
Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University E-mail: [email protected]
Aimee Walshaw
Affiliation:
Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Localism Act 2011 granted social landlords in England the right to award fixed-term (flexible) tenancies, thereby ending the right of new tenants to a secure tenancy. Reform was justified via reference to a revisionist critique of social housing, which accused security of tenure of promoting dependency, undercutting social mobility and preventing the effective operation of the sector as a welfare service. This article draws on empirical evidence from qualitative interviews with more than 140 social tenants to explore the legitimacy of these claims and consider the potential impact of ending security of tenure on the well-being of tenants. Analysis reveals security of tenure to be a source of stability that helps mediate the precariousness of life on low incomes. In conclusion, it is argued that policy should be looking to extend, rather than curtail, these benefits through an improved rental housing offer.

Keywords

Social housingsecurity of tenureLocalism ActEngland
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 1 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam Smith Institute (1983) Omega Report: Local Government Policy, London: Adam Smith Institute.Google Scholar
Bailey, N., Kearns, A. and Livingston, M. (2012) ‘Place attachment in deprived neighbourhoods: the impacts of population turnover and social mix’, Housing Studies, 27, 2, 208–31.Google Scholar
Bashir, N., Crisp, R., Gore, T., Reeve, K. and Robinson, D. (2011) Families and Work: Revisiting Barriers to Employment, Research Report No. 729, London: Department of Work and Pensions.Google Scholar
Brown, C. (2013) ‘Minister urges councils to set fixed-term tenancies’, Inside Housing, 11 January.Google Scholar
Bury, R. (2010) ‘Housing sector rejects fixed term tenancies, says report’, Inside Housing, 20 December, www.insidehousing.co.uk/housing-sector-rejects-fixed-term-tenancies-says-report/6513039.article [accessed 08.07.2012].Google Scholar
Chartered Institute of Housing (2008) Rethinking Housing: Chartered Institute of Housing Response to the Department of Communities and Local Government's Housing Reform Programme, Coventry: Chartered Institute of Housing, www.cih.org/policy/Rethinking%20Housing%20-%20CIH's%20Housing%20Reform%20Response%202008.pdf.Google Scholar
Cole, I. (2007) ‘What future for social housing in England?’, People, Place and Policy Online, 1, 1, 3–13.Google Scholar
Cole, I. and Goodchild, B. (2000) ‘Social mix and the “Balanced Community” in British housing policy – a tale of two epochs’, Geojournal, 51, 4, 351–60.Google Scholar
Coleman, A. (1985) Utopia on Trial: Vision and Reality in Planned Housing, London: Hilary Shipman.Google Scholar
Conservative Party (2010) Nurturing Responsibility, Policy Green Paper No. 10, www.conservatives.com/Policy/Responsibility_Agenda/A_Conservative_agenda_for_international_development.aspx [accessed 11.07.2012].Google Scholar
Crisp, R., Batty, E., Cole, I. and Robinson, D. (2009) Work and Worklessness in Deprived Areas: Policy Assumptions and Personal Experiences, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
DCLG (2006) Moving On: Reconnecting Frequent Movers, London: Department for Communities and Local Government.Google Scholar
DCLG (2009) Live Table 802 Household Characteristics: Length of Residence, by Tenure, 2007–08, London: Department for Communities and Local Government, www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/householdcharacteristics/livetables/.Google Scholar
DCLG (2011) Grant Shapps: New Rules Will Help End Prejudices about Social Housing, London: Department for Communities and Local Government, www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/2033451 [accessed 11.07.2012].Google Scholar
Duxbury, N. (2011) ‘Residency rodeo’, Inside Housing, 25 November, www.insidehousing.co.uk/tenancies/residency-rodeo/6519272.article [accessed 08.07.2012].Google Scholar
Dwelly, T. (2006) ‘Social housing isn't working’, in Dwelly, T. and Cowans, J. (eds), Rethinking Social Housing, London: The Smith Institute, www.smith-institute.org.uk/pdfs/social-housing.pdf.Google Scholar
Feinstein, L., Lupton, R., Hammond, C., Mujtaba, T., Salter, E. and Sorhaindo, A. (2008) The Public Value of Social Housing: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Housing and Life Chances, London: The Smith Institute.Google Scholar
Fletcher, D., Gore, T., Reeve, K. and Robinson, D. (2008) Social Housing and Worklessness: Qualitative Research Findings, London: Department for Work and Pensions, www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep521.pdf.Google Scholar
Greenhalgh, S. and Moss, J. (2009) Principles for Social Housing Reform, London: Localis.Google Scholar
Hills, J. (2007) Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England, CASE Report 34, London: London School of Economics, sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport34.pdf.Google Scholar
Housing and Dependency Working Group (2008) Housing Poverty: From Social Breakdown to Social Mobility, London: The Centre for Social Justice, www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/downloads/housingpoverty2.pdf.Google Scholar
Hull, A. and Cooke, G. (2012) Together at Home: A New Strategy for Housing, London: IPPR.Google Scholar
Jellyman, T. and Spencer, N. (2008) ‘Residential mobility in childhood and health outcomes: a systematic review’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62, 7, 584–92.Google Scholar
Lupton, R. and Tunstall, R. (2009) ‘It's easy to blame social housing’, Inside Housing, 21 August, http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/story.aspx?storycode=6506027.Google Scholar
Lupton, R., Tunstall, R., Sigle-Rushton, W., Obolenskaya, P., Sabates, R., Meschi, E., Kneale, D. and Salter, E. (2009) Growing up in Social Housing in England: A Profile of Four Generations, 1946 to the Present Day, London: Tenant Services Authority.Google Scholar
Merrick, N. (2012) ‘Fixed-term tenancies: from starter home to security of tenure’, The Guardian, 27 March.Google Scholar
Mooney, G. (2007) ‘Reframing the poverty debate’, Variant, 29, summer, 11–13.Google Scholar
Mullins, P. and Western, J. (2001) Examining the Links between Housing and Nine Key Socio Cultural Factors, AHURI Final Report No. 5, Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Queensland Research Centre, www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/20004_fr.Google Scholar
National Housing Federation (2010) Home Truths: Why Investment in Affordable Housing Matters, London: National Housing Federation.Google Scholar
Public Services Improvement Group (2007) Restoring Pride in Our Public Services, Submission to the Shadow Cabinet, www.conservatives.com/pdf/psipg-report.pdf.Google Scholar
Ramesh, R. (2012) ‘Tory borough plans to move homeless away from London’, The Guardian, 2 May.Google Scholar
Robinson, D. (2008) ‘Social housing and worklessness’, in Fitzpatrick, S. and Stephens, M. (eds), The Future of Social Housing, London: Shelter, pp. 103–16.Google Scholar
Robinson, D. (2013) ‘Social housing in England: testing the logics of reform’, Urban Studies, first published online, doi:10.1177/0042098012462611.Google Scholar
Scanlon, K. and Whitehead, C. (2011) ‘Conclusion – the implications for the UK’, in Scanlon, K. and Kochan, B. (eds.), Towards a Sustainable Private Rented Sector: The Lessons from Other Countries, London: LSE, pp. 139–53.Google Scholar
Stroud, P. (2010) Social Housing: A Launchpad, Not a Destination, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Wintour, P. (2010) ‘David Cameron announces plan to end lifetime tenancies’, The Guardian, 3 August, www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/03/lifetime-council-tenancies-contracts-cameron [accessed 10.06.2012].Google Scholar